Dark-eyed Junco
Junco hyemalis
Passerellidae
The 'snowbird.' Slate-gray above, white below, with a sharp bicolor line separating the two — like a dark-hooded monk in a white robe. The most commonly reported bird at feeders in North America during winter. Ground foragers that flush from lawn edges in small flocks, flashing white outer tail feathers.
Arrives from northern forests in October; departs in April.
How to spot one.
5.5–6.3 inches, sparrow shape
Slate-gray head, back, and breast
Clean white belly
Pink pale bill
White outer tail feathers flash in flight
What it sounds like.
A musical trill on a single pitch — recognizable but often confused with Chipping Sparrow. Winter contact call is a soft 'tsick.'
How it lives.
Ground foragers. Scratch through leaf litter and dropped seed under feeders. Roost communally in dense evergreens on cold winter nights.
The spec sheet.
- Status
- Winter visitor
- Size
- 5.5–6.3 inches
- Present in NJ
- October – April
- Native to NJ
- Yes
- Conservation status
- stable
- Family
- Passerellidae
What it eats.
Diet often shifts dramatically between breeding season and the rest of the year — especially for insectivorous birds that pivot to native berries in fall and winter.
Summer / breeding season
Breeds in northern forests — insects, caterpillars, spiders for nestlings
Not present in NJ during breeding season (except at high elevations in the Kittatinny Ridge)
Fall / winter
White millet and cracked corn scattered on the ground
Black-oil sunflower under feeders
Native grass and weed seeds
Seeds of goldenrod, aster, and other standing perennials
What it needs.
Native plants that feed this bird or provide shelter. Names in hydrangea link to the plant’s Field Guide entry.
Seed source
Seed source
Little Bluestem, Big Bluestem (native grasses)
Seed source
Dense evergreens for roosting
Cover / habitat
All About Birds (Cornell) · Duke Farms
Other winter visitors.
- ZaWinter visitorNative · NJ
White-throated Sparrow
Zonotrichia albicollis
The winter sparrow that whistles 'Oh, sweet Canada, Canada, Canada.' Bigger and bolder than most sparrows, with a striking black-and-white striped hea…
- HpWinter visitorNative · NJ
Purple Finch
Haemorhous purpureus
The native cousin the introduced House Finch is displacing. Purple Finches are rose-red and raspberry — a color often described as 'a sparrow dipped i…