My little visitors poorly captured. Dark-Eyed Junco?

@TheHorse (238298)
Walnut Creek, California
September 5, 2019 11:07am CST
I put some seed out on my balcony and was visited by this couple, both on Monday and again yesterday (Wednesday). I was about to water my balcony plants yesterday and essentially walked right up to them. To my surprise, they did not fly away. It would seem they're pretty used to humans. What my picture doesn't show is that they look like your garden variety sparrow, but with attractive and striking black hoods. I did some research, and the closest match I could find was the Dark-Eyed Junco. It's a sparrow that is common throughout the US, and can often be found looking for seeds on forest floors. According to one site, most are migratory but some are not. I'll attach a better picture in a comment. I found one that looks exactly like my little visitors.
8 people like this
8 responses
CarolDM
@CarolDM (203396)
• Nashville, Tennessee
5 Sep 19
I never see Juncos but if you do, you are a lucky dude.
2 people like this
The Horse
@TheHorse (238298)
• Walnut Creek, California
5 Sep 19
I'm not sure I'd seen this particular sub-species, or whatever the right word is, here before. According to what I read, they're very common in the US.
2 people like this
The Horse
@TheHorse (238298)
• Walnut Creek, California
5 Sep 19
I just put some more seed out. I hope they return.
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CarolDM
@CarolDM (203396)
• Nashville, Tennessee
5 Sep 19
@TheHorse Yes they are common and are suppose to be here in the winter but I never see them.
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Judy Evans
@JudyEv (381990)
• Rockingham, Australia
6 Sep 19
I always think it's a lovely surprise when a bird I don't know turns up in our birdbath.
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The Horse
@TheHorse (238298)
• Walnut Creek, California
6 Sep 19
I hope I have identified this "couple" correctly.
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The Horse
@TheHorse (238298)
• Walnut Creek, California
6 Sep 19
@JudyEv Heh. That's true. Especially the birds themselves.
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Judy Evans
@JudyEv (381990)
• Rockingham, Australia
6 Sep 19
@TheHorse Probably very few would know if you were wrong.
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Anna
@LadyDuck (502345)
• Italy
6 Sep 19
I checked online to see how this bird looks like, we have birds very similar to this one here.
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Anna
@LadyDuck (502345)
• Italy
6 Sep 19
@TheHorse I have seen sparrows everywhere I have been.
The Horse
@TheHorse (238298)
• Walnut Creek, California
6 Sep 19
I wonder if they can be found around the world. I think that sparrows in general are pretty universal.
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Eva James
@wolfgirl569 (135690)
• Marion, Ohio
5 Sep 19
They do look a lot like the barn sparrows here. Tippy cat is always happy to see those leave. They dive bomb her
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Eva James
@wolfgirl569 (135690)
• Marion, Ohio
6 Sep 19
@TheHorse They only seem to pick on the one cat here. They dont bother the other one. Now that she has got older, Tippy just ignores them. But she used to jump at them a few times then run for shelter.
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The Horse
@TheHorse (238298)
• Walnut Creek, California
6 Sep 19
@wolfgirl569 A fun show, I'm sure, though not so much so for Tippy.
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The Horse
@TheHorse (238298)
• Walnut Creek, California
6 Sep 19
Up in Montana, the sparrows and barn swallows would dive bomb all of the kitties interested in their nests. It was fun to watch. Pretty much the same show every Summer afternoon.
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Felicia Kane
@DesirousDreamer (34776)
• Peoria, Arizona
5 Sep 19
So cute! I love learning about different birds, because we don't have that many different kinds here. I can name like 7 maybe 8. I love sparrows, they always look so cute and fluffy.
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The Horse
@TheHorse (238298)
• Walnut Creek, California
5 Sep 19
I enjoyed our sparrows when I was growing up in Chicago.
The Horse
@TheHorse (238298)
• Walnut Creek, California
5 Sep 19
Do you have wild lovebirds in your part of Arizona?
Felicia Kane
@DesirousDreamer (34776)
• Peoria, Arizona
9 Sep 19
@TheHorse We do, even though obviously not native, but we don't get them anywhere around me. I would probably flip if I saw a lovebird haha
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Hanni Harel
@Hannihar (130150)
• Israel
6 Sep 19
@TheHorse Thanks for that. That was interesting.
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The Horse
@TheHorse (238298)
• Walnut Creek, California
6 Sep 19
I hope they keep visiting for awhile.
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The Horse
@TheHorse (238298)
• Walnut Creek, California
8 Sep 19
@Hannihar The seed I put out is gone, but for all I know it was the mean old blue jays who got to it.
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Hanni Harel
@Hannihar (130150)
• Israel
8 Sep 19
@TheHorse I hope they visit you again too.
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rakski
@rakski (156331)
• Philippines
5 Sep 19
they sure love the seeds
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The Horse
@TheHorse (238298)
• Walnut Creek, California
6 Sep 19
Yep, what I left this morning before work is gone now.
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Nasya Aulia
@kasmakarim (1932)
• Indonesia
6 Sep 19
I'm glad you have small and cute visitors
1 person likes this
The Horse
@TheHorse (238298)
• Walnut Creek, California
6 Sep 19
It makes my day a bit more pleasant.