Dave et al.,
I used to live in Flagstaff, AZ, which is where I first started getting
interested in juncos when an intergrade Red-backed/Gray-headed showed up at my
feeder. Before I get into this, I'd like to point out that an intergrade is a
cross between two distinct races of a single species, while a hybrid is a cross
between two species.
Red-backed is the breeding sub-species on the Mogollon Rim region of central
and northern AZ, and central NM. They are rare breeders in the Guadalupe and
Davis Mtns of TX. Red-backed x Yellow-eyed Juncos have been found in the
Guadalupe Mtns (also a population of those hybrids in southern NM and a record
from the Pinal Mtns of AZ).
As others have mentioned, Red-backed has a larger bill the should be strongly
bi-colored. The amount of duskiness in the upper mandible varies a lot. They
often look flat-headed to me, probably because their skulls are shaped
differently to support the larger bill. They also have more extensive rust
color, bleeding from the back onto the wing coverts and tertials (beware HY
tertials that are edged with brown). They have a pale throat and breast. To my
eye, they are distinctly larger than other juncos typical to that region, akin
to a White-winged. They walk rather than hop. Their song is often much more
complex than a typical Dark-eyed, closer to a Yellow-eyed.
When I look at Gray-headeds here in CO, I often notice pale-throated
individuals. Birds with a bit of duskiness in the upper mandible are also
regular. Almost all have at least a bit of duskiness around the nostrils and at
the very tip of the upper mandible. These features, by themselves (or even
together), aren't a sign of intergradation, just a bit of the normal variance
in the population. But when you get a big honkin' Gray-headed type with a
completely dark ridge on the upper mandible, a pale throat and breast, and with
some rust on the wing coverts, red flags should go up.
I think that Steve's photo from Red-rocks demonstrates a very good example of
Red-backed genes making it up this far north on the Front Range. The bill
pattern is nearly perfect for a Red-backed. The bill size and head shape are
spot-on for a Red-backed. It does have a pale throat. It's hard for me to pull
the trigger and call it a flat-out Red-backed just because of the precedence.
It's more likely that it came up from one of the intergrade zones in central
NM.
There are large areas where Red-backed and Gray-headed swap genes. I think it
is a dynamic process. Gray-headeds bop south sometimes, Red-backeds bop north a
bit. There's a lot to shake these things up, most notably these catastrophic
wildfires.
Here are some photos to ponder:
Gray-headed from
Colorado:http://www.flickr.com/photos/christian_nunes/3054399565/in/set-72157609842959747/http://www.flickr.com/photos/christian_nunes/2546610948/in/set-72157609842959747
Red-backed from Flagstaff,
AZ:http://www.flickr.com/photos/christian_nunes/5085197524/in/set-72157609842959747/http://www.flickr.com/photos/christian_nunes/5085197334/in/set-72157609842959747/
Gray-headed type from the Kaibab Plateau, AZ (intergrade zone):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/christian_nunes/5084601639/in/set-72157609842959747/
Red-backed x Gray-headed types from the Kaibab Plateau, AZ (intergrade
zone):http://www.flickr.com/photos/christian_nunes/5084597829/in/set-72157609842959747/http://www.flickr.com/photos/christian_nunes/5085194644/in/set-72157609842959747/
Gray-headed x Red-backed type from the Chuska Mountains of NE AZ (intergrade
zone):http://www.flickr.com/photos/christian_nunes/5085192416/in/set-72157609842959747/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/christian_nunes/5085192814/in/set-72157609842959747/
(different bird from above
link)http://www.flickr.com/photos/christian_nunes/5085193616/in/set-72157609842959747/
(another different bird)
The birds on the Kaibab Plateau, which is on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon,
area an intergrade population of Red-backed x Gray-headed. The birds in the
Chuska Mtns of extreme NE Arizona are of arguable heritage. Some authors think
they're all Gray-headeds, some think they're intergrades. When I visited there
a few years ago to look at them in the flesh, I found them to be mostly
Gray-headed with a few intergrades.
When I visited the Kaibab Plateau, most of the juncos I found were Red-backed x
Gray-headed intergrades, leaning more towards Red-backed in looks. I found one
that looked like a typical Gray-headed. There has been a recent study of a
hybrid population of Red-backed x Yellow-eyed in NM (unpublished). They also
found that the occasional Gray-headed would set up territory, well south of
where one should be.
The birds in the Sandia Mtns tend to show intergrade characteristics, although
I think most people consider them to be "Gray-headeds". If you travel west from
Albuquerque, once you hit some good pine forest, you should find intergrades.
It doesn't surprise me that Red-backed genes are flowing up to the Sandias, and
possibly further north.
Good juncoing,
Christian NunesBoulder, CO
pajaro...@hotmail.com
From: daleather...@msn.com
To: peterbu...@gmail.com; cobirds@googlegroups.com
Subject: RE: [cobirds] status of "Red-backed" Junco in Colorado
Date: Sun, 31 Mar 2013 22:21:12 -0600
Peter et al,
The bird at Red Rocks was photographed by Steve Mlodinow, not me.
Unfortunately I got no photos of the recent Crow Valley bird. In his post,
Steve said the Red Rocks bird was a good candidate for a hybrid between
Red-backed and Gray-headed. The other marks (besides the bill color feature
you mentioned) stated in the literature are bill size (R-b a bit bigger than
G-h) and pale throat and upper breast (that in R-b contrasts with the rest of
the darker gray underparts, with G-h being uniformly gray underneath).
Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins
Date: Sun, 31 Mar 2013 22:06:26 -0600
Subject: Re: [cobirds] status of "Red-backed" Junco in Colorado
From: peterbu...@gmail.com
To: zebri...@gmail.com
CC: cobirds@googlegroups.com
Doug & Cobirds,Since we're on the topic of Red-backed vs. Gray-headed Juncos,
the field mark I've been relying on is bill color: single color for
Gray-headed, bi-colored in the case of Red-backed. My question is whether this
character is diagnostic or not? The Junco David photographed at Red Rocks was
sporting a bi-colored bill...
Good birding,Peter BurkeBoulder, CO
On Sun, Mar 31, 2013 at 8:31 PM, Doug Faulkner <zebri...@gmail.com> wrote:
David,
The Colorado Bird Records Committee does not have any record for that
subspecies and I am unaware of any extralimital reports for other states north
of its range. My understanding is that Red-backed Junco does very little (if
any) seasonal movement in a way that would be considered migration. However,
species that might be grouped in that category, like Greater Roadrunner and
Canyon Towhee, occur out of range more frequently (and at quite some distance)
than their non-migratory status would imply. Due to its similarity with
Gray-headed Junco, it's conceivable for Red-backed Junco to have occurred in
the state and gone unnoticed.
Thanks for bringing this topic to our attention. I for one will be thinking
about this possibility anytime I come across a "red-backed" junco on the
eastern plains.
good birding,
Doug Faulkner
Arvada, CO
On Sun, Mar 31, 2013 at 12:30 PM, DAVID A LEATHERMAN <daleather...@msn.com>
wrote:
The other day, buried amid a mixed-subject post, I asked (so far unanswered) if
anyone on this listserv knows whether the so-called "Red-backed" Dark-eyed
Junco has occurred in Colorado and/or whether it has any history whatsoever of
occurring outside its normal range of Arizona to West Texas. This subspecies
is Junco hyemalis dorsalis and is considered distinct from our reddish-backed
breeder in CO (aka the "Gray-headed Junco, J. h. caniceps). I had a junco
with a bright red back patch at Crow Valley the other day that "looked
different" and it just got me to wondering about this junco subspecies. Thanks.
Dave Leatherman
Fort Collins
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