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The Mystery Bird for December 21st was submitted by Bob Barber of Alamogordo, NM. Bob says, " The only Juncos that breed in the mountains of AZ and NM are the red-backed form of the Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis dorsalis), and the Yellow-eyed Junco (Junco phaeonotus). In my picture, the dark loral area (between the eye and bill), and the pinkish, bicolored bill are seen, and are clues that it is a Junco. Even the juvenile Yellow-eyed has pale eyes, where it is dark on my bird. Of course, it is the streaked sides that will confuse some folks, since this feature is only seen in young birds until the fall, but I suspect that many will be able to identify it by elimination."The correct answer was submitted by:
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