If you have feeders up this winter, I bet you have Dark-eyed Juncos visiting. This little bird is in the sparrow family and is only here from about late September through March, when they return to breeding grounds in both our Northeastern states and Canada.
The colorings of this bird are slate gray on top and white underneath, with the males being more of a bolder, blackish grey and females being lighter in color. The tail is a give-away when they’re flying off as they flash white tail feathers. Flashing the white tail feathers is thought to be an alarm to other birds but for us, it can be a nice bird identification tool if you just get a glimpse.
If you look closely at these birds as they feed, you’ll also see that they have pinkish beaks.
Put some shelled sunflower seeds and millet out on the ground and you’ll get some really good looks at these pretty birds. Click on the photos below for full views.