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THE OREGON JUNCO. 



Residents of the Atlantic, Middle, 

 Southern and Middle Western States are, 

 doubtless, well acquainted with the slate- 

 colored Junco. This little feathered speci- 

 men is more familiarly known as "Snow- 

 bird." 



The Oregon Junco ("Junco hyemalis 

 var. Oregonus") is a sub-species, and is 

 found throughout the Pacific coast region 

 from California to Sitka. It is, by no 

 means, confined exclusively to Oregon. 

 Its darkest-hued plumage makes the bird 

 very conspicuous when the ground is cov- 

 ered with a soft and spotless mantle of 

 snow. 



The sooty-black head, flesh-colored 

 bill and white breast, sharply contrast in 

 color. On the sides are pinkish colored 

 feathers ; the back is rufous-brown and 

 the two outer tail feathers pure white, 

 showing when the bird flies. In west- 

 ern Oregon it is a winter visitant, arriv- 

 ing with the first cool days of autumn. 



As winter approaches these snowbirds 

 become more plentiful, hopping about in 



the small bushes in quest of food. A 

 great deal of pleasure and interest may 

 be found in studying these birds, espe- 

 cially when the ground is covered with 

 snow. By casting bread crumbs on the 

 snow, the little fellows flock around, and 

 are easily tamed. In winter their only 

 note is a sort of chirp, sometimes uttered 

 several times in quick succession when 

 alarmed. With the warm days of spring 

 they begin their song, sometimes many 

 singing at once, and soon the majority 

 disappear to a higher altitude to breed. 



The Oregon Junco builds its nest in 

 hollows in the ground under low bushes. 

 The nest is constructed flush with the 

 surface and in holes among the roots of 

 bushes and trees, and under woodpiles. 

 Usually, the nest is made of dry grasses 

 rather loosely placed together, with a lin- 

 ing of cowhair, and contains four and 

 sometimes five handsome greenish-white 

 eggs, spotted and wreathed with purple. 

 — J. Mayne Baltimore. 



Olive Thorne Miller, in her fascinating 

 little book, "The First Book of Birds," 

 speaking of how the birds work for us, 

 says : "Chickadees like to eat the eggS' of 

 cankerworms ; and for a single meal one 

 of these tiny birds will eat two hundred 

 and fifty eggs, and he will take several 

 meals a day. Now, cankerworms destroy 

 our apples. When they get into an or- 

 chard in force, it looks, as Miss Merriam 

 says, as if it had been burned over. 

 Robins, catbirds, and shrikes, and sev- 

 eral others, like to eat cutworms, which 

 destroy grass and other plants. As many 

 as three hundred of them have been found 

 in the stomach of a robin, of course for 

 one meal. Ants are very troublesome in 

 many ways, and three thousand of them 

 have been taken from the stomach of one 

 flicker." 



Why kill these birds that are so useful 

 to us and so beautify nature ? Many oth- 

 ers are just as useful and some that occa- 

 sionally do damage amply repay us in 

 other ways. 



