Volcano Junco

How to find it

Go high: it is often quite tame around parking areas and trails near volcano summits. It is often seen on roadcuts and parking areas at Irazú, Turrialba, Poás and Chirripó. On Irazú it sings from the tops of bushes and hops next to cars. It lives at low density, so it is less common than you might expect and patience helps. Scan the ground and the roadside first, then low bushes and boulders. Recordists on Cerro de la Muerte found birds calling from low in a short bush and from the top of a large boulder.

How to recognise it

This is a fairly large, stocky grassland bird, 16 cm long. Look for these marks:

A pale pink bill.

Bright yellow eyes.

Dull grey underparts.

A dull brown back with dark streaks.

Young birds are a brighter brown above, with blacker streaks, and their underparts are more buff-coloured, so a juvenile can look quite different from its parents.

Behaviour and diet

The Volcano Junco is usually found in pairs, sometimes alone or in family groups. It typically feeds on the ground, hopping and running to pick up seeds. It rarely flies far, which keeps it near roadsides and trail edges.

The nest is a grass cup placed on the ground under a rock, log or bush, or in a mossy bank. The female lays two pale blue eggs. Breeding runs from March to July.

Where it lives

It lives in open páramo with grass or shrubs, small scrub regrowth after eruptions, old pastures and roadsides at very high sites. One source gives its elevation range as roughly 2600 to 3800 m. Forest clearing on Cerro de la Muerte lets it live as low as about 2600 m.

In Costa Rica it occurs above the treeline on the Irazú-Turrialba massif and on the Talamanca peaks. An isolated group lives at about 2100 m on the Durika savanna.

When to see it

It is a year-round resident and does not migrate, so you can see it in any month. Breeding runs from March to July.

Similar birds

The Timberline Wren shares the habitat but is a small, skulking, chestnut-brown bird of brush, about 10 cm long. The junco is much bigger, about 16 cm, and grey below. Its high volcano and páramo range also sets it apart from the northern juncos.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

In Costa Rica the official Spanish name is Junco Paramero. Other Spanish names listed are Junco Volcanero and Junco de los Volcanes. Páramo is the high, cold habitat where it lives.

Status and conservation

The AOCR lists it as a resident endemic (R-END), and the IUCN rates it Least Concern.

Photography tips

On Irazú the junco is not shy, singing from the tops of bushes and hopping next to cars. Because it forages on the ground by running and hopping, it stays near roadside and trail edges, which makes it approachable for photographs. Low density means patience helps.