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Biology 250
Prairie Dogs
Cynomys leucurus
Big Horn Sheep
Ovis canadensis
Desert Cottontail
Sylvilagus
audubonii
Fona of the Badlands
Turkey Vulture
Cathartes aura
Western Meadowlark
Canyon Wren
Catherpes mexicanus
Rock Wren
Alpinctes obsoletus
I was accompianed by one of these brightly colored song birds in the campsite.
Description
They have similar markings as a Eastern Meadowlark, however the Western is slightly paler and has the yellow throat extended onto its checks. Streaked brown above, bright yellow below, with a bold black V on breast.
Habitat
Low to medium-height grasses more so than in tall fields. They also occur along the weedy verges of roads, marsh edges, and mountain meadows up to 10,000 fee. In winter they forage for seeds on nearly bare groun
Food
beetles, ants, cutworms, grasshoppers, and crickets.
Description
Brown body and a white throat. Bright rufous, barred tail. Long, thin, decurved bill.
Habitat
Mountains, Cliffs, canyons, rocky outcrops,
Food
Spiders and insects.
Behavior
Ground Forager :
Gleans spiders and insects from rock surfaces, often from tight crevices.
Prairie dogs are considered a “keystone” species because their colonies create islands of habitats that benefit approximately 150 other species.
Behavior
Prairie dogs are colonial animals that live in complex networks of tunnels with multiple openings. Colonies are easily identified by the raised-burrow entrances that give the diminutive prairie dogs some extra height when acting as sentries and watching for signs of danger. The tunnels contain separate "rooms" for sleeping, rearing young, storing food and eliminating waste
Communication
Prairie dogs have a complex system of communication that includes a variety of pitched warning barks that signal different types of predators. Prairie dogs earned their name from settlers traveling across the plains who thought that these warning calls sounded similar to dogs barking.
Food
variety of prairie plants consiting mostly of grasses
Descroprion
They range in color from light brown to grayish or dark brown, and have a white rump and lining on the backs of all four legs.
Behavior
Bighorn sheep live in herds or bands of about 5 to 15 ewes(females)
Food
During the summer, they subsist on grasses or sedges. During the winter they eat more woody plants, such as willow, sage and rabbit brush. Desert bighorn sheep eat brushy plants such as desert holly and desert cactus.
Habbitat
rocky mountain areas
Description
The desert cottontail has brown-gray fur above and lighter fur on its undersides. It has big eyes, puffy, round tails and long, wide ears with little fur in them. The female desert cottontail is usually a little larger than the male.
Habitat
woodlands, grasslands, creosote brush and desert areas.
Diet
grasses, cacti, bark and twigs, and mesquite.
Behavior
Most active in the early morning and in the evening, spending the hottest part of the day under cover. It does not build its own den, it will rest in the burrow of another animal. The desert cottontail can also swim and runs at speeds of up to fifteen miles an hour.
Description
Pale gray back with a faintly striped throat. Long, barred tail and long, thin bill.
Habitat
Mountains, Arid or semiarid areas with exposed rock; desert to alpine habitats.
Food
Insects and other arthropods.
Behavior
Ground Forager
Gleans prey from rocks, removes prey from spider webs; repeatedly hops vertically from ground to capture flying insects.
Food
Turkey Vultures eat carrion, which they find largely by their excellent sense of smell.
Mostly they eat mammals but are not above snacking on reptiles, other birds, amphibians, fish, and even invertebrates.
They prefer freshly dead animals, but often have to wait for their meal to soften in order to pierce the skin.
Unlike their Black Vulture relatives, Turkey Vultures almost never attack living prey.
Habitat
Open Woodlands.
Description
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Size & Shape
Turkey Vultures are large dark birds with long, broad wings. Bigger than other raptors except eagles and condors, they have long "fingers" at their wingtips and long tails that extend past their toe tips in flight.
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Color Pattern
Turkey Vultures appear black from a distance but up close are dark brown with a featherless red head and pale bill. While most of their body and forewing are dark, the undersides of the flight feathers are paler, giving a two-toned appearance.
Least Chipmunk
Neotamias minimus
Habitat
semidesert shrublands, through montane shrublands and woodlands, to forest edge, to alpine tundra.
Diet
variety of fruits, berries, flowers, seeds, leaves, and stems, and also insects and carrion. Flowers of alpine parsley, dandelion, and paintbrush, and berries of Vaccinium and strawberry are
favored. Sedges, bitterroot, gilia, evening-primrose, common wild geranium, and violet are other important sources of seeds.
Description
The least chipmunk is the smallest chipmunk in Colorado. Considerable geographic variation occurs in color and pattern. The least chipmunk usually has five dark dorsal stripes, alternating with four paler stripes. Typically the lateral blackish stripes are darker than those of other Coloradan chipmunks. The dark center stripe extends from head to tail. Two pale stripes are present on the face.