Juncos can be difficult to definitively differentiate. So, I've put this composite together to differentiate three of the species. Upper left corner bird is Oregon Junco (J. hyemalis oreganus), male with some worn tips of the head feathers giving it a dull luster to the black; upper right and lower left is Pink-sided Junco (J. hyemalis mearnsi); lower right is a male Slate colored Junco (J. hyemalis), may be an Eastern variety, or possibly an intergrade. The Pink-sided is an uncommon species in Kern Co., so I was pleased to get images. Note the glaucus colored head; the dark lores; the extensive, dense pinkish coloring on the sides and flanks. Information on the species is from Beadle and Rising: Sparrows of the United States and Canada.
