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Junco Perhaps?


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cismontanus (English name of Cassiar Junco) is considered in the Slate-colored Junco subspecies group, so there's no real distinction in arguing over whether it's one or the other, as at some taxonomic level, they are considered one and the same.

The 800-pound gorilla in the room is that cismontanus is almost certainly a hybrid between Oregon and Slate-colored, but, given the narrow official description of cismontanus, it lies at the Slate-colored end of the huge spectrum of appearance of hybrids between Oregon and Slate-colored. It is, essentially, a junco with the coloration of hyemalis Slate-colored but the plumage pattern of Oregon (presumably whichever form breeds in western BC). That is, adult males have a black hood contrasting strongly and sharply with a gray back and sides.

The other problem with this "taxon" is that quite a few years ago, eBird ditched its "Slate-colored x Oregon Junco (hybrid)" entry and replaced it with the cismontanus entry. That means that the entry is a dumping ground for all manner of Slate-colored x Oregon Junco hybrids, not just the taxon narrowly described as cismontanus. Considering that Slate-colored breeding range approaches or overlaps three very different-looking Oregon subspecies, this treatment by eBird is absolutely horrid. There are hybrid entries in eBird for every junco combo of which we're aware, but NOT FOR SLATE-COLORED X OREGON, which is, far and away, the most numerous hybrid in juncos, but with an overlap zone that spans, perhaps, 1000 km.

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