Leara Mattice, age 10, of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, for her question:

What does the Junco bird eat?

Andy has a half tame junco friend who lives in the garden, summer and winter. The sprightly little bird and his cheerful kinfolk are very, very welcome because Andy's garden is pestered by weedy crabgrass. And juncos just love a between meal snack of crabgrass seed.

The little junco bird is not much to look at  but in character, he is worth his weight in diamonds. Andy's half tame junco is dressed in slate gray and, sad to say, the sparrow sized fellow is rather ragged. He was named Biddy, which was a mistake because he happens to be a Mr. Junco. His wife is more brownish than gray. Like most juncos, she keeps her soft feathers smooth and neat, but she is mare timid than her shabby husband. The junco looks like many other modestly dressed birds, but when he flies, he shows two banners of white down the sides of his sprightly tail. So does the meadow lark    but the lark is more colorful and is famous as a songster. The junco has only one note and he chirps this same happy sound again and again.

There are juncos, plenty of cheerful juncos everywhere, from the Arctic Circle to Guatemala. They are with us summer and winter, merrily flitting among the boughs and gathering in groups to banquet on the ground. In summer, they eat a few bugs and gobble fat caterpillars from the garden greenery. But their basic, year round diet is seeds. Juncos enjoy all the weedy grass seeds, especially seeds of the pesky crabgrass. Some bird watchers say that juncos' favorite snacks are the ragweed seeds.

The juncos of various regions vary somewhat in size and show slight changes of color. Andy's garden in the Southwest is visited by juncos with white vests and juncos with black caps, as well as Biddy and his ordinary kinfolk. Avery special junco makes his home in the woods and gardens of Toronto, in Ontario, Canada. This hardy, slate colored bird is seen in wintery weather, hopping around on the snow. People call him the snowbird.

This sturdy character and his cheerful kinfolk, it seems, are not usually bothered by the cold. But winter seeds may be scarce. The juncos are helpful birds in the summer . garden, so they deserve a little help in the winter. It is a good idea to feed them and they welcome any kind of grain or seeds. Spread the food on the ground and watch them dine. Try spreading a handful of grain on your window sill. Some of your juncos may be bold enough to flit right up there and snitch it, even when you are watching from the other side of the window.

Juncos spend most of their time on or near the ground, where their food is likely to be. Their nests also are low and near the ground, sometimes in a tree root or a fallen log. Others build in low bushes or under overhanging roofs. Mosses and grass are used to build the neat little nest. Tender leaves and scraps of hair are used to line it. Mrs. Junco's eggs are palest blue and spotted with brown freckles.