It’s time to jump to the letter J and come up with a post to share at ABC Wednesday.

I’m going with one of the most common birds that come to my feeders, the Junco.

This species shows much geographic variation in color. Typically, male of western population (“Oregon Junco”) has black hood, chestnut mantle, white underparts with buff sides. Eastern male (“Slate-colored Junco”) is dark slate-gray on head, upper breast, flanks, and upperparts, with white lower breast and belly. Both forms have pink bill and dark gray tail with white outer tail feathers conspicuous in flight.

Dark-eyed juncos are unique sparrows that nest on or near the ground in forests. In winter, they typically form flocks and often associate with other species.

We have had a nice variety of birds come to our feeders. It seems to be different every year except for these Juncos. They are pretty consistent.

Robins in our area do not bother with the feeders. They are content to poke on the ground and lawns. It’s always funny to watch the blue jays try to land on the feeder. They are a little too big to do it gracefully.

What are the common birds in your back yard?