junco

American  

[juhng-koh] / ˈdʒʌŋ koʊ /

noun

juncos plural

1. any of several small North American finches of the genus Junco.

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junco British  

/ ˈdʒʌŋkəʊ /

noun

1. any North American bunting of the genus Junco, having a greyish plumage with white outer tail feathers

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• juncos
  plural

Etymology

Origin of junco

1700–10; < Spanish: rush, bird found in rush beds < Latin juncus rush

Example Sentences

They also recognized acorn woodpeckers, a California towhee, dozens of turkey vultures circling overhead, a dark-eyed junco, a mockingbird, an Anna’s hummingbird and a black phoebe.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 11, 2023

This oil contains odorous compounds— in the case of the dark-eyed junco, it smells like leaf litter and soil.

From Scientific American • Mar. 24, 2022

For example, the house finch almost always dominates the purple finch, and the purple finch almost always dominates the dark-eyed junco, but when house finch and junco face off directly, the junco often dominates.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 28, 2021

Some 90% of the total loss came from just 12 bird families and 19 widespread bird species such as the dark-eyed junco, common grackle and house sparrows.

From Reuters • Sep. 19, 2019

A very shy and artful bird is the junco.

From Under the Maples by Burroughs, John