Meet SNAG (his leg bands are Sky blue – browN – Aluminum – Green). He lives at approx. 3100 ft above sea level, in a campground along Highway 120 in Stanislaus National Forest. He seems to be doing well: he has a mate, and when I say he lives in a campground, well… actually his territory appears to encompass the entire campground!

SNAG

His mass is about normal for what we’ve been seeing – 17.6 grams – and he has no visible subcutaneous fat, like most of the juncos we’ve caught. So he’s probably fine, but he could stand to eat more. And he’s working on it: when we caught him he had prey in his bill! They look like aphids to me, but I haven’t really tried to identify them yet.