The Oregon Juncoes 



No. 51 



Oregon Junco 



A. O: U. No. 567a. Junco oreganus oreganus (Townsend). 



Synonyms. — "Oregan Snow-Finch." Western Snow-bird. Oregon Snow- 

 bird. Townsend's Junco. 



Description. — Adult male: Head and neck all around and chest (abruptly 

 denned along convex posterior edge) sooty black; back abruptly and scapulars and 

 edging of tertials warm reddish brown (between Prout's brown and snuff-brown); 

 rump, upper tail-coverts, lesser wing-coverts, and tips of greater coverts, slaty gray 

 or deep neutral gray, sometimes glossed with olivaceous; wing's and tail dusky, edged 

 with ashy; the outermost rectrix wholly and the second chiefly white, the third pair 

 more or less white centrally near tip; sides of breast, sides, and flanks strongly washed 

 with pinkish brown (fawn-color or vinaceous fawn) ; remaining underparts (below 

 chest) white. Bill pinkish white with dusky tip; iris claret-red; feet and legs pale 

 brown. Immature male: Like adult, but brown of upperparts redder (walnut-brown 

 to natal brown); hindhead and nape with skirtings of the same color; the sides more 

 strongly tinged with fawn-color; the black of chest slightly skirted with whitish. Adult 

 female: Like adult male but black of foreparts much duller, — more grayish or slaty; 

 the red of back slightly browner; hindhead and nape more or less veiled or mingled 

 with color of back, thus decreasing the contrast; sides less extensively washed with 

 pinkish brown; a slight reduction of white in tail. Immature female: Like adult 

 female, but contrast of foreparts still further reduced; distinction between head and 

 back obliterated by reddish brown veiling; tone of upperparts slightly more grayish 

 (dark Rood's brown); the grayish black of throat and chest further veiled by pale 

 vinaceous fawn. Young birds are pale reddish brown above and yellowish bufify 

 (more sordid on chest) below everywhere, save on throat, belly and crissum finely 

 streaked with dusky. Length of adult male about 161. 3 (6.35); wing 75 (2.95); tail 

 65 (2.56); bill 11 (.43); tarsus 21 (.83). Female smaller. 



Recognition Marks. — Sparrow size; black of head and throat contrasting 

 with white of breast; sides pinkish brown; white lateral tail-feathers; head black as 

 compared with J. hyemalis; back reddish brown as compared with /. 0. shufeldti. 



Nesting. — Does not breed in California. Nest and eggs as in /. 0. thurberi. 



Range of Junco oreganus. — Pacific coastal regions of western North America, 

 breeding from Yakutat Bay, Alaska, south to Lower California, east to west central 

 Alberta (couesi) ; winters irregularly southward and eastward (couesi) or at lower levels. 



Range of J. 0. oreganus.- — The northern coastal representative now breeds from 

 Yakutat Bay, Alaska, south to the Queen Charlotte Islands, and winters irregularly 

 southward along the coast to Santa Cruz Island, or casually east of the Sierra-Cascade 

 divide. 



Occurrence in California. — Winter visitant west of the Sierras, regularly to 

 San Francisco Bay region, casually to Santa Cruz Island. 



Authorities. — Newberry (Struthus oregonus), Rep. Pac. R. R. Surv., vol. vi., 

 pt. iv., 1857, p. 88, part (San Francisco); Bryant, W. E., Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci., 2nd 

 ser., vol. i., 1888, p. 47 (Farallons) ; Chapman, Auk, vol. viii., 1891, p. 115 (crit.) ; Dwight, 

 Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., vol. xxxviii., 1918, p. 291, col. pis. (distr., variation, crit.); 

 Swarth, Univ. Calif. Publ. Zool., vol. x., 1912, p. 59 (Vancouver Id.; habits, crit.). 



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