prettygoodword

junco (JUHNG-koh) - n., any of several small, mostly grey North American birds of the genus Junco.

I'd be a little more specific, but the ornithologists are still arguing over whether they are a kind of sparrow or finch, and even how many species there are -- somewhere between three and twelve. They breed in coniferous woodlands, and are often noticed in winter as they are one of the birds who remain around the longest -- though if it gets too too cold in winter, they migrate either south or downslope. Confusingly, the name seems to come from Spanish junco ave, bird of the rushes, with the junco part coming from Latin juncus, rush -- confusing because they are most definitely not marshland birds.