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MONTANA STATE LIBRARY

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Montana Department of Commerce

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STATE OOCUMINTS COLLECnOH

SEP 0 7 1983

MONTANA. STATE tlBRAR/

1515 t. iff. AVE.
HEIENA, MONTANA 59620

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"One swallow does not make a summer, but one skein of geese,

cleaving the murk of a March thaw, is the spring."

-Aldo Leopold

PLEASE RETURN

A careful observer can find signs of wildlife in many places in Montana— there's a home here
for animals as big as the bison or as small as the shrew. Along some of our waterways, a riffle
on the surface may reveal a beaver carrying a willow branch to add to its food store. Bleizes on
aspen trunks show that a porcupine has enjoyed a meal there. Swirls of flattened grass in a
mountain meadow mark where elk have bedded down for an afternoon rest.

1986

^ igag Just knowing that a wild thing has been
there before you may be enough for most
people, but anglers, hunters, and photog-
raphers can all bring home the evidence of
an abundance of wildlife from Montana's
streams, mountains, and plains.

This chapter describes the principal spe-
cies, their habits and habitats, and some of
their unique qualities.

Pronghom: Antilocapra americana

The pronghorn, or antelope, is a plains
animal that ranges into grassy mountain-
ous areas, mostly in central and eastern
Montana. It depends on sagebrush for win-
ter forage. Some small herds now thrive
west of the Continental Divide where they
were reintroduced after becoming nearly
extinct around the turn of the century. A
small number of Montana pronghorns in-
troduced in one of the Hawaiian Islands in
the 1950s are well established there.
Pronghorns are among the fastest animals
on earth, and have been clocked at 70 miles

an hour for short periods; 45 miles an hour
is not unusual. Their speed and their excel-
lent eyesight are their defenses against
predators. (A pronghorn is pictured in the
Grasslands chapter.)

Moose: Alces alces

This largest member of the deer family
lives mostly in the northern coniferous
forests of this continent, and is found
along waterways where aspen and willows
give shelter and browse. Moose are adapt-
able, and eat the leaves and tender bran-
ches of chokecherry and serviceberry as
well as aquatic plants.

Though awkward in appearance, the
moose has a fast, easy gait, and is a good
swimmer, as well. The young are born
every two years, and are often twins. When
disturbed or cornered, moose can inflict in-
jury with their sharp-hoofed front feet. The
males also use their broad, scoop-like
antlers. (For another picture, see the
Grasslands chapter.)

Moose

Monlatlii Department ot Fish. U'ildlile & Parks

Montana Dppartmenl of Fish, Wildlife & Parks

£lk

Elk: Cervus elaphus

Next largest in size to the moose, elk,
whose correct name is wapiti, are numer-
ous in western and central Montana, rang-
ing from grassy benchlands to mountain
meadows. The young are born in late April
or May, usually singly. Elk move from
lower ranges to higher areas as warming
weather melts the snow and forage grows
again. Elk once ranged throughout
Montana but are now found primarily in
the western portion of the state.

A full-grown bull elk will weigh 800
pounds; the older males carry a "rack" of
antlers that may be five feet across. The

elk's coat is buff-colored, with dark brown
on the legs and neck.

White-Tailed Deer:

Odocoileus virginianus

These deer live in all parts of Montana,
and usually are seen along brushy creek
bottoms and river land. They also range
into dense coniferous forests. The white
flash of its tail distinguishes this species
from the mule deer. The young, often
twins, are born in early May.

Mule Deer: Odocoileus hemionus

Because they like open space, these deer
are seen more often in forest clearings,
prairie country, and upland benches. They
are found at higher elevations than white-
tails, and are abundant throughout
Montana. They prefer broken terrain like
that in eastern Montana, but can be found
in almost every habitat.

Bison: Bison bison

The northern plains bison or buffalo is
now seen in Montana only in Yellowstone
Park, and some game refuges such as the
National Bison Range in the Flathead Val-
ley and the Fort Peck Game Range in east-
ern Montana. A few small privately owned
herds are also scattered around the state.
This huge member of the bovidae (or cattle)
family once numbered in the millions and
had a range from alpine tundra to eastern
U.S. forests.

Adults are dark brown, and the males
have a heavy, shaggy mane; the young are
a light reddish tan. The bulls weigh be-
tween 1,800 to 2,000 pounds and may be
five feet high and from 9 to 12 feet from
nose to tail.

Comparative sizes of wildlife and human

Mountain Sheep

Montana Department of Commerce

Mountain Sheep ("Bighorn"):

Ovis canadensis

These animals have a quite different hab-
itat than the mountain goats— they prefer
both lower and more open areas, especially
dense grasslands near steep cliffs which
they use for escape cover. Their tawny
brown coats allow them to blend in with
the rocky terrain. In the last part of the
19th century into the first part of the 20th.

they were hunted until their numbers were
greatly reduced. The magnificent curled
horns of the adult males made them sought
after by trophy hunters. This, as well as
diseases contracted from domestic sheep
that came into their range, lowered their
population. Now on the increase, bighorns
have been transplanted into several moun-
tainous areas in Montana.

Montana Department of Commerce

Mountain Goat

Mountain Goat:

Oreamnos americanns

Another member of the bovidae family,
this sure-footed animal uses its padded
hooves to get the traction it needs to climb
and jump in the high rocky country where
it lives at elevations between 5,000 and
11,000 feet. It feeds on alpine forbs and
grasses on these open areas; in winter the
wind keeps its food supply from being cov-
ered by snow.

Goats have heavy long fur; their white
coats let them blend in with snow patches
on the cliffs and slopes. They have short
curved horns with sharp points. The
young, often twins, are born late in the
spring.

Bears: Black and Grizzly:

Family Ursidae

Both black and grizzly bears live in the
spruce-fir forests of western Montana;
some black bears may be found in the open
ponderosa pine woods of the mountains
farther east. Grizzlies require isolated ter-
rain; Glacier and Yellowstone national
parks, the Bob Marshall Wilderness Area,
the Mission Wilderness Area, and the Sun
River Game Preserve are their only true
refuges in Montana. Other remote areas
where they live include the Flathead and
Kootenai national forests, the Absaroka
"and Cabinet mountains, and a few similar

areas. The grizzly is considered a threat-
ened species— its numbers get fewer as its
habitat is limited by human intruders.

The grizzly (sometimes called the silver-
tip) gets its name from the silver-gray
guard hairs of its thick fur. The grizzly has
enormously long sharp claws that make it
easy to dig for tubers, insects, and burrow-
ing animals. Black bears may be either
brown, cinnamon, or black, but lack the
shoulder hump and scooped nose of the
grizzly.

Bears look for their early spring food
(marmots and other rodents) in rockslides.
Summer finds them moving to alpine
meadows where they eat grasses, forbs,
and small animals, and as fall comes, they
forage for berries and pine nuts. Although
bears have been considered as carnivores,
in reality meat makes up only 10 to 15 per-
cent of their diet. All bears seem to keep
enough distance between them to allow for
an ample food supply; in cases of food
shortages, they may range as far as 30
miles from their home territory.

Bears "den" rather than hibernate.
Grizzlies usually dig a north-facing burrow
at 8,000 to 9,000 feet altitude, where the
winter is spent in a light sleep. Body tem-
perature drops slightly, and heartbeat and
breathing rate slow. In this way, the animal
uses less of its reserves of body fat to sur-
vive the winter.

The young are born during the denning
period, every 2 or 3 years. A litter of two is
usual. The cubs stay with their mother
through their second year. Black bears den
earlier than grizzlies, and at lower alti-
tudes. They use caves, overhangs, or shel-
ters formed by downed timber, since they
lack the grizzlies' ability to dig burrows.

Lynx, Bobcat, and
Mountain Lion: Family Felidae

The lynx is slightly bigger than the bob-
cat, with large, heavily-furred feet that let
it travel easily over snow. It has a distinc-
tive square ruff around the jaws, black ear
tufts, and a black marking that circles the
tip of its tail.

The bobcat has a tawny, random-striped
coat, and its tail has only a partial black
tip. Both of these animals feed on small
mammals, eggs, insects, and carrion.

Montana Department of Fish. Wildlife & Parks

Mountain Lion

Their larger relative, the mountain lion
(or cougar), may reach a length of 8 feet
from nose to tail tip. Unlike the smaller
cats, it feeds on big game and kills from 14
to 20 deer a year, or 5 to 7 elk, enough to
obtain over 2,000 pounds of meat. After
eating as much as it can hold, the moun-
tain lion covers the prey to keep it from car-
rion eaters, saving it for later meals. Some
kills of coyotes, porcupines, and small ro-
dents complete the diet.

These cats are all shy, secretive animals
who avoid humans, and keep mostly to the
high mountain forests.

Coyotes, Wolves, and Foxes:

Family Canidae

Coyotes are the most widely-ranging
members of this group, adapting their
choice of food and methods of hunting to
where they live. They hunt in grasslands
for moles, ground squirrels, and gophers,
in rock slides and outcrops for marmots,
and along forested waterways for beavers,
porcupines, and an occasional frog.
Several coyotes sometimes work together
to surround a deer in the high country, and

they bring down old or crippled domestic
sheep and young lambs.

Coyotes are occasionally killed by bears
or mountain lions, but their chief enemy,
besides humans, is over-population which
is followed by malnutrition and disease.

Like wolves, coyotes have only one life-
mate. The young are born in April, and are
soon out in the world, hunting with their
parents from the age of 6 weeks or so.

Wolves are rare in Montana, although a
few may occasionally stray into remote
parts of the northern mountains from
Canada. There is also possibly a remnant
population in Yellowstone Park, but this is
not certain. They are an endangered spe-
cies and may not be hunted or trapped.
Their food consists mostly of big game-
elk, moose, and deer. Social animals,
wolves hunt in packs, which enables them
to bring down animals much larger than
they are. They range 15 to 20 miles in a
day, and their home range may be from 50
to 100 miles square.

Mating occurs in March, and the wolf
pups are born in May. The mother does not
leave the deep den she has dug for several
weeks. Food is brought to the den by mem-
bers of the pack. Later when the pups ven-
ture out of the den, the other wolves make
them a welcome part of the group. This
closeness of the pack members is typical of
the social structure of the pack.

The red fox lives throughout Montana; it
digs its den in fields or hillsides, where 4 or
5 pups are born in early spring. Insects,
frogs, and small mammals make up its
diet. Early morning or late evening are the
best times to catch sight of this wary
hunter.

Montana Departtnrnt nf Fish Wildlife «r Parks

Coyote

Rabbits, Hares, and Pikas:

Order Lagormorpha

Desert cottontails are found in eastern
and southwestern Montana, mountain cot-
tontails in brushy valleys. The jackrabbit,
which is really a hare rather than a rabbit,
lives in open country, relying on its ability
to outdistance almost any of its predators,
instead of taking to its burrow. One va-
riety, the black-tailed jackrabbit, has now
moved into southwestern Montana. The
white-tailed jackrabbit lives in the higher
elevations. It turns from its summer gray
to almost white in winter. Large feet and
powerful hind legs give it the ability to run
at speeds of over 30 miles an hour. The
snowshoe hare lives in forested country
and has broad feet adapted for deep snow.

Although the little pika, or coney, is
usually thought of as an alpine animal, its
range includes altitudes of under 3,000
feet. It seldom goes far from the protection
of the talus slopes where it has a den. The
pika does not hibernate, but this small
creature has solved the problem of year-
round food. It gathers grass, leaves, and
flowers, then piles them to dry in the sun.
Later this harvest is stored in the den.

Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks

Animals that change coat color in
fall shed one color in a few weeks'
time, and the new winter coat grows
back in another color, changing, for
instance, from brown to white.
Length of the nights, not tempera-
ture, is what determines the timing
of color change.

Snowshoe Hare

Weasels: Family Mustelidae

These extremely active meat eaters re-
quire a great amount of food for their size,
and spend most of their time hunting. They
are nocturnal, and therefore are seldom
seen in the daylight hours. The black-
footed ferret, an endangered species, is a
member of this family.

Among other members of the weasel
family are mink, marten (or sable), fisher,
otter, skunk, wolverine, and badger. Their
fur is valued by trappers, but the rare
fisher is a protected species. It is a forest
dweller, as are martens, mink, short-tailed
weasels, and wolverines. The pine marten
is adept at climbing trees, but tree squir-
rels represent only about 10 percent of its
diet, which also includes mice, voles, and
pikas, with berries in season. The marten
lives in dense coniferous forests. The
fisher, a larger relative, was extinct in
Montana, but was transplanted from Cana-
dian stock, and apparently is making a
comeback. It captures grouse, squirrels,
rabbits, and even the sharp-quilled porcu-
pine.

Wherever there is a waterway, mink can
make a home, whether in forests,
grasslands, or brushy areas. Living in bur-
rows in river or stream banks, this slender
agile carnivore eats smaller animals, fish,
and crayfish.

The striped skunk lives along willowed
waterways, and in fields and rangeland; its
spotted relative has a limited range in
Montana's extreme southwestern corner.
Badgers range throughout the state; these
strong, long-clawed burrowers hunt out
other smaller ground animals from their
dens or rocky lairs. The long-tailed prairie
weasel also lives and hunts in the
grasslands, forests, and open mountain
meadows.

Called by the Indians "carcajou the devil-
bear," the wolverine had no friends among

trappers, who accused it of stealing from
traps, tearing up cabins, and generally out-
witting them. However, the animal is rare
in Montana today. It eats carrion and a
wide range of prey from mice to porcu-
pines, beavers, and birds. The young are
born in a snow cave during the winter.

The otter lives along mountain lakes and
streams, where it leads a fairly carefree
life, swimming, fishing, and building
mudslides. Its webbed feet, supple body,
and heavy, flattened tail give it speed and
maneuverability as it pursues fish, cray-
fish, and muskrats. The otter enjoys play-
ing with its family, especially sliding down
an incline, winter or summer, and ending in
a watery splash.

Rats, Mice, and
Other Small Critters

Without these little mammals most of
the larger predators would often go hun-
gry. They are the beginning of the carni-
vores' food chain, turning grasses, seeds,
and other plant materials into protein.
Many species of mice and rats inhabit
Montana's plains, foothills, and moun-
tains.

Among the most interesting rodents are
the packrats, or trade rats, who get their
name from their habit of taking shiny ob-
jects from cabins and campsites and re-
placing them with twigs or other objects of
little value to humans. Their nests of
leaves and sticks are sometimes found in
old mine mills and other deserted build-
ings. Unlike most rats, they have a fluffy
tail; their ears are large and rounded, and
their fur is a silvery gray.

Deer mice are probably the most com-
mon and widely-distributed of the smcill ro-
dents. They eat vegetation and insects, and
are in turn pounced on by coyotes, owls,
weasels, and other meat-eaters.

Similar in appearance to the mice, but
not related to them, the energetic shrew
(family Soricidae) eats many times its
small weight in a week's time. Insects,
worms, and grubs make up its diet; it some-
times kills mice as well as other shrews.
One type of shrew is the smallest mammal
known.

Kangaroo rats [Dipodomys ordii) have
powerful hind legs, and a long tail for bal-
ancing. When frightened they can leap an
amazing distance— up to 8 feet. They like
to live in sandy areas near water, probably
because of the plants available there. Al-
though very tiny, they hibernate, and are
active only during the summer months.

Raccoons (Procyon lotor], native to east-
ern Montana, are now fairly common
throughout the state. They are as clever as
their bright-eyed, masked faces make
them appear. Their long, slender paws and
sharp claws make them adept at catching
crayfish, frogs, and small fish. They also
eat berries, nuts, and fruit, and will not
hesitate to invade a farmer's cornfield.

Favorite habitat for the raccoon is a river
or stream with marshlands close by. They
may den high in a hollow tree, and have 3
or 4 young in a litter each year. The rac-
coon swims and climbs with equal ease,
but suspends its activity and hibernates in
the cold months.

Raccoon

Montana Dcpartmrnt nf Fish, WildliTr & Parks

The porcupine is another rodent that is
unique in its habits. It stores body fat in its
heavy, quill-covered tail, but does not hi-
bernate. The quills, which are barbed and
can be painful to an attacker, form its chief
protection, although it can also climb
trees, using its long, sharp claws. Its food
is the bark of many different trees and
shrubs, including aspens, willows, and
conifers.

Montana Department of Fish. Wildlife & Parks

Beaver

Beavers have some special characteris-
tics. These thick-furred, broad-tailed ani-
mals live and work along slow-moving
waterways, making dams when they can,
and building bankside burrows when the
river or stream is too wide or flows too fast.
When they have dammed a stream, they
build a large house of twigs and branches,
with an upper chamber and an underwater
entry tunnel. They then store branches of
aspen, willow, and cottonwood by sinking
them and weighting them down with larger
branches.

The beavers' teeth continue to grow
throughout their lives, remaining sharp
enough to cut down large trees. They have
an exceptionally strong jaw, also, which
enables them to fell trees in a few minutes.
They usually have two young, called kits,
who stay with the family until they are 2
years old.

The broad tail of the beaver comes in
handy for many uses— a slap of the tail on
the water produces a sound of warning; it
also can support this 30- to 40-pound ani-
mal as the beaver cuts its way through tree
trunks. It stores fat, too, to provide body
energy during the winter.

Muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus] inhabit
much the same territory as beavers do, but
prefer the quieter waters of marshes
rather than rivers. They build a similar
sort of house, using cattails and reeds in-
stead of branches. Although they like
marshes or shallow water for their homes,
they will build bank burrows on water-
ways. Their food consists of reeds and
other water vegetation. Irrigation ditches
occasionally provide them with a home; it
is not unusual to see them living close to
human habitations.

Squirrels: Family Sciuridae

The large squirrel family includes tree
squirrels, flying squirrels, chipmunks,
marmots, prairie dogs, and ground squir-
rels. Some members of this family have
adapted to living in trees, and some are
burrowers; a variety of habitats suit them.

The red squirrel lives in Montana's
spruce-fir and lodgepole pine forests. It
caches stores of pine nuts in holes beneath
the trees where it nests. The flying squirrel
is found throughout western Montana, but
is rarely seen because of its nocturnal
habits. It glides between trees, and is not
really capable of flight.

Several kinds of chipmunks live in west-
ern Montana, among them the least chip-
munk, and the northwestern or yellow pine
chipmunk. The red-tailed chipmunk oc-
curs in western Montana, and the Uinta
chipmunk has a limited range in the Bear-
tooth Mountains. These speedy little ani-
mals can be seen foraging at campsites, or
in the woods with their cheek pouches
stuffed full of pine nuts. Both squirrels and
chipmunks store winter food, but do not hi-
bernate.

Hibernation is a dormant (or sleep-
ing) period for animals such as the
marmot that burrow below the
frost line — above this "line" the
ground will be frozen; below it the
soil will stay unfrozen. The ani-
mal's temperature may drop close
to the ground temperature at that
depth, so it requires less body heat
to live. Its breathing and heartbeat
slow down, too. The animal literally
uses up its stored fat to maintain
life during hibernation, and is thin-
ner when spring comes.

Prairie Dog

Moniana Department of Fish. Wildlife & Parks

Of the marmot family, the hoary marmot
(woodchuck or rockchuck) lives in rock-
slides or digs burrows in alpine meadows
throughout Montana's Rockies. A larger
species, the yellow-bellied marmot, shares
habitat with pikas and Richardson's
ground squirrel, the same gopher found on
the prairies. It may weigh as much as ten
pounds and be over two feet long. Marmots
usually spend only May to September
above ground, and are in their burrows the
rest of the year.

Montana Department of Fish. Wildlife & Parks

Columbian Ground Squirrel

Prairie dogs are sociable animals who
live in communities, where they seem to
spend a lot of time visiting from one large,
mounded burrow entrance to another.
During the summer, as they fatten for hi-
bernation, they eat constantly, and resem-
ble fat bowling pins as they sit upright.
They keep a sharp eye out, however, for
their chief predators, the hawks. One
Montana prairie dog town, near the Grey-
cliff exit on Interstate 90 east of Big Tim-
ber, has been designated a state
monument. Another is near Holter Lake
north of Helena.

The winter's work of the pocket gopher
appears when snow melts. The mound it
pushes up in meadows once filled tunnels
in the snow. In its search for roots and tu-
bers, the pocket gopher may dig a hundred
feet or more across a mountain meadow.
The pouches in its cheeks are used to carry
food.

Bats: Order Chiroptera

Most of Montana's 14 species of bats oc-
cur throughout the state, although some
are rare. Some hibernate when the insects
that are their food supply are not available;
others migrate to the southern deserts.
Bats roost in caves, attics, deep woods, and
other dark places during the day. They can
be seen at dusk in swift zigzag flight in pur-
suit of insects.

10

The only mammals that fly, bats use a
sort of sonar to locate insects. They send
out a series of high-frequency sounds and
then locate the echoes, finding swarms of
moths, mosquitoes, and other small prey.

Young bats are born in June, and can fly
at 6 weeks. Each female usually has only
one offspring. Bats return to the same
summer roosting spot each spring, usually
in April.

Birds
Waterfowl

The western third of Montana is on the
Pacific Flyway; the rest is part of the Cen-
tral Flyway; both are migration routes for
hundreds of thousands of waterfowl each
year. Montana is home, at least during the
summer months, to over 30 species of
ducks, and four species of geese. Some are
"fair weather friends"— wild tourists that
head for warmer places when autumn
comes. The Canada goose (shown on the
cover) winters on lakes and open water
throughout the state. Mallards, golden-
eyes, and redheads also are year-round res-
idents.

Good places to watch these and other wa-
terfowl are the waterfowl management

areas— Fox Lake, Warm Springs, Pablo,
Ninepipe, and Freezeout, and the federal
waterfowl refuges, including Medicine
Lake, Benton Lake, Bowdoin, and Red Rock
Lakes. Many farm ponds and reservoirs
also provide homes and resting places for
these birds, often with grain fields nearby.

Among the migratory birds, pelicans,
swans, and sandhill cranes are the largest.
Smaller waterfowl include grebes, teal, and
wading birds such as sandpipers, killdeer,
rails, and snipe.

Often seen near bridges, the gray-blue,
crested kingfisher is a solitary watcher
over trout streams. This water bird has a
most unusual nest— a burrow in the creek
bank, where the young are hatched and are
fed partly-digested fish. Later they gradu-
ate to minnows and frogs.

Probably the most unique water bird is
the lively ouzel, a year-round resident eas-
ily identified by its bobbing walk as it
forages under rushing water to feed along
the bottoms of mountain streams. Smaller
than a robin, this slate-gray, short-tailed
bird often builds its nest near or behind wa-
terfalls.

Osprey

MnntaiKi DrpitrtiiH-nt o( Kish, U'ildlifc & Parks

11

Eagles

These powerful predators combine excel-
lent eyesight with noiseless flight and
death-dealing talons to dispatch their prey.
All eat small mammals as the major part of
their diet.

Golden eagles build their bulky nests on
mountain cliffs, adding to them over the
years. Usually two eggs are laid early in the
spring. Both parents brood (or keep the
eggs warm), taking turns at hunting. Rab-
bits, birds, and occasionally a fawn deer
are their principal foods. The golden eagle
and the bald eagle can be distinguished by
the striking white head plumage of the bald
eagle. Both have wingspreads of up to 7
feet. Each fall, Glacier Park is the scene of a
gathering of bald eagles when spawning
salmon draw them for a feast. (See the pho-
tograph in the Water chapter.)

Hawks: Falconiformes

Hawks most frequently seen in Montana
are the red-tailed hawk, with a wingspread
of 4 feet, and the smaller northern harrier,
or marsh hawk. The first is more apt to be
seen at high elevations, hunting for
gophers, marmots, and other rodents, and
dropping from great heights in a dazzling
power dive. The marsh hawk flies at a more
leisurely pace at lower levels, preying on
field mice and other inhabitants of moist
meadows.

Falcons (Falconidae) are not common in
Montana. The peregrine falcon is widely
distributed globally, but rarely seen in the
western mountains. Among these slender,
swift predators is the kestrel. Prairie
falcons also inhabit the eastern parts of
Montana.

The osprey or fish hawk can be seen per-
ching along waterways on dead trees.
When it sights a fish, it plunges into the
water and seizes the fish with its talons.
These big birds nest in cottonwoods and
other tall trees, as well as building on the
crosspieces of power poles.

Owls: Order Strigiformes

Owls cover somewhat the same territory
as the hawks, but their prey are the noc-
turnal rodents. Their downy plumage
makes their flight almost soundless. The
owls may vary in size from the huge
horned owl, which resembles a lynx when
perched in a tree, to the tiny pygmy and
saw-whet owls.

The eyes of these night hunters are
adapted for darkness by many "rod cells"
that are extremely sensitive to light. The
eyes do not move in their sockets, so the
head must turn instead— in some species
the angle of rotation can be as much as 280
degrees.

Horned Owl

Peggy Todd

Woodpeckers: Family Picidae

Several kinds of woodpeckers are com-
mon in Montana. Of these the flicker is at
home in town and country, tapping noisily
on shingle roofs for grubs and competing
with robins for worms on lawns. Its rosy
underwings and a black shield on its chest
make it easily recognized. The small
downy woodpecker is identified by its
black and white plumage and the red cap of
the male. Lewis' woodpecker has a gray
back and pinkish underparts. All these
birds have stiff tail feathers to support
them as they drill holes into bark with their
heavy bills.

Woodpeckers keep larval infestations
down as well as providing many tree trunk
homes for small birds. Montana's wood
duck uses the larger holes left by the
flicker for its nesting place.

12

Magpies

Montana Department of Fish. Wildlife & Parks

Crows, Ravens, and Magpies:

Family Corvidae

These bold, noisy birds can be seen
scavenging along highways for road kills.
They will eat practically anything. Crows
are smaller than ravens and have a dif-
ferent flight pattern— the raven hops like a
vulture before takeoff. Both make nests
that look like bundles of twigs in tall decid-
uous trees. The magpie nests along water-
ways. This extremely wary bird has a un-
ique tail that can rotate in a half-circle for
maneuverability.

Another member of the numerous crow
family is the gray jay. These trim birds in-
habit the subalpine forests of western
Montana. Also called the camp robber, the
gray jay is a year-round resident, nesting
in carefully concealed places. Jays have an
unusual way of storing food by rolling it in
their beaks into a saliva-covered wad. They
then hide this mass under the bark of trees
for later use.

Clark's crow or nutcracker is a jay whose
plumage has an eye-catching black and
white banding on the wings. It feeds on
pine nuts or may come into more open
areas after insects, berries, and carrion. Its
eggs are laid while the weather is still cold,
but the nest is well insulated with lichen
and feathers.

Songbirds

Most songbirds spend only the spring
and summer in Montana after wintering in
the southern United States or Central
America. Bluebirds nest and feed in the
sagebrush-covered benchlands and grass-
lands as well as near houses. They usually
lay four to six pale blue eggs.

Meadowlarks, Montana's state bird, in-
habit much the same terrain, and, like the
bluebirds, also live close to farms and
towns. Meadowlarks are among the "early
birds." They often arrive from the south
during late spring snows, when they can be
seen picking up bits of sand or gravel and
the grain dropped from trucks along the
highways. (Like domestic birds, they need
grit for their gizzards.) Easily recognized
by the black shields on their yellow
breasts, the meadowlarks "stake out"
their territories by singing from fence
posts or shrubs along the boundaries.

Robins sometimes winter in juniper
groves in the Rockies, but usually spend
only the warmer months here. They eat in-
sects of many kinds, as well as snails, ber-
ries, and worms. The three to four eggs are
a light blue, laid in nests built high in trees.
Robins like to live near people because food
is more plentiful on irrigated lawns and
fields.

13

Upland Game Birds:

Family Tetraonidae

The blue grouse lives in the foothills and
open forests, feeding on seeds, buds,
plants, and berries. It nests on the ground
and produces one clutch of eggs each sum-
mer. Spruce or Franklin's grouse ranges in
much the same habitat. It is sometimes
called the fool hen because it often seems
unaware of danger. The ruffed grouse
tends to occupy lower elevations, living in
mountain valleys and along streams.

The white-tailed ptarmigan's mottled
plumage serves as camouflage in summer
when it resembles the mossy rocks of its
habitat. Its feathers molt (drop out) and
come in white when the snows of winter
require a different blend for protection
against its predators. Its winter wear in-
cludes extra feathers on legs and feet for
comfort in bitter cold. The ptarmigan bur-
rows into snow drifts for warmth and for
protection from foxes and bobcats.

Three other species among the most pop-
ular game birds in Montana are not native
to the state. They are the ring-necked
pheasant, the Hungarian partridge, and
the chukar, a type of quail. The wild (or
Merriam's) turkey, which is gaining favor
as a game bird, has also been introduced
into the prairies of eastern Montana. It
lives in open forests of Douglas fir and pon-
derosa pine, roosting in trees at night.

Montana Department of Fish. Wildlife & Parks

Montana Department of Commerce

Ruffed Grouse

Paddlefish

Fish

Of the 80 species of fish in Montana's
streams, only a few inhabit the cold waters
of the Rockies. These are of the salmonidae
family— trout, whitefish, salmon, and
grayling, considered by some anglers to be
the top game fish in the state. No single
species is found in all drainages.

Most of the other families of fish occupy
the warmer waters of the central and east-
ern Montana plains. Many members of the
minnow family live in the Missouri, Yellow-
stone, and Little Missouri rivers; chubs,
dace, shiners, and suckers are among
them.

Three members of the sturgeon family
live in Montana streams, as well as sun-
fish, perch, sculpin, and catfish. The most
unusual fish in the state is the paddlefish,
unchanged from prehistoric times. This
large fish weighs 50 to 60 pounds or more,
has a smooth, tough hide, and a unique up-
per jaw shaped like a paddle. Because its
growth can be measured by rings of carti-
lage in its skeleton, scientists have discov-
ered these fish may live as long as 30
years.

14

Reptiles and Amphibians

Although Montana's reptile and amphi-
bian population is small and has few spe-
cies, one, at least, is quite remarkable. The
axolotl, an amphibian, is a tiger salaman-
der that uses a gill-like structure to breathe
during its early weeks of life. It develops
lungs as it matures into a land-dwelling
adult. It is also unusual because it repro-
duces while still in the larval stage. Found
around some mountain lakes, it hibernates
through the long winter, burrowing into
the mud.

Montana has one variety of rattlesnake,
as well as garter snakes, bull snakes, and
rubber boas. Other amphibians and rep-
tiles, found mostly near waterways, are
toads, bullfrogs, and turtles.

2.

Suggested Activities

Using Olaus Murie's Field Guide to Ani-
mal Tracks, try to identify tracks in
mud along creek banks, or in snowy
woods. This book gives instructions for
making casts of tracks, so you could
make a collection of casts for your area.

You can learn how to observe wildlife in
your area. Many animals (such as deer)
come to drink early in the morning or at
dusk, so timing is important. If you
learn to recognize the trails or burrows
of small animals, you should be able to
sight the inhabitants. Patience and the
ability to move quietly or stay still will
help you to observe wildlife.

Rattlesnake

15

Further Reading

The Audubon Society Field Guide to
North American Mammals. 1980. Whita-
ker, John O., Jr. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.

Big Game of North America. 1966. Hy-
lander, Clarence J. Houghton Mifflin Com-
pany, Boston.

* Biography of a Grizzly. 1969. Seton,
Ernest Thompson. lUus. Clark Bronson.
Rand McNally, Chicago.

* A Field Guide to Animal Tracks. 1954.
Murie, Olaus J. Houghton Mifflin Com-
pany, New York.

* A Field Guide to Western Birds. 1980.
Roger Tory Peterson. Boston: Houghton
Mifflin Company.

Fishes of Montana. 1971. Brown. C.J.D.
Montana State University, Agricultural Ex-
periment Station. Big Sky Books, Boze-
man, MT.

A Guide to Montana Mammals. 1968.
Hoffman, Robert S. and Donald L. Pattie.
University of Montana, Missoula, MT.

An Index to Montana Wildlife Literature,
1950-1976. 1976. Thompson, L.S. Re-
search Report No. 1. Montana Department
of Natural Resources and Conservation,
Helena.

Montana's Upland Birds. 1979.
Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and
Parks. Helena, MT.

* Rocky Mountain Wildlife. 1976. Blood,
Donald A. Hall, Tom W. auid Baumgarten,
Susan, illus. Saanichton, B.C., Canada.

* Wild Animals of North America. 1979.
National Geographic Society. Washington,
D.C.

♦Student reading; ask your librarian for
books by Ernest Thompson Seton, Jim
Kelgard, Aldo Leopold, and the Craigheads.

Written and edited by: Peggy Todd

Layout: June Virag

Illustrations: D.C. Howard and Peggy Todd

Production: Gordon Taylor

Data and Word Processing:

George Cawlfield, Jack Zanto,

Margie Peterson

Technical Review: Larry Thompson, DNRC

The Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation has had
many requests for information about the minerals, water, forests, and other
resources in Montana. This booklet is one of a series presented to answer
some of those questions and to stimulate an interest in the natural resources
of Montana. The University of Montana cooperated with DNRC in preparing
the series which was financed in part by a federal grant made under Title I of
the Higher Education Act of 1965.

mOMTAMA DCPAmTIHCMTW MATUHAL HtSOUlkCCS t COMSCRVATION

32 South Ewing
Helena. Montana 59620

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