I realized recently that I have thought of the diversity among birds as stemming from the thousands of species that exist in the world. But then, the beautiful diversity among humans exists within a single species. So, the observation this week of this odd-looking junco on our terrace prompted me to remember that juncos are a diverse lot, and all of the juncos found in North America (excluding Mexico) are of the same species. I thought, wrongly, that our New England dark-eyed juncos had only dark tail feathers because hopping around our terrace they only exhibit the top dark feathers.

Then I saw this fellow with what appeared to be a lovely white tail. Could it be a new junco variant perhaps like the other variants across the continent? Well, on closer inspection of other juncos in our yard and my photographs of them, it became obvious that the dark top tail feathers cover white feathers below. My white-tailed junco had probably lost his top tail feathers exposing the white ones.

But, at least temporarily until his full tail grows back, he or she is an example of the beauty of diversity even within the east coast variant of a single species! And also an example of strength in diversity in that my junco seemed perfectly able to fly away even with a reduced set of tail feathers.

As a rule, the photos that I have used in this blog are all mine. However, to show the beautiful diversity of juncos in America and, in view of the restrictions on travel, I will borrow some stock photos found on the Internet. I look forward to seeing them all in the flesh some day.

Meanwhile, a grey mid-February, mid-pandemic day in 2021 seems as good a time as any to reflect on both the strength and the beauty of diversity.

Pied Beauty by Gerald Manley Hopkins

Glory be to God for dappled things –

For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;

For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;

Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings;

Landscape plotted and pieced – fold, fallow, and plough;

And all trades, their gear and tackle and trim.

All things counter, original, spare, strange;

Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)

With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;

He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:

Praise him.