Hardly a Life of Royalty by Karen Nichols Golden-crowned Kinglets are a mystery and a marvel of wintertime survival in the north woods. These grey and olive birds weigh only the mass of two pennies — just bigger than a Rufous Hummingbird. This species is Montana’s smallest permanent resident passerine and it eats insects all…
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American Crow
by Kat Petersen Their iconic black glistening feathers, generalist beak, and recognizable “caw” makes them easily identifiable to even non-birders: The American Crow. Crows are one of the most common and widespread genus of birds in the world. On a recent trip to Thailand, I was awoken with the familiar call of a crow who…
Read MoreThe Common Merganser
by Theresa Ciraolo The Common Merganser, as the name implies, is a common bird. However, their status as common is not a downfall for these adaptive, beautiful animals. In fact, since they are frequently spotted in the Flathead Valley, the Common Merganser was the first bird I encountered in Glacier National Park. I had just…
Read MoreBlack-backed Woodpecker Picoides arcticus
by Sneed B. Collard III Scientific Name Picus is Latin for woodpecker, from a legend in which the enchantress Circe turned Picus, the son of Saturn, into a woodpecker; -oides is Greek for “resembling,” so Picoides means “woodpecker-like”. The word arcticusis Latin for northern or arctic. At first glance the newly burned forest looked devoid…
Read MoreRed-breasted Nuthatch
a little upside-down bird by Darcy Thomas Once called the Canada Nuthatch, the Red-breasted Nuthatch Sitta canadensis is a common bird throughout North America. The name nuthatch is likely from the word “nuthack”, referring to the nuthatches habit of hacking away at a seed with its bill to open it. For such a tiny bird…
Read MoreThe Amazing American Redstart
by Darcy Thomas Sometimes a common bird is so startling it captures our imagination and washes us with a feeling of such pure delight when we take time to observe their beauty and special behavior. One such bird for me is the American Redstart. American Redstarts Setophaga ruticilla are small, lively wood warblers who are…
Read MoreThe American Coot
Black Swift
Ring-billed Gull
Boreal Chickadee
by Denny Olson I have to admit that a good part of my attraction to tree-line in Northwest Montana — aside from pikas in the talus, whitebark pines, nutcrackers and rosy finches — is the 50-50 chance of a conversation with Boreal Chickadees. They are relatively tame and curious after the breeding season when they…
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