Michael Price, quoting Jim Rising, wrote:

>The 'Slate-colored' Junco is slate-gray, except for having a white belly and
>white outertail feathers; the gray is darkest on the head....Females and
>first-year birds are paler and *often* have *considerable* brown in their
>plumage, especially in back and flanks (emphasis mine).

and

>...Cassiar Juncos breed east of the coastal ranges from central Yukon
>southeast to north-central and eastern British Columbia and west-central
>Alberta. These birds represent a stable population of apparent hybrids
>(intergrades?--m) between Slate-colored and 'Oregon' juncos (J.h. oreganus),
>and they are intermediate in coloration between the two. Males have darker
>heads, the edge of the slate on the breast convex instead of concave (as in
>nominate 'Slate-colored', forming an inverted 'U'--m)
>(snip)
>...Most of the Slate-colored Juncos wintering in coastal British Columbia
>appear to be J.h. cismontanus.
>(end quote)

I've wondered about the "Slate-colors" that show up hereabouts in the
winter. Those that we have turned up in our yard have had some amount of
brown in the back. One bird that hung around from Dec. '92 to April '93,
lost the brown coloring over the course of the winter, becoming fully
slate-colored by spring. Because of this, I've assumed that the majority
of the birds that we've *noticed* have been first-year males. (I'd expect
an equal number of young females, but with their more extensive brown,
they'd be less likely to stand out from the crowd.) But I've never paid
attention to the shape of the hood on the breast, although now that I think
about it, it seems an obvious mark. Now, what do you want to bet that the
intermediate birds have a neckline that cuts straight across?


Eric Kraig
Olympia, WA
kraig at wln.com