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Bird

Dark-eyed Junco

Junco hyemalis

A winter visitor to Alabama, found in all 67 counties and 19 habitats.

Here
Winter
Nesting
Not known to nest here
Range
All 67 counties
Habitats
19

At a glance

Group
Birds
Here
Winter
Nesting
Not known to nest here
Range
All 67 counties
Habitats
19
Habitat models
Summer, Winter

Where it lives

The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.

Habitats in Alabama 19

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 19

Cliffs, ledges and rocky summits

Trees and rocks on Little Kennesaw Mountain.
SummerWinterSouthern Piedmont CliffNamed place / source context. Shown: Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, Georgia, a neighboring state.Trees and rocks on Little Kennesaw Mountain., Unidentified in HFC record, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Forests and woodlands

Trail on Little Kennesaw Mountain.
SummerSouthern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Loblolly Pine Modifier; East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest - Offsite Pine ModifierNamed place / source context. Shown: Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, Georgia, a neighboring state.Trail on Little Kennesaw Mountain., Unidentified in HFC record, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Freshwater marshes

The Great Florida Marsh
SummerWinterCentral Interior and Appalachian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland SystemsMartin Johnson Heade, The Great Florida Marsh (1886): open marsh and lily-dotted water beneath live oaks and cabbage palms. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Florida (Heade, The Great Florida Marsh, 1886; North Carolina Museum of Art), a neighboring state.The Great Florida Marsh, Martin Johnson Heade, 1886. Public domain. Source record.

Pine flatwoods

Georgia Pines
WinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier; East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier; East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine FlatwoodsGeorge Inness, Georgia Pines (1890): tall, straight pines over an open, grassy floor in a south Georgia pine woods. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Georgia pine woods (George Inness, 1890; site not named), a neighboring state.Georgia Pines, George Inness (1825-1894), 1890. Public domain. Source record.

Pine savannas

Beautiful Savannah in the Pine Woods of Florida
WinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Savanna and Wet PrairieGeorge Catlin, Beautiful Savannah in the Pine Woods of Florida (1834-35): an open grassy savanna with a shallow pond, ringed by tall pines, with palmettos and red wildflowers. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Pine woods of Florida (George Catlin, 1834-35; Smithsonian American Art Museum), a neighboring state.Beautiful Savannah in the Pine Woods of Florida, George Catlin, 1834-1835. Public domain. Source record.

Streams, rivers and their banks

Blue Spring, Florida
SummerWinterCumberland RiverscourWinslow Homer, Blue Spring, Florida (1890): clear blue spring water under overhanging palms. Shown: Blue Spring, Florida (Winslow Homer, 1890; National Gallery of Art), a neighboring state.Blue Spring, Florida, Winslow Homer, 1890. Public domain. Source record.

Swamps

Florida, Sunset on the Ocklawaha
SummerWinterSouthern Piedmont/Ridge and Valley Upland Depression SwampFlorida, Sunset on the Ocklawaha (1899): a dark swamp-lined river at sunset, with cypress and hardwoods crowding both banks. Shown: Ocklawaha River, Florida, a neighboring state.Florida, Sunset on the Ocklawaha, Detroit Photographic Co. (chromolithograph), 1899. Public domain. Source record.

Disturbed and introduced wetlands

Wet ground taken over by weedy or introduced plants after disturbance, such as common reed, Chinese tallow or tamarisk stands; the upland counterpart is roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.

SummerWinter

Dry forests and woodlands

Forests and open woodlands on dry ridges and slopes, often oak or pine.

SummerEast Gulf Coastal Plain Limestone Forest; East Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Dry Upland Hardwood Forest; Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Hardwood; Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Hardwood Modifier; Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest; Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest; Southern Appalachian Low Mountain Pine Forest

Forest edges and thickets

Borders of forests, clearings and shrubby thickets.

SummerWinterDisturbed/Successional - Shrub Regeneration; Successional Shrub/Scrub (Other); Harvested Forest - Shrub Regeneration

Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone

Open, thin-soil openings and rock on limestone, dolomite or other lime-rich rock, including cedar glades.

SummerWinterSouthern Interior Calcareous Cliff; Ridge and Valley Calcareous Valley Bottom Glade and Woodland; Central Interior Highlands Calcareous Glade and Barrens

Granite and other acidic rock outcrops

Bare or thin-soil rock on granite, gneiss, sandstone, quartzite and similar acidic rock, including granite flatrocks and domes.

SummerWinterSouthern Interior Acid Cliff; Southern Appalachian Granitic Dome; Cumberland Sandstone Glade and Barrens

Hardwood and oak flatwoods

Flat, poorly drained uplands and terraces with oaks, sweetgum and sometimes loblolly pine, wet in winter and dry in summer, but neither a floodplain nor a swamp.

WinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Plain Dry Flatwoods - Open Understory Modifier; South-Central Interior / Upper Coastal Plain Wet Flatwoods

Moderately dry forests

Forests between dry and moist, often oak-hickory on slopes.

SummerEast Gulf Coastal Plain Limestone Forest; Southern Interior Low Plateau Dry-Mesic Oak Forest

Moist forests

Forests on moist but not wet ground, such as rich slopes and ravines.

SummerSouthern Piedmont Mesic Forest

Prairies and grasslands

Open, grass-dominated places kept open by fire, grazing or thin soil, from tallgrass prairie to Piedmont prairies.

WinterEast Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Herbaceous Modifier; East Gulf Coastal Plain Jackson Prairie and Woodland

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

SummerWinterDeveloped, Open Space; Disturbed/Successional - Grass/Forb Regeneration; Utility Swath - Herbaceous; Disturbed, Non-specific; Ruderal Upland - Old Field

Tree plantations and managed pine

Planted or intensively managed stands of pine or hardwoods grown for timber; a land use rather than a natural community.

SummerDeciduous Plantation; Evergreen Plantation or Managed Pine; Managed Tree Plantation

Wet meadows

Open, wet, grassy or sedgy ground that is not a bog.

SummerWinterCentral Interior and Appalachian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland Systems
Other habitats in its models (93)

Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Alabama. Those recorded in Alabama first, the rest by region.

In Alabama 1

  • Southern Piedmont Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.
Elsewhere in the South (32)
  • Appalachian Shale Barrens Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Wet Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland Winter.
  • Central and Southern Appalachian Montane Oak Forest Summer.
  • Central and Southern Appalachian Northern Hardwood Forest Summer.
  • Central and Southern Appalachian Spruce-Fir Forest Summer.
  • Central Atlantic Coastal Plain Wet Longleaf Pine Savanna and Flatwoods Winter.
  • Central Florida Herbaceous Pondshore Winter.
  • Central Interior Highlands Dry Acidic Glade and Barrens Summer and winter.
  • Crosstimbers Oak Forest and Woodland Winter.
  • East-Central Texas Plains Post Oak Savanna and Woodland Winter.
  • Edwards Plateau Limestone Savanna and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Lower Mississippi River Flatwoods Winter.
  • Nashville Basin Limestone Glade Winter.
  • Northern Crowley's Ridge Sand Forest Winter.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Riparian Winter.
  • Ozark-Ouachita Shortleaf Pine-Bluestem Woodland Winter.
  • Southern and Central Appalachian Bog and Fen Summer and winter.
  • Southern and Central Appalachian Cove Forest Summer.
  • Southern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest Summer.
  • Southern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald Summer and winter.
  • Southern Appalachian Montane Cliff Summer and winter.
  • Southern Appalachian Montane Pine Forest and Woodland Summer.
  • Southern Appalachian Rocky Summit Summer and winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Catahoula Barrens Winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Nepheline Syenite Glade Winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Nonriverine Wet Hardwood Flatwoods Winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Calcareous Prairie Winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Pine-Hardwood Flatwoods Winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Calcareous Prairie Winter.
  • West Gulf Coastal Plain Upland Longleaf Pine Forest and Woodland Winter.
  • Western Great Plains Mesquite Woodland and Shrubland Winter.
Northeast (9)
  • Acadian Low-Elevation Spruce-Fir-Hardwood Forest Summer.
  • Appalachian Hemlock-Hardwood Forest Summer.
  • Central Appalachian Alkaline Glade and Woodland Summer and winter.
  • Central Appalachian Oak and Pine Forest Summer.
  • Central Appalachian Pine-Oak Rocky Woodland Summer.
  • North-Central Appalachian Acidic Cliff and Talus Summer and winter.
  • North-Central Appalachian Circumneutral Cliff and Talus Summer and winter.
  • North-Central Interior Wet Flatwoods Winter.
  • Northeastern Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest Summer.
Midwest (11)
  • Central Interior Acidic Cliff and Talus Summer and winter.
  • Central Interior Calcareous Cliff and Talus Summer and winter.
  • Central Mixedgrass Prairie Summer.
  • North-Central Interior Beech-Maple Forest Summer.
  • North-Central Interior Dry Oak Forest and Woodland Summer.
  • North-Central Interior Dry-Mesic Oak Forest and Woodland Summer.
  • North-Central Interior Maple-Basswood Forest Summer.
  • North-Central Interior Oak Savanna Summer and winter.
  • North-Central Interior Sand and Gravel Tallgrass Prairie Summer.
  • North-Central Oak Barrens Summer and winter.
  • Western Great Plains Wooded Draw and Ravine Winter.
Land cover and other classes (40)
  • Allegheny-Cumberland Dry Oak Forest and Woodland - Pine Modifier Summer.
  • Arkansas Valley Prairie and Woodland Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-Line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Fall-line Sandhills Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Winter.
  • Central Appalachian Floodplain - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Central Appalachian Riparian - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Developed, Low Intensity Winter.
  • Developed, Medium Intensity Winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Loblolly Modifier Winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Open Understory Modifier Winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Interior Upland Longleaf Pine Woodland - Scrub/Shrub Modifier Winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Near-Coast Pine Flatwoods - Offsite Hardwood Modifier Winter.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Depression Pondshore Winter.
  • Eastern Great Plains Floodplain Systems Summer.
  • Eastern Great Plains Wet Meadow, Prairie, and Marsh Summer and winter.
  • Eastern Highland Rim Prairie and Barrens - Dry Modifier Winter.
  • Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Open Understory Modifier Winter.
  • Florida Longleaf Pine Sandhill - Scrub/Shrub Understory Modifier Winter.
  • Harvested Forest - Grass/Forb Regeneration Summer and winter.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Annual Grassland Summer and winter.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Forbland Summer and winter.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland Summer and winter.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Shrub Summer and winter.
  • Introduced Upland Vegetation - Treed Summer.
  • Modified/Managed Southern Tall Grassland Winter.
  • Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest - Virginia/Pitch Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Northeastern Interior Dry Oak Forest-Hardwood Modifier Summer.
  • Recently Burned Summer and winter.
  • Recently Burned Forest Summer and winter.
  • Recently Burned Grassland Summer.
  • Recently Burned Shrubland Summer and winter.
  • Recently Logged Areas Summer and winter.
  • Southern and Central Appalachian Oak Forest - Xeric Summer.
  • Southern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald - Herbaceous Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Appalachian Grass and Shrub Bald - Shrub Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-(Pine) Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer.
  • Southern Piedmont Dry Oak-Heath Forest - Mixed Modifier Summer.
  • Southern Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forest - Pine modifier Summer.

All habitats

Seasons in Alabama

  • Winter: does not nest here, in all 67 counties.

Food plants

Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Plants matched by genus.

Native plants in these genera 214

Plant genera in its diet records (26)
  • Polygonum Seeds. 2 diet records. 4 native plants in Alabama
  • Amaranthus Seeds. 1 diet record. 2 native plants in Alabama
  • Ambrosia Seeds. 1 diet record. 4 native plants in Alabama
  • Anthemis Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Alabama
  • Avena Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Alabama
  • Brassica Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Alabama
  • Calandrinia Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Alabama
  • Carex Seeds. 1 diet record. 140 native plants in Alabama
  • Centaurea Seeds. 1 diet record. 1 native plant in Alabama
  • Claytonia Seeds. 1 diet record. 2 native plants in Alabama
  • Erodium Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Alabama
  • Geranium Seeds. 1 diet record. 2 native plants in Alabama
  • Lupinus Seeds. 1 diet record. 2 native plants in Alabama
  • Madia Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Alabama
  • Panicum Seeds. 1 diet record. 6 native plants in Alabama
  • Phleum Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Alabama
  • Portulaca Seeds. 1 diet record. 2 native plants in Alabama
  • Rumex Seeds. 1 diet record. 3 native plants in Alabama
  • Silene Seeds. 1 diet record. 8 native plants in Alabama
  • Solanum Seeds. 1 diet record. 6 native plants in Alabama
  • Sonchus Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Alabama
  • Spergula Seeds. 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Alabama
  • Stellaria Seeds. 1 diet record. 2 native plants in Alabama
  • Toxicodendron Seeds. 1 diet record. 3 native plants in Alabama
  • Trifolium Seeds. 1 diet record. 2 native plants in Alabama
  • Viola Seeds. 1 diet record. 25 native plants in Alabama

Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.

Also found in its main habitats

Its main habitats in Alabama, by how much of its habitat model each one is, with the birds most characteristic of each and the plants that grow wild there. Shared habitat, not food.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Birds 103

Plants 1485

All of roadsides, fields and disturbed ground in Alabama

Granite and other acidic rock outcrops

Birds 26

Plants 71

All of granite and other acidic rock outcrops in Alabama

Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone

Birds 38

Plants 191

All of glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone in Alabama

USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models.

Sources