Guadalupe junco
| Guadalupe Junco | |
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| Species: | J. insularis
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| Junco insularis (Ridgway, 1876)
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The Guadalupe Junco is a critically endangered bird endemic to the Mexican island of Guadalupe. This sparrow has a dull grayish head with a gray bill and brownish upperparts. Its wings and tail are blackish, though the tail has white edges. Its underparts are white with a rufous fringe at the bottom of the wings. It makes a high, sharp sik and a long series of chipping notes.
This bird is found mainly in Cupressus guadalupensis cypress on the island of Guadalupe with a few bird in other forested habitats. Three to four eggs are laid in its nest, either a depression in the ground or in the lower branches of a tree, from February to June. The eggs are greenish white with reddish brown spots.
Grazing introduced goats are the major threat to this bird. This bird used to be abundant, but now only 50-100 birds are thought to survive. This bird is sometimes thought to be a race of the Dark-eyed Junco.
The ornithologist Robert Ridgway described the bird.
Resources
BirdLife International (2006) Species factsheet: Junco insularis. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 27/6/2006
A Guide to the Birds of Mexico and Northern Central America by Howell and Webb ISBN 0-19-854012-4