Red-backed Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis dorsalis), Sprung Spring, Upper Madera Canyon, Santa Cruz County

These Red-backed Dark-eyed Juncos were photographed by Philip Kline on 28 December 2009.

The first two photos are of separate individuals.  The third is an individual that is possibly a hybrid with a Yellow-eyed Junco (Junco phaeonotus). It has an intermediate-colored eye that one can just make out in the photo.

The red-backed form of Dark-eyed Junco is rare outside of its range in central Arizona and New Mexico. See here for more information.

Bi-colored bill, dark eye, rufous on upper parts more limited than in Yellow-eyed Junco.

28 December 2009, photo by Philip Kline