Confused juncos

[thouc]

Two times this winter I have accidentally disturbed a junco after dark, at the porch and in the carport. When disturbed, it flew around very erratically and confusedly, bumping into stuff and changing directions frequently. I guess it was sleeping and had a hard time getting its bearings after waking up suddenly.

/Thomas

[Dinusaur]

Some birds can sleep with one eye open and thus more alert and can navigate better at night. I guess Juncos are not in that group. This is an interesting area - not sure if there's much study about how diurnal birds react to threats (such as you accidentally disturbing them) at night.