Dark-eyed Junco

The Dark-eyed Junco is one of the most familiar and abundant forest sparrows in North America. Often nicknamed the snowbird because it arrives in many regions with winter weather, it is a neat, medium-sized sparrow with a rounded head, stout pink bill, and a flashing white outer tail pattern visible in flight.

Strikingly bicolored with a clean white outer web and tip contrasting sharply against dark slate-gray to blackish inner webs.

Tightly interlocked pennaceous barbs along the vane with a firm, well-defined structure; clean and largely intact.

Thin, white-to-light-gray flexible central rachis with densely packed, uniform barbs.

Smooth, firm, and matte in appearance, providing aerodynamic stability during flight.

Outer tail feather (likely rectrix R6), indicated by the prominent white outer web and tip characteristic of this species' striking tail pattern.

The sharp contrast of bright white on the outer web and tip against a dark slate-gray or brownish inner web is diagnostic of the outer tail feathers of the Dark-eyed Junco.

Coniferous and mixed forests, woodland edges, brushy areas, and suburban gardens, especially during migration and winter.

Breeds across the northern coniferous and boreal forests of North America and high-elevation western mountains; winters widely throughout most of the United States and Mexico.

Acts as an important seed disperser and consumer of weed seeds and insects during the winter months, serving as a key prey base for small forest raptors.

Other sparrows or towhees with white in the tail, such as the Eastern Towhee or Vesper Sparrow, but the exact distribution of the stark white on the outer rectrix of a junco is distinctive.

Juncos are ground-foraging birds that typically hop rather than walk. They are part of a complex of closely related forms that were once considered separate species, such as the Slate-colored, Oregon, and Pink-sided juncos.

As a common backyard visitor, juncos are frequently enjoyed by casual birdwatchers and backyard wildlife enthusiasts. Their feathers are not used commercially.

Look for molted tail feathers near winter feeding areas, brush piles, or under dense evergreens where juncos spend time scratching in the leaf litter.

Good condition; minor wear at the base, but the vane and white markings are clean and intact.

Northern Illinois