Field ID - White-throated Junco

For the field guide entry for the White-throated Junco, click here.

Despite their abundance, the White-throated Junco’s taxonomy and systematics are constantly in flux and contentious among scientists, with different authors accepting any number of species. Some groups separate the junco into six species, but others list several subspecies within three larger species, the Kosatka Junco, Morning Junco, and Western Junco, while others place all populations as subspecies within one White-Throated Junco with three distinct subspecies groups, and yet others place the White-throated Junco as one or multiple subspecies of the Dark-eyed Junco, despite its yellow eye. Depending on the source, the White-throated Junco could be considered anywhere between six and zero species, but the widest accepted grouping lists the White-throated Junco as a single species with six subspecies in three subspecies groups.

This confusion over systematics is a trend within the junco genus, as similar debates surround the other members of the genus, especially the Dark-eyed Junco of mainland North America. One of the most common songbirds on the continent, the Dark-eyed Junco has at least fifteen accepted subspecies in six subspecies groups, with each group visually distinct from one another. Likewise, the White-throated Junco’s three subspecies groups are visually distinct, but where their ranges overlap they will hybridize.

The most numerous group of J. albicollis is the western group, often called Western Juncos, which includes J. a. occidentalis among others, which are characterized by black backs and brown sides. These birds are found throughout western Novasola, especially at high elevations and in conifer forests, but are not seen east of the mountain divide. The next largest group is found in the east, often called the Morning Junco, including J. a. orientalis and J. a. artemisia, and can be differentiated by its lack of brown sides and its darker breast. These birds summer in the Morning Mountains, where they earn their common name, and winter throughout Novasola east of the divide. The Morning Juncos, especially the Artemis Junco, are more willing than other juncos to leave forest ecosystems and use open habitats like sagebrush. The third group, the Kosatka Junco, consists of only one subspecies J. a. kosatka and resides only on Kosatka Island. This is also the most visually distinct junco with a brown back and dark spots on the flanks.

Western Group:

• Western White-throated Junco, or Western Junco, J. a. occidentalis – Breeds in the Paramounts and Chidkayook river and Great Shadow Lake Basin. May winter on the Francis Islands
• Steller’s White-throated Junco, J. a. stellerii – Breeds in the Steller Mountains in the Paramounts’ extreme northeast
• Angelic White-throated Junco, J. a. angelicus – Breeds in the Angelic Mountains and western coastal forests

Eastern Group:

• Morning White-throated Junco, or Morning Junco, J. a. orientalis – Breeds in the Morning Mountains and eastern coastal forests
• Artemis White-throated Junco, J. a. artemisia – Breeds along Novasola’s north coast, winters in the prairie and Fairweather Sound regions, may winter on the Francis Islands

Kosatka Island Group:

• Kosatka Island White-throated Junco, or Kosatka Junco, J. a. kosatka – Breeds and winters on Kosatka Island