Juncos

Have you ever seen juncos fan their tails at one another? What about lunging at each other?

Juncos definitely have a dominance hierarchy (kind of like a pecking order) in their winter flocks. You can often observe individuals challenging the status of others with aggressive displays of tail fanning and lunges.

So, who’s in charge? Males are dominant over females; but, it breaks down more specifically than that. Adult males are at the top of the hierarchy, then juvenile males, adult females and finally young females at the bottom.

You can attract juncos to your yard by offering some of their favorite seeds, millet and hulled sunflower, in a blend such as our Wild Birds Unlimited No-Mess Blend.

Have you seen any of these behaviors?