[TopOfUtah] Cassiar Juncos in Utah?

[Ryan O'Donnell]

I was wondering what the list knows about Cassiar Juncos (Junco hyemalis
cismontanus, also known as the Canadian Rocky Mountains Junco) in Utah.
I've seen a few birds in my yard lately that I considered this
subspecies.  When I've been entering them in Ebird, I've been callng
them "Slate-colored Juncos" because Cassiar Juncos are considered part
of the Slate-colored group (see
http://web.mac.com/naturalvideo/The_Birding_Commons/Dark-eyed_Junco.html
for example).  But I just realized that the Ebird database considers
"Slate-colored" Juncos to be J. h. hyemalis or J. h. carolinensis, but
not J. h. cismontanus and has a separate category for this subspecies
that is not included in the Utah checklist.  Has anyone else been seeing
this subspecies?  Here are a few photos of a recent candidate from my
yard (these are all the same bird):
 
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/Tsirtalis/13Slate-coloredJunco.j
pg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/Tsirtalis/14Slate-coloredJuncoQ.
jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/Tsirtalis/15Slate-coloredJuncoQ.
jpg
http://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n105/Tsirtalis/12Slate-coloredJuncoQ.
jpg
 
Another Cassiar candidate that was in the yard yesterday had pure gray
in the sides and back with none of these brownish tones, but had a black
hood that was distinct from the gray flanks and back.
 
While we're on the topic of Junco subspecies, I recently heard that
White-winged Juncos occur rarely in Utah.  I haven't seen this
subspecies in the state and I wonder if there are any documented
records.  I know that Slate-colored Juncos can occassionally have white
wing bars and when they do they are often confused for White-winged
Juncos.  Does anyone else on the list have any photos of or experience
with White-winged Juncos in Utah?
 
With the recent arrival of Pink-sided Juncos in big numbers and the even
more recent arrival of Gray-headed Juncos, the Junco subspecies
diversity seems to be at a peak right now.  There are still several
Oregon and Slate-colored Juncos in the mix that have yet to migrate
home.  If Cassiar Juncos are counted as another subspecies, that makes
five in my yard yesterday alone!
 
Thanks for your thoughts,
 
Ryan
 
Ryan P. O'Donnell
Department of Biology and the Ecology Center
Utah State University
5305 Old Main Hill
Logan, UT 84322-5305
 
http://200birds.blogspot.com