PINK-SIDED OREGON JUNCO 1073 



When the juncos first arrive m the sprinc; they appear at low elevations but 

 soon move higher. Even so, they are often so early that they have to seek shel- 

 ter about barns and other buildings. In March they arc seen generally on the 

 bare spots of ground under limber pines and Douglas firs. * * * The late storms 

 of spring catch the Juncos, but they are adept at seeking shelter about the bams, 

 under sheds, and in potato cellars * * *. At other times they take refuge in 

 lodgepole pines under bunches of foliage covered by a canopy of snow, behind 

 the snow caught on an overturned root, under firs, and even under sage bushes 

 if nothing better offers. * * * The first arrivals appear suddenly in March, and 

 they gradually increase in number until June 1. 



The pink-sided juncos, as remarked previously, associate with 

 other juncos in migration. In Idaho we first notice the junco flocks 

 of mixed races in such places as cemeteries where plantings of conifers 

 alternate A\ith bare roadways and plots of grass, and along country 

 roadsides, foothill trails, and the outskirts of towns. Our Idaho 

 weather is notoriously unpredictable; winter may linger into May 

 one yeai', and the next year spring comes in Febiuary. Juncos 

 accommodate themselves accordingly and forage or take shelter 

 where opportunity offers. 



When we find pink-sided juncos in late May among the aspens 

 and Douglas firs of the mountains, all seem to be in separate pairs 

 and no fiocks are in evidence. On May 23, 1959 in the Bannock 

 Moimtains at 6,000 to 7,000 feet elevation Blaine Lyon and I saw 

 upwards of 15 pairs in the scrub aspen groves and along a small 

 brook edging open matiu-e Douglas fir growth. The birds were ei- 

 ther foraging quietly in the litter or sitting quietly on aspen branches, 

 and we saw no flocks, lone individuals, or conflicts between pairs. 

 Each pair stayed in a certain vicinity that I took to be its territory 

 and could not be flushed away. If one bird of a pau" flew the other 

 followed ; neither flew far, perhaps no more than 60 feet, nor deserted 

 the general area. One bird, presumed to be a female, was seen 

 carrying several weed stems and a bit of dandelion in her bill; perhaps 

 nest building had begun. M. P. Skinner (1925) says: "The Juncos 

 pair off late in May, and by the middle of June have made their 

 nests. * * *" 



Nesting. — J. C. Merrill (1881) ^vrites: "A nest taken June 13 was 

 near the top of a ridge connecting two peaks, at an elevation of 8,000 

 feet. The nest was under a shelving stone, one of many exposed by 

 a land slide, and was in a little hollow dug out by the parents. The 

 nest was rather large, but well and compactly built, composed exter- 

 nally of coarse dry grasses, "with an inner limng of fine yellow straws 

 and hairs of the mountain sheep." Edson Fichter (pers. comm.) 

 tells me of a nest he foimd July 22, 1959, on the groimd at the base 

 of a lupine, made mostly of dried grasses. The nest was 2K by 

 2K inches, outside diameter. M. P. Skinner (1920) describes several 



