OREGON JUNCO 1051 



old burn, full of snags, fallen logs, stumps, and a tangle of shrubs 

 and other low growth. J uncos are eveiywhere in such situations. 

 When distui-bed, their white outer tail feathers flash attention as they 

 scatter from the ground to nearby conifers; at certain seasons one 

 may think j uncos are the only bkds in existence. 



Aspen {Po'pulus tremuloides) forests, which often grow much inter- 

 rupted as subclimax within the true forest, are well liked by nesting 

 j uncos. Open park -like stands of yellow pine {Finns ponderosa) and 

 lodgepole pine (P. contorta) of the interior west have much suitable 

 and attractive edge. High mountains of Baja California, with 

 similar but perhaps drier forest cover, have j uncos. The dry forests 

 of the California interior and southern mountains differ greatly from 

 the forests of the humid coast, but Oregon juncos are found in all of 

 them. Compact low fir growth at timberline attracts nesting juncos. 



The northwest "rain coast" has forest and forest understory of 

 such density that it must be seen to be appreciated. Here juncos 

 find the necessary openings in the forest are scattered and infrequent; 

 the sea shore becomes edge. In the humid country west of the Cas- 

 cade Mountains, Oregon juncos are city and country dooryard birds, 

 sometimes permanent residents. Juncos are common in city parks 

 and on college campuses in many parts of the West; the natural and 

 planted vegetation, including various conifers, has the edge effect 

 they favor. 



The many races of the Oregon junco tolerate variable conditions 

 of moisture, forest vegetation, heat and humidity, from sea level to 

 timberline. Adequate ground cover in the way of grasses or flowering 

 broad-leafed herbs and the like that continues green or at least some- 

 what succulent is necessary during the nesting season. Philip Dumas 

 (1950) says: "A scattered shrub layer may or may not be present. 

 The herb layer, however, is prominent and made up of many grasses 

 and herbs." 



Apart from nesting, juncos are not closely dependent upon edge, 

 yet the attraction continues. The forest growth provides shelter 

 and protection; the open spaces and bare ground provide opportuni- 

 ties to forage. 



Oregon juncos are as well known to westerners as slate-colored 

 juncos (J. hyemalis) are to easterners. A. A. Saunders (1936b), 

 having had field experience with the slate-colored, white-winged 

 (J. aikeni), pink-sided (now J. o. mearnsi), and Oregon juncos, re- 

 marks: "[They] differ from each other in coloration only. Their 

 calls, songs, and nesting habits, so far as I have observed them, are 

 all alike." 



As defined in the 1957 edition of the A. O. U. Check-List, which 

 we are following, Junco oreganus is divided into eight races: montanus, 



