Juncos are small sparrows that are common across much of North America. They have dark gray plumage on their head, wings and tail, with white bellies. Juncos are ground foraging birds that tend to hop along the ground looking for seeds and insects to eat. Here are some key things to know about what juncos like to eat:
Seeds
Seeds make up a large part of the junco diet. They often forage on the ground for dropped or scattered seeds from grasses, weeds and other plants. Some of their favorite seeds include:
- Grass seeds
- Weed seeds like dandelion and plantain
- Grains like wheat, millet and rice
- Seeds from trees and shrubs like spruce, birch and sumac
Juncos will also visit bird feeders readily, feeding on small mixed seeds, millet, cracked corn and sunflower seeds. They tend to prefer smaller seeds they can quickly eat.
Insects and Spiders
While seeds make up the bulk of their diet, juncos also opportunistically eat small insects and spiders to get protein. Some insects they have been observed eating include:
- Beetles
- Caterpillars
- Grasshoppers
- Flies
- Moth larvae
- Spiders
- Ants
Juncos scratch and scuffle through leaf litter searching for these insects. They also may eat eggs and pupae of insects they come across while foraging.
Fruits and Berries
When available, juncos will supplement their diet with small fruits and berries, including:
- Sumac berries
- Wild strawberries
- Blackberries
- Blueberries
- Raspberries
- Grapes
- Currants
They pluck these fruits from shrubs and vines, getting needed sugars along with vitamins and nutrients.
Seasonal Variations
The junco diet changes throughout the year as food availability changes. Here are some key seasonal shifts:
- Spring – Eat more insects as they become active and abundant. Also eat new fresh seeds from spring plants and grasses.
- Summer – Consume insects, seeds from grasses/plants, fruits and berries. Fledglings will be fed insects.
- Fall – Feast on ripe fruits and berries before migrations. Eat seeds and some insects.
- Winter – Rely primarily on seeds as fewer insects and fruits are available. Visit feeders more often.
This adaptability and variation in diet helps juncos thrive in diverse regions and seasons across the continent.
How Juncos Forage and Eat
Juncos have some key adaptations and behaviors for finding and consuming their food:
- Forage on ground by hopping and scratching through leaf litter and grass.
- Use their conical bill to crack open and hull seeds.
- Cock their head to eye prey like insects and spiders.
- Swallow spiders, insects and fruits whole.
- Break larger insects and larvae into smaller pieces with their beak before eating.
- Make quick flights up to pluck fruits and berries.
- Move between ground cover and bushes/trees to find variety of foods.
- Drink water from rain puddles, streams, ponds and bird baths while foraging.
Ideal Habitats for Finding Food
Juncos seek out certain habitats that provide their preferred foods:
- Forest floors with seed-producing trees and shrubs.
- Open woodlands with grasses, weeds and brush.
- Backyards with seed feeders and leaf litter.
- Overgrown fields with tall grasses and thatch.
- Mountain forests that have berry producing plants.
- Roadsides and trails overgrown with weedy patches.
Areas that provide cover for protection and open areas to forage are ideal junco habitat.
What Do Junco Chicks Eat?
Newly hatched junco chicks are completely dependent on their parents for food. The parents work hard to provide their chicks with protein-rich insects to ensure proper growth and development. Some key facts about junco chick diets:
- Fed almost exclusively insects like caterpillars, beetles, grasshoppers.
- Parents break food into smaller pieces to make it easier to swallow.
- Chicks can eat up to half their body weight in insects daily.
- As chicks grow, parents mix in more seeds and berries.
- Chicks fledge and become independent after 2-3 weeks.
- Fledglings still partially fed by parents for 1-2 more weeks.
The chick’s short period of dependence on insect protein helps junco populations thrive across the continent.
Conclusion
Juncos are versatile foragers, adapted to take advantage of seasonally available seeds, insects, and fruits. While they prefer small seeds, their varied diet provides the nutrition and energy needed to maintain healthy populations across diverse regions and habitats. Their ground foraging behavior targets exactly the food sources available to them in their environment. Junco’s flexible, generalized diet of both plant and animal material is key to their success across North America.