Volcano Junco

About the Volcano Junco

The volcano junco (Junco vulcani) is a species of bird in the family Passerellidae, the New World sparrows. It is found in Costa Rica and Panama. The volcano junco was formally described in 1878 with the binomial Zonotrichia vulcani. It was eventually reassigned to its present genus Junco that had been erected in 1831.

The volcano junco is monotypic. Though a 1970 publication considered it, the dark-eyed junco (J. hyemalis), and the yellow-eyed junco (J. phaenotus) to be sister species, evaluations in the early 2000s showed that it is basal to the genus and not closely related to the other Junco species.

The volcano junco is about 16 cm (6.3 in) long and weighs about 28 g (0.99 oz). The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a grayish olive crown and nape, sometimes with dusky streaks. They have black lores and a black or slate black "mask" around the eye. The rest of their head and neck are pale gray with an olive tinge on the ear coverts. Their upperparts are buffy brown with black streaks. Their wings are dusky with thin to somewhat wider buffy brown feather edges. Their tail is dusky with thin gray feather edges and pale gray tips... Wikipedia →