Ask anyone who does a lot of skiing to describe a snow bird and you'll probably get a lot of smart answers about attractive women in tight fitting ski suits but, the snow bird really is a bird that's native to North America.

The dark-eyed junco

The dark-eyed junco is commonly referred to as the snow bird. The dark-eyed junco lives all over the United States and is only about five or six inches long. They're small birds and even though the male is slightly bigger than the female, he's still small.

The dark-eyed junco has a gray body and has either a pink or a white underside. The male dark-eyed junco, or snow bird, has brighter plumage and also has what looks like a dark hood on its head. The dark-eyed junco has distinctive white tail feathers, which is probably why the bird got the nickname snow bird. The 15 dark-eyed junco birds vary in color, but only slightly.

Kinds of snow birds

Many of the 15 types of dark-eyed junco birds have been given nicknames according to their color or the region they frequent the most. For example, the pink sided dark-eyed junco, or snow bird got its name because of its pink under side. This bird lives in the Rocky Mountains and can be found in several western states. The Oregon dark-eyed junco is found primarily in Oregon and along the North Pacific.

Making a nest

The snow bird likes to make its nest out of different types of grass. Some of the grass the bird uses as nest material is course and sturdy while some of it is much thinner and softer. The softer grasses are usually placed on the inside of the nest. The snow bird will also scrounge around for hair — either animal or human — and add that to the inner lining of its nest as well.

A funny fact

Even though the dark-eyed junco is called the snow bird, it doesn't necessarily like the snow. In fact, when it snows in northern states, the snow bird actually flees to the south. Scientists have observed that snow bird populations in the southwestern part of the United States actually increase in the winter time while northern populations decrease. The snow bird will also find residential places in the winter to keep itself warm, dispelling the illusion that this bird is a tough winter warrior.