General Description: Yellow-eyed Juncos (Junco phaeonotus) are small, sexually monomorphic, sparrows with a bright yellow eye. The head and body are gray, the face is black, the back is reddish, the bill is pink, and dark tail has white outer tail feathers. Often as they flutter away, all you see are the white, V-shaped tail feathers.

Taxonomy: Passeriformes, Emberizidae.

Favored Habitat: Middle and higher elevation mountains in Mexico and Central America; plus the extension of these mountains into southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico. Winter at lower elevations in the same mountains.

Where to Find: Don't look for Yellow-eyed Juncos around Las Vegas. Rather, look for them in southeastern Arizona and southward into central America. Madera Canyon, south of Tucson, and the Chiricahua Mountains of southeastern Arizona are good places to find this species.

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