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The yellow-eyed junco (''Junco phaeonotus'') is a 
Yellow-eyed junco (''Junco phaeonotus'')
at the Internet Bird Collection {{Taxonbar, from=Q2669127 yellow-eyed junco Native birds of the Western United States Birds of Mexico Birds of Guatemala yellow-eyed junco
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
of junco
A junco , genus ''Junco'', is a small North American bird in the New World sparrow family Passerellidae. Junco systematics are still confusing after decades of research, with various authors accepting between three and twelve species. Despit ...
, a group of small New World sparrow
New World sparrows are a group of mainly New World passerine birds, forming the family Passerellidae. They are seed-eating birds with conical bills, brown or gray in color, and many species have distinctive head patterns.
Although they share t ...
s.
Its range is primarily in Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, extending into some of the mountains of the southern tips of the U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
s of Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
and New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...
. It is not generally migratory, but sometimes moves to nearby lower elevations during winter. The female lays three to five pale gray or bluish-white eggs in an open nest of dried grass two to three times a year. Incubation takes 15 days, and when hatched, the chicks are ready to leave the nest two weeks later. This bird's diet consists mainly of seeds, berries and insects.
Taxonomy
The yellow-eyed junco was formally described in 1831 by the German naturalistJohann Georg Wagler
Johann Georg Wagler (28 March 1800 – 23 August 1832) was a German herpetologist and ornithologist.
Wagler was assistant to Johann Baptist von Spix, and gave lectures in zoology at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich after it was moved ...
from a specimen collected in Mexico. He introduced a new genus, ''Junco
A junco , genus ''Junco'', is a small North American bird in the New World sparrow family Passerellidae. Junco systematics are still confusing after decades of research, with various authors accepting between three and twelve species. Despit ...
'', and coined the binomial name ''Junco phaeonotus''. The genus name is from Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''iuncus'' meaning "rush". The specific epithet combines the Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
'' phaios'' meaning "dusky" or "brown" with ''-nōtos'' meaning "-backed".
Four subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
are recognised:
* Arizona yellow-eyed junco (''J. p. palliatus'') Ridgway, 1885 – southwestern U.S. and northwestern Mexico
* Mexican yellow-eyed junco (''J. p. phaeonotus'') Wagler, 1831 – central and southern Mexico
* Chiapas yellow-eyed junco (''J. p. fulvescens'') Nelson
Nelson may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey
* ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers
* ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...
, 1897 – interior of Chiapas (southern Mexico)
* Guatemalan yellow-eyed junco (''J. p. alticola'') Salvin, 1863 – southeastern Chiapas (southern Mexico) and western Guatemala
Related species
Baird's junco
Baird's junco (''Junco bairdi'') is a species of junco, a group of small, grayish New World sparrows. It is endemic to the forests in the Sierra de la Laguna mountain range of the southern Baja California Peninsula in Mexico
Mexico (Spani ...
(''Junco bairdi'') was previously considered a fifth subspecies of this species.
References
External links
Yellow-eyed junco (''Junco phaeonotus'')
at the Internet Bird Collection {{Taxonbar, from=Q2669127 yellow-eyed junco Native birds of the Western United States Birds of Mexico Birds of Guatemala yellow-eyed junco