Day 93: Depending on the age of your field guide, you will see a number of different common names applied to Junco hyemalis. Some of this is due to the fact that most field guides don't bother with breaking species down into subspecies, thereby creating confusion among the ranks of birding hobbyists. To further complicate matters, in areas where the subspecies overlap, they intergrade. Three generations down, the genome becomes hopelessly blurred. Without gene sequencing, it would be impossible to say that any individual bird was "50% Oregon, 50% Pink-sided" any more than a human could claim that they were "50% German, 50% Scottish" just because their parents were born in those countries. The two Pacific Northwest subspecies are Oregon and Slate-Coloured, lumped together as "Dark-Eyed" and as thoroughly mixed as good cake batter. They are present year-'round, and at my feeders, challenging Steller's Jays for the distinction of "most common bird."
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