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Ornithology and
Mammalogy
Lab Manual
Ken Otter
Ornithology and Mammalogy Lab Manual Biology 308
For the labs, the main goal is to teach you how to identify birds and mammals. In order to do this, you
will have to learn the morphology of the birds and mammals, and be familiar with the various external
characteristics. You will also learn to identify animals by signs or tracks left behind (a very common
way of censusing mammals). For some bird species, such as the owls, you will also learn to identify
the birds by ear – learning the species-specific calls.
You will be responsible for knowing taxonomic names of all birds and mammals found in BC down to
the level of Family names. You will also be responsible for knowing the common names of particular
species within each family, with emphasis placed on those representative species that are found
locally.
After this first lab, though, we will likely spend most of the remaining labs indoors. We will be
working with study skins of various species, which allow you to see specimens up close. These are
designed to allow you to look at external features of the birds and mammals that will aid in
identification skills, particularly in taking notes on field characteristics – unique characteristics of the
animal you are viewing that let you classify it down to species. By focusing on general characteristics
of orders and families in the lab, you will soon be able to immediately recognize animals you are
seeing as belonging within a larger general grouping (e.g. “ducks” versus “loons”). From this stage,
you will then focus on narrowing your classification down using markings on the animal until you can
use your field guide to determine which species you are dealing with.
Quizzes
Quizzes are going to be station-based. There will typically be 25-30 stations that you will rotate
through, 60 seconds per station. At each station there will be a specimen or picture with an associated
question. These will primarily be on taxonomic names, recognition of special characters, external
morphology etc. After you get through the stations once, we will run through each station a second
time for 30 seconds (to give you a chance to check your responses).
Quizzes cover the material in the previous two labs. At the end of the quiz, we will go over the
answers so that you know what the specimens were. This will take about 45 minutes at the beginning
of the lab period, which will be followed by the lab talk for that day.
Ornithology and Mammalogy Lab Manual Biology 308
Objective: to survey a number of different habitats and try to make connections between where
different species occur. You should survey at least three different habitat types during the course of
the semester. Examples of different habitats found locally are:
1. Riparian (Cottonwood Island Park, Wilkin's Park),
2. Mature Sub-boreal mixed forest (Blue Spruce trail behind the university)
3. Early successional willow/alder forests and pine plantations (Forests for the World)
4. Forest Edge/Meadowland (Moore's Meadow)
5. Wetlands (Hudson's Bay Slough)
6. Agricultural Belts/grasslands (Airport)
Task: Students will be expected to go on weekly excursions to various habitats to search for birds and
mammals. You should spend at least 1 hour per week in the field. Thus the minimum number of
outings required is 10, and minimum total hours required is 10. For full marks, you will have to
do more than the minimum. For top marks, you will need to have a few extra outings and/or
more hours per outing. Maximum, though you should be shooting for is 18-20hrs and 15 outings
to get high marks for this section –“time spent on project” will only be part of the marks. You
should report both direct observations (visual sighting) and indirect evidence of presence (tracks,
spores, identification of birds by song etc). Notes should be detailed, including descriptions of the
animal that allowed you to identify it. Diagrams of tracks, scat, colour patterns of birds, maps of
locations etc add to clarity of field notes and are strongly encouraged. Think of the timing of when
you are likely to see animals: go to the wetlands prior to mid-October if you want to catch any
migrating waterbirds, head out after a rain or snowfall to look for tracks in the snow or soft mud. The
key is to try to find as many different species of birds and mammals as possible, and to carefully
document the techniques used to find them and locations of where they occurred.
I encourage you to go out in groups, as it will be more fun, and you will likely see more with more
eyes looking. It also helps when there are several people trying to identify species you see. However,
keep the conversation down, or you won't see anything.. Each person should keep their own
notebook records.
Notebooks - You will be expected to keep a detailed field notebook, which will be handed in for
marking at the end of the term. The notebook should be small and portable, with pages that do NOT
easily come out. Some examples will be brought to class. Write-in-the-Rain notebooks or Surveyors
notebooks are available in the bookstore (I prefer the surveyors’ ones personally), and elsewhere
around town (e.g. both IRL and CFE forestry supply companies sells these and other hard/softcover
field books). Small spiralbound notebooks are acceptable, but not particularly good field books as
they don’t tend to stand up to much wear and tear. If you use a spiral bound notebook, it must not
exceed 5 x 7 inch (12 x 18 cm) size and should not contain more than about 100 pages - duotangs,
binders etc of 8.5 x 11 inch paper are NOT acceptable.
AS NOT ADHERING TO THE SIZE RESTRICTION ON NOTEBOOKS CREATE SO MUCH DIFFICULTY DURING
MARKING, WE WILL BE DEDUCTING MARKS FOR NOTEBOOKS THAT DO NOT MEET THE ABOVE
GUIDELINES.
Ornithology and Mammalogy Lab Manual Biology 308
15 October, 2006
Greenway Trail behind University
Time: 8am-9am
Weather: slightly overcast, light rain yesterday, 10˚C
[Note – see map of the park and route I typically take in the back of my notebook]
General notes – went out with two other people from the course.
8am – start in parking lot. Saw two American robins foraging on the grass in the
picnic area. Colours are relatively faded by comparison with birds I have seen
in the spring. Black
8:15 – as I got to the far edge of the picnic area and crown and
entered the woods, we saw a small bird flit cheek
from the trunk of a tree to another. Appears to White
be a small black woodpecker (based on bill back, white
spots on
shape, and the way it moves vertical up the
black
tree with its tail as a balance). White and wings
black markings on the face (see sketch),
relatively short bill. About the size of a
sparrow. No red or yellow.
8: 20 – found a track in the soft mud from yesterday. Looks a bit like a
small dog print, but had a distinct fifth toe.
Claw marks noticeable on all toes. Two paws always
side-by-side, like a bounding gate. 3.7 cm long.
Looked it up later, and it appears to be a weasel print.
Based on the size, possibly a long-tailed weasel.
EQUIPMENT YOU SHOULD TAKE OUT WITH YOU WHEN YOU GO OUT:
1. Field Notebook- Don’t go out without this! Notes should be taken in the field, rather than
trying to summarize your observations later. Examples of how to take daily field notes are
given in Figure 1 (previous page).
2. Plastic Bags – carry a few zip-locks, or make sure that the bags tie at the top. These are handy if
you find things like feathers, dung (icky) or other evidence of animals that you want to bring back
for later identification. You should not be collecting vertebrate specimens that you find (even
already dead animals) unless you are planning to bring them directly to the University to donate to
the collection. Anything of that nature must be brought to the instructor as soon as possible – do
not keep them in your home freezers etc until the next lab. The University has a collection permit,
which is necessary to have if you are in possession of wild animals – otherwise you can be charged
with poaching or unlawful possession of wildlife and be pretty heavily fined. If you are bringing
the specimen directly to the University or another permit holding agency (e.g. Ministry of
Environment office) you will be ok, but not if you are taking it home to bring in at some later date.
If you find a particularly good specimen, but do not want to transport it yourself, take detailed
notes of where it is and give these to the instructor. If you find something, but it is too late to bring
it straight up to the University that day, either leave it or make sure to bring it directly in the next
day.
Try not to touch any animal specimens directly. Small rodents, like mice, can carry
hantavirus. Birds can be carriers of salmonella or avian flu. There are a host of potential diseases
contractible to humans on both birds and mammals. Invert the bag on your hand, pick the item up
and then close the bag around it. If you find dead crows, jays or chickadees (all species
particularly susceptible to West Nile Virus) make sure you use this technique, even though the
virus is only suppose to transmit through the transfer of blood (e.g. mosquito feeds on bird, then
on you). If in doubt, leave it! It is better to take detailed notes for identifying later than to
pick up something you feel uncomfortable with.
3. Small ruler – if you find tracks, sketch them in your field book for identification. A small 15cm
ruler is handy for measuring the width and breadth of the track, and in some cases may be the only
way to distinguish which of the related species made the track (especially for distinguishing things
like squirrels and mice or among various weasels). Many field books have a small ruler printed on
the side.
4. Field Guides – it is much easier to check ids in the field than when you get back. Take your bird
guide with you. If you have mammal guides, you might want to take those along too, but tracks
are easier to draw out and bring back to check later than are swiftly moving birds!
5. Binoculars – almost essential items to any wildlife biologist. If you are planning to continue in
the field, you will want to buy your own pair. As long as there is at least one pair of binoculars
within your group, you will be fine. If you want to buy your own, binoculars range in price from
$20 to over $1500, so there is a lot of variety to choose from. If you want advice on what to buy,
you can come and ask me and I will try to make a couple of suggestions for whatever price range
and usage that you plan to use them for. Bushnell make some compact binoculars (8x20) that are
not bad starter binoculars, are quite inexpensive (about $30), and are available at a number of
stores in town, including Cosco, London Drugs, Canadian Tire and various sporting goods stores.
There are a number of better binoculars ranging from price from $100 to 200, and I can give you
advice on what to look for.
6. Camera - these are handy for taking pictures of tracks, marks or even live animals. They can also
be used to document different kinds of habitats. Cameras on cell phones work particularly well for
taking pictures of carcasses or scat that you don’t want to touch – just make sure to put something
in the frame to give you a sense of scale.
Ornithology and Mammalogy Lab Manual Biology 308
Organisms that are in the same species are most similar to each other, and get progressively more dissimilar as
they move up the taxonomic grouping towards Kingdom. For example, all multicellular organisms are in the
Kingdom “Animalia” ranging from sea slugs to humans. However, sea slugs and humans diverge at the level of
Phylum, with sea slugs being in the invertebrates, and humans in the vertebrates (chordate). Birds and
Mammals diverge at the level of Class; birds are in the Class Aves, Mammals in the Mammalia. From there,
the more similar two species are (such as different species of sparrows), the more likely they are to be grouped
into the same taxonomic groups. For example, song sparrows diverge from white-throated sparrows at the level
of Genus, they are both in the Order Passeriformes (song birds), and in the Family Emberizidae (the sparrows).
However, they are different Genuses, as they are not very closely related sparrows. However, white-throated
sparrows and white-crowned sparrows ARE closely related. They are in the same Genus (Zonotrichia) and only
diverge at the species level (they are said to be sister species). The same pattern could be done for mammals in
the chart below, comparing long-tailed weasels and closely related mink, which are both in the same Genus
(Mustela) and diverge only at species. By comparison, they are in the same Order (Carnivora) as Grizzly bears,
but in different families. Beavers are not even in the same Order, but rather in the Rodentia (rodents).
Conventions – Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order and Family are all typically capitalized. Genus is capitalized,
but species is not. The two-name combination of the Genus species (which are always italicized or underlined)
is the official name of each species, based on the Linnaean nomenclatural system.
Historically, divisions between groups, and deciding what categories they fell into (e.g. whether something was
a “sparrow” or not) was based largely on morphology – what the animal looked like, its bone structure, internal
physiology etc. Since the 1980s, much of this classification has increasingly turned to genetic techniques that
allow researchers to compare the genetic and biochemical similarity between living species, and many of the
changes in scientific names etc are based on new and more refined genetic research.
The class Aves is characterized by numerous features that make a bird a bird, and not something else. All birds
(and only birds) have feathers; this is the primary distinguishing feature of the group. In addition, all birds lay
yolked eggs – while other groups (reptiles) also lay eggs, birds are the only group of major vertebrates in which
no species bears live young. Birds lack teeth, but rather have a horny bill covering their jaws. Birds are
Ornithology and Mammalogy Lab Manual Biology 308
bipedal, moving on ground on their back legs. The front limbs in all species are specialized into wings – even
among birds that are flightless, wings are retained and the forelimbs not used for other modes of terrestrial
locomotion. Birds as a group are generally small sized, even the largest extant species (Ostriches) are small by
comparison with the largest mammals (blue whales). There are also other features of the group (e.g. digitigrade
foot structure etc) that also are characteristic of most birds, but the above list gives a pretty good diagnostic
picture of what constitute a bird.
Bird Topography
In order to identify any animal in the field, you need to know the names of the outer body parts (Figures 1, 2 and
3 – from Handbook of Bird Biology). In birds, this is largely the names of the major feather tracts, as
differences in colours of feathers often follow these feather tracts. Below are pictures of the major parts of the
bird, which you should know.
Figure 4. Common configurations of the feet of birds (part 1 – taken from the Manual of Ornithology)
Ornithology and Mammalogy Lab Manual Biology 308
Figure 5. Common configurations of the feet of birds (part 1 – taken from the Manual of Ornithology)
Ornithology and Mammalogy Lab Manual Biology 308
2
4
1 5
Tribe: Cygnini
Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator) *
Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)
Tundra Swan (Cygnus columbianus)
SubFamily: Anatinae (Ducks)
Tribe: Cairini (perching ducks)
Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) *
Tribe: Anatini (dabbling ducks)
American Wigeon (Anas americana) *
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) *
Green-Winged Teal (Anas crecca) *
Gadwall (Anas strepera)*
Eurasian Wigeon (Anas penelope) *
Blue-winged Teal (Anas discors) *
Cinnamon Teal (Anas cyanoptera)
Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata) *
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta) *
Tribe: Aythyini (Polchards)
Canvasback (Aythya valisineria)*
Lesser Scaup (Aythya affinis)*
Redhead (Aythya americana) *
Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris) *
Tufted Duck (Aythya fuligula)
Greater Scaup (Aythya marila) *
Tribe: Mergini (Eiders, Sea ducks and Mergansers)
Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola) *
Common Goldeneye (Bucephala
clangula) *
Barrow's Goldeneye (Bucephala
islandica) *
Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes
cucullatus) *
Common Merganser (Mergus
merganser) *
Red-breasted Merganser (Mergus
serrator) *
Surf Scoter (Melanitta perspicillata) *
White-winged Scoter (Melanitta fusca) *
Black Scoter (Melanitta nigra)
Long-tailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis) *
Harlequin Duck (Histrionicus
histrionicus)
Tribe: Oxyini (stiff-tailed ducks)
Ruddy Duck (Oxyura jamaicensis) *
Ornithology and Mammalogy Lab Manual Biology 308
There are two families within the Falconiformes, the Accipitridae and the
Falconidae. The Accipitridae is further subdivided into two subfamilies – the
Pandioninae, which includes only the Osprey, and the Accipitrinae, which
include around here the eagles and various groups of hawks. Ospreys are
found worldwide, being one of the few bird species found on every continent
other than Antarctica. They are piscivores and have specially modified
scales on the foot that make the foot feel very rough, which aid in holding
onto fish in the talons. The Accipitrinae (Eagles and Hawks) are typically
delineated into groups based on the Genus names. Aquila are the “true
eagles”, and Haliaeetus are the “sea eagles”. Both are large bodied hawks
with large bills. Golden Eagles are typically seen inland, and usually
associated with mountains, where they nest. Bald Eagles are more
commonly associated with water, either inland or on the coast, and both fish
and scavenge. There is some overlapping plumage characteristics of
juvenile golden and bald eagles, but a good distinguishing characteristic is
that the feathers on golden eagles extend right down the tarsi onto the foot,
whereas the tarsi of bald eagles is bare (check out the eagle on display in
the stairs to the lab building and see whether it is a juvenile golden or bald).
Hawks in this region are typically grouped into either the Buteos or the
Accipiters. Accipiters are forest hawks that specialize on birds as prey.
They often snatch their prey in flight out of the air. They have evolved a
body plan that is efficient for flying in dense vegetation (forests) where
maneuverability is key – they have relatively short rounded wings and long
tails to use as rudders. As their wings are fairly short, they aren’t as good at
soaring; if seen crossing openings, Accipiters typically glide a bit
interspersed with flapping of the wings. By comparison, Buteo hawks are
open-country hawks, and are the ones typically seen sitting on fence posts
beside highways.
Fairly large bodied, Buteos typically hunt by soaring above openings. Their
wings are proportionately longer, and their tails proportionately smaller than
Accipiters. The tail is typically fanned in flight.
The Falconidae are the Falcons, but also include the Caracaras from the
southern US and central America. Falcons have wings that are sharply
pointed at the tips, an adaptation for very rapid flight. They are predators
on other birds, taking them in mid-flight, often by high-speed aerial dives
Ornithology and Mammalogy Lab Manual Biology 308
that end with the falcon hitting its prey with its talons. Most prey are killed
by the impact. Falcons also have a characteristic “tooth” on the upper
mandible of the beak, which is not found in the Accipitridae. This is thought
to help in breaking the neck of prey if it isn’t killed on impact (the birds bring
it to the bill and bite the neck at the base of the skull). Most Falcons have
vertical stripes before and/or behind the eye.
Family: Accipitridae (Hawks, Kites, Eagles and Allies)
Subfamily: Pandioninae (Ospreys)
Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)*
Subfamily: Accipitrinae (Kites, Eagles, and Hawks)
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) *
Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus)*
Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus)*
Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) *
Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis)*
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)*
Rough-legged Hawk (Buteo lagopus)*
Broad-winged Hawk (Buteo platypterus)*
Swainson’s Hawk (Buteo swainsoni)
Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos)*
Family: Falconidae (Caracaras and Falcons)
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) *
Merlin (Falco columbarius) *
Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) *
Gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus)
Prairie Falcon (Falco mexicanus)
There are two families, the Phasianidae and the Odontophoridae (the latter
are the smaller quails, which often have feather tufts on the head in both
males and females). These species are both prized game birds, and are
often introduced into areas for hunting. Several of the species found in BC
are transplants from Europe and Asia. Surprisingly, introduced pheasants
and partridges etc don’t appear to negatively affect resident species in the
same manner as many other introduced species – they appear to be
effectively neutral. Both species of Quail found in BC are introduced.
Family: Phasianidae (Partridges, Grouse, Turkeys, and Old
World Quail)
Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus) *
Spruce Grouse (Falcipennis canadensis) *
Willow Ptarmigan (Lagopus lagopus) *
White-tailed Ptarmigan (Lagopus leucurus) *
Blue Grouse (Dendragapus obscurus) *
Sharp-tailed Grouse (Tympanuchus phasianellus)
Chukar (Alectoris chukar) - Introduced
Gray Partridge (Perdix perdix) - Introduced
Ornithology and Mammalogy Lab Manual Biology 308
Cranes are tall with long necks and long legs. They are most easily
confused with Herons, and are often found in overlapping habitats. Sandhill
Cranes are much larger than our largest heron (the Great Blue Heron), and
Cranes have patches of red plumage on the head not seen in Herons. In
flight, Cranes stretch (or “crane”) their necks, while Herons fold the neck in
an s-curve so that the head rests on the shoulders as they fly.
Family: Rallidae (Rails, Gallinules and Coots)
Sora (Porzana carolina) *
American Coot (Fulica americana) *
King Rail (Rallus elegans)
Virginia Rail (Rallus limicola)
Family: Gruidae (Cranes)
Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis) *
Whooping Crane (Grus Americana)
Ornithology and Mammalogy Lab Manual Biology 308
The Charadriidae are small wading birds with long legs and fairly short bills.
Most of the birds in this family have distinct black and white contrasting
markings – either back versus belly, or large dark stripes on the face and
neck. Young are highly precocial, nests are simple scrapes in the rocky
gravel.
Scolopacidae – this is one of the larger groups, and includes all the
sandpipers and allies. It is a very difficult group to distinguish among the
species. All are long-legged waders with bills used for probing into the
ground to feed on invertebrates. Many have similar colours of browns/greys
above with pale bellies. The trick for distinguishing the sandpipers is to
note the relative length of the bill (do this by measuring its length relative to
the depth of the head – back of head to base of bill). Assess length as a
multiple of head depth (0.5 X, 1.0X, 1.5X, 3.0X….). Look to see if the bill is
straight, or has a slight downcurve. Note if there is any markings on the
head, particularly how distinct the supercilliary stripe is, and whether there
is an obvious dark band extending from the bill through the eye onto the
auriculars. Note any patches of rusty colouring on the body, and where
these occur. Make special not (especially on small non-descript
sandpipers) whether there is striping, spotting or no markings on the belly
and throat. Finally note the colour and relative length of the legs – these
range from pink, yellow black and blue-grey. Phalaropes are the most
obvious in this group as the FEM ALES have very vibrant colours. In this
group, MALES sit on the eggs and raise the young, FEMALES display and
compete over males (this is called sex-role reversal).
Laridae – the gulls. Another tricky group. Note the size of the bird (gulls
essentially fall into three broad size categories based on the length of time
in years before juveniles moult into adult breeding plumage. Two year gulls
are the smallest, three-year gulls are intermediate in size, and four-year
gulls are the largest). Things to note – colour of the bill (some are black,
some are yellow, some red); whether or not there is a red dot or black band
on the bill; the amount of black on the upper wing (whether it is just at the
tips or over the majority of the wing); colour of the legs (pink, yellow or
black). Some species (such as Bonopart’s gulls) have entirely black heads,
making it easier to spot them. Terns are smaller than gulls and have a
proportionately longer bill, tail and wings. Bills are typically red, and the
Ornithology and Mammalogy Lab Manual Biology 308
birds often have a black cap. Terns fly over open water and dive for surface
fish.
Finally, the Alcidae – these are stocky, largely oceanic birds. They include
auks, auklets, puffins, murres, guillemots and murrelets. They all nest
colonially, either on cliffs or burrows along the sea-edge (only some of the
murrelets nest inland, and some nest in old-growth trees!). All are oceanic
piscivores and dive after fish.
Family: Charadriidae (Lapwings and Plovers)
Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) *
Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola) *
Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus) *
Family: Haematopodidae (Oystercatchers)
Black Oystercatcher (Haematopus bachmani)
Family: Recurvirostridae (Stilts and Avocets) - Don't really occur
around here
American Avocet (Recurvirostra americana)
Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus)
Family: Scolopacidae (Sandpipers, Phalaropes and Allies)
Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularia)*
Common Snipe (Gallinago gallinago)*
Pectoral Sandpiper (Calidris melanotos)*
Red Knot (Calidris canutus)
Sanderling (Calidris alba)
Western Sandpiper (Calidris mauri) *
Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla) *
Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla)*
Rock Sandpiper (Calidris ptilocnemis)
Dunlin (Calidris alpina) *
Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca) *
Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes) *
Solitary Sandpiper (Tringa solitaria) *
Willet (Catoptrophorus semipalmatus)
Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus)
Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americanus) *
Marbled Godwit (Limosa fedoa)
Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres)
Black Turnstone (Arenaria melanocephala)
Surfbird (Aphriza virgata)
Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus)
Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus)
Wilson's Phalarope (Palaropus tricolor) *
Red Phalarope (Phalaropus fulicaria) *
Family: Laridae (Skuas, Gulls, Terns and Skimmers)
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) *
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) *
Bonaparte's Gull (Larus philadelphia) *
California Gull (Larus californicus)
Mew Gull (Larus canus)
Thayer's Gull (Larus thayeri)
Western Gull (Larus occidentalis)
Glaucous-winged Gull (Larus glaucescens)
Caspian Tern (Sterna caspia)
Common Tern (Sterna hirundo) *
Black Tern (Chlidonias niger) *
Family: Alcidae (Auks, Murres and Puffins)
Common Murre (Uria aalge)
Tufted Puffin (Fratercula cirrhata)
Ornithology and Mammalogy Lab Manual Biology 308
I found a great website by a photographer named Brian Wheeler, who has published a book on how to identify
north American hawks in flight. It is on the virtual birder site (http://www.virtualbirder.com/) under the
specific heading: http://www.virtualbirder.com/vbirder/gallery/index.html. There are also other shots of
hawks in flight at this location, as well as a ton of other amazing photos.
Ornithology and Mammalogy Lab Manual Biology 308
Owls also have relatively silent flight compared to other birds. This is
facilitated by reduced suturing of the barbules on the leading edge of the wing,
giving it a frayed appearance, as well as hair-like extensions on the upper
surface of the vane that allow the wings to move past one another without
creating a rubbing sound. This makes owls extremely good night predators, as
they don’t alert their prey.
Most owls hunt by tracking prey while perched, and then pouncing on it.
Pygmy-owls prey on small birds, and will also catch these in flight. Only short-
eared owls hunt by actively flying over fields looking for rodents.
All owls are predatory, most hunt small rodents. Several species will also take
small birds, and great horned owls will take things as large as snowshoe hares
(or domestic pets, so be careful letting cats out at night).
There are two families in the Order, Tytonidae with includes the barn owls, and
Strigidae, which includes all other owls that occur in BC. Tytonidae owls have
a characteristic heart-shaped face not seen in the facial disks of the Strigidae
owls.
Family: Tytonidae (Barn-Owls)
Barn Owl (Tyto alba)
Family: Strigidae (Typical Owls)
Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)*
Northern Hawk Owl (Surnia ulula)*
Northern Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium gnoma)*
Barred Owl (Strix varia)*
Great Gray Owl (Strix nebulosa)*
Long-eared Owl (Asio otus)*
Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus)*
Boreal Owl (Aegolius funereus)*
Northern Saw-whet Owl (Aegolius acadicus)*
Western Screech-Owl (Otus kennicottii)
Flammulated Owl (Otus fammeolus)
Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia)
Snowy Owl (Nyctea scandiaca)
Spotted Owl (Strix occidentalis)
Members of this family have very large mouths, which are lined with bristle
feathers. They catch insects in flight, and the bristles help direct prey into the
mouth and also give sensory information about position of the prey in the
mouth to the bird. Night jars include things like whip-poor-wills of eastern
North America, and common poorwills finger into the lower Okanagan, but the
most common member of this Order and Family in BC is the Common
Nighthawk. Key distinguishing character in flight is the broad white underwing
bar on both males and females. Males also have a white throat, whereas this
is brown on females.
(incidentally, Common Nighthawks can often be seen flying over the fields of
College Heights highschool).
Hummingbirds (Family Trochilidae) are small nectivores and only found in the
Nearctic and Neotropics. They have a unique structure to their shoulder girdle
that allows them to hover, fly both forwards and backwards or up and down
similar to a helicopter. No other group of birds can do this. In Africa and
Asia/Australia, the sunbirds look extremely similar to hummingbirds and
occupy the same feeding niche (nectivores with long bills for inserting into
flowers), but they can’t however continuously like hummingbirds. Rather, they
perch on the stalk of the plant to insert the bill into the flower.
The brilliant iridescent feathers on the throat of males is called a “gorget”, and
is used in display. Males defend patches of flower from which females come
to feed. As far as I know, all species in the family are highly polygynous and
females do all the care of young. Nests are usually made of moss held
together with cobwebs. Young are fed on insects, particularly mosquitoes,
which are also a large part of adult diet until flowers bloom (so be nice to
hummingbirds).
Swifts look superficially like swallows (a song bird). They are often described
as cigars with wings, as this is the profile they give in flight. Aerial insectivores
like Caprimulgids and swallows, they have similar long wings with pointed tips,
but are smaller than nighthawks. The swifts also have bristles around their
mouths and catch insects in flight. They are often seen flying at dusk over
open fields, often quite high in the air. They have extremely weak feet, and
rest at night by flying into cavities (like caves or hollow trees) and perching on
the vertical surface. All four of their toes face forward (called Pamprodactyl),
and they essentially grasp the surface of the rock and dangle while sleeping.
They roost in large colonies both during nesting and in migration. In North
America, famous colonies are found in the eastern Chimney Swift, which have
taken to nesting in the brick chimneys of old buildings. Wolfville, NS (town
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where Acadia University is) has a huge colony that roosts in an old chimney on
the edge of campus. When they knocked the old building down, they left the
chimney standing for the swifts, and it is now a little park. During fall migration
1996 at the college I taught at in central Kansas, my students and I counted
about 2000-2500 swifts enter the college’s central chimney during a 30minute
period at dusk to roost overnight.
Alcedinidae (Kingfishers) are piscivores primarily, but will also eat things like
frogs. They have long heavy bills pointed at the tip, and typically fly over rivers
or perch on trees near the bank looking for fish on the surface. They dive from
flight headfirst with wings folded onto the surface to grab fish. Kingfishers
have very strong feet, and use these in excavating very long burrows into
sandy banks along river edges, where they nest.
Belted Kingfishers – you can tell the sexes apart by looking at the belly –
males like the one pictured have a blue band across the chest, females also
have this blue band but also have a broad rust-coloured band across the belly
below this.
Woodpeckers have strong chisel-like bills used for hammering into tree bark.
The birds feed on bark-boring insects that have larvae below the barks surface
(such as Pine beetles – several species in North America, such as the black-
backed and three-toed woodpeckers specialize on these, and a lot of the other
species around here at the moment are taking advantage of the current
abundance. If you see a pine killed by beetles and the bark has been stripped
off in large chunks or completely, that is the work of woodpeckers).
The birds have specialized tongues that extend out far past the end of the bill.
Many have back-facing barbs or sticky appendages on the tips, and they dart
these into the holes they create with their bills to grab larvae.
Woodpeckers have specialization of the foot and tail for moving vertically on
the trunks of trees. First the foot has zygodactyl toe placement, which means
toe toes face forward, and two backwards. This allows for very strong gripping
on the tree bark. In addition, the central rachis of the retrices (tail feathers) are
reinforced and exceptionally stiff. The birds push the tail against the trunk of
the tree to use as a brace.
Order: Passeriformes
The passerines are linked by a couple of common features – first, all possess a specialized foot structure that
allows them to easily perch on tree branches. This consists of a long tendon that runs from the leg muscles
over the tarsus and bifurcates at the toes, linking backwards onto the halux and forward onto the three forward
facing toes. When the bird lands and bends its leg to perch, this stretches the tendon over the tarsus and
effectively closes the toes around the branch. As long as the bird is perched and putting its weight on its legs,
this causes the feet to grip the perch. As a result, the birds can sleep while perching.
The second feature of passerines is that (with the possible exception of Tyrannidae), passerines must
learn their species-characteristic songs, they are not instinctively “known”. Among the other families and orders
of birds, individuals raised in isolation make fairly typical adult vocalizations. Passerines raised in isolation are
largely unable to make the species-typical song.
Bushtits travel in very tight flocks, which are typically extended family units.
Typically seen in open and edge habitat, they are quite common in suburbs,
parks and golf courses. Males and females are similar in appearance and
resemble small, dusty grey chickadees. The only distinguishing feature
between the males and females is that they have different coloured irises in
their eyes – males have brown irises, females have golden yellow. Bushtits
are one of two cooperatively breeding species that occur in the province, the
other being the pygmy nuthatch (below). This means that more than a single
male and female aid in provisioning for the young in the nest, the breeding
pair typically have “helpers” which are adult offspring that help take care of a
new brood of young.
Nests are constructed from plant material underneath hanging bark on dead
trees, and is typically very well concealed
Brown Creeper (Certhia americana) *
Dippers feed on aquatic insect larva, which they obtain by wading and even
diving into streams for. They will completely submerge and walk along
stream bottoms to take prey from under rocks and in eddies behind rocks.
American Dipper (Cinclus mexicanus) *
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Lab 6 – Passerines II
Family: Regulidae (Kinglets)
Kinglets are the smallest Passerines in North America. The two species in
the family are small with olive-grey backs and prominent white wing bars.
They have small bills (smaller than vireos and flycatchers to which they look
most similar). Ruby-crowned kinglets have a prominent eye ring, and a
patch of bright red feathers on the crown that are partially covered with grey
feathers unless the crown is erected in display. Golden-crowned kinglets
have eye rings, but also have a dark eye stripe bordering a white
supercilliary stripe, and a bright golden crown stripe. This is visible all the
time and is the best distinguishing feature of the bird (nearly identical
European species is called a “firecrest”).
Both birds fly out from trees and briefly hover at the tips of branches where
they forage.
The species is slate grey with darker wings, tail and cap. The outer rump
feathers have a red patch. Wings are short and rounded, tail is fairly long.
Starlings and mynas are excellent mimics. The birds song consists of
enormous repertoires of song types that range from novel songs, mimics of
other species, imitations of sounds like car horns and rusty gate hinges and
a host of things the birds hear during the period of song acquisition. Both
starling and mynas can be taught to mimic human words and are fairly
popular cage bird pets. Starlings have iridescent black plumage with light
spotting (which reflects UV, so appears as strong constrasting spots to the
birds themselves) with a bright yellow bill. Crested mynas are black with
ruffled forehead feathers above their yellow bill, but the most distinguishing
characteristic is bright white spots on the upper and lower wing when the
bird is in flight. If you see a “starling” with those white patches in
Vancouver, report it to the Royal BC Museum, as it might just well be the
last of the Crested Mynas in BC.
The feathers are very soft looking, and the birds have prominent crests on
the crown and black eye masks and bibs. Bohemian waxwings are a very
common and abundant winter resident in Prince George, where large flocks
(50plus birds) are not uncommon to see decending onto mountain ash trees
in suburban neighbourhoods where the birds pick and eat all the waxy red
berries. Cedar waxwings breed locally, but are less common in the winter
and in the large flocks of wintering bohemians.
Most members of this diverse group are ground dwelling seed eaters. They
have short conical bills associated with seed crushing, but this typically aren’t
quite as “pointy” as seen in finches (Fringilidae, below). Also, plumage in the
sparrows is typically browns, greys and other melanin based colours;
although some species do have yellow plumage patches as well, these
aren’t as prominent as carotenoid base plumages in the Fringilids. When
trying to id sparrows, pay particular attention to the patterns of colours on the
face and head (this is where knowing your facial topography of birds is
critical), as well as noting whether the breast is streaked, spotted or
unmarked. Note any distinctive colour patches, especially things like black
patches on the breast and throat (bibs) and contrasting black and white
striping.
There are three species in BC, two of which occur largely in the Okanagan
(Black-headed grosbeak and Lazuli bunting) and one which occurs primarily
in the Peace region (Rose-breasted Grosbeak). Although the Rose-breasted
Grosbeak does appear in PG during migration (at least I have seen them
here), and Lazuli buntings are known in the area, none of these could be
classified as common in the area. As a result, this family is a “free-bee”, you
don’t have to know either the family or any of the species.
Finches tend to have forked tails, which are a good character to look for in
flight. In addition, they have what is termed undulating flight, as the bird
appears to bob up and down in a wave-like fashion. This is due to the typical
flight behavior of the bird flapping rapidly several times to gain some lift
(upward part of the flight), followed by gliding (downward part) and repeating
this over and over.
Also differ from Emberizids in that House Sparrows are cavity nesters and
take readily to nestboxes.
As a result, we are going to learn some of the fundamentals about tracks, as well as look at the skulls
of mammals – the two most common forms of evidence that you will find of mammals. All mammals
can be identified by their skull characteristics, so we will be focusing on learning the different
attributes of the skulls of different families and species. Skull identification is a critically important skill
in identifying mammalian specimens; a well-trained biologist can often identify not only the species,
but the sex and age of a specimen from a partial skull.
In today’s lab, we will be investigating the general features of the skull and teeth, as well as some of
the common measurements that people take when looking at skulls.
Parietal Maxilla
Premaxilla
Jugal
Squamosal
Occipital
Auditory Bulla
Coronoid Fossa
Dentary
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Diastema
a. Basal Length
b. Basilar Length a c
d b
c. Greatest Length
d. Diastema
Length
g
e
e. Postorbital
f Constriction
h f. Breadth of Braincase
g. Zygomatic Breadth
h. Mastoid Breadth
Bat Vole
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Basilar Length - posterior margins of the alveoli of the upper incisors to the anterior-most point on
the lower border of the foramen magnum.
Basal Length – anterior edge of the premaxillae to the anterior-most point on the lower border of the
foramen magnum.
Diastema Length – posterior margin of alveolus of last incisor present to anterior margin of alveolus
of first cheek tooth present
Postorbital Constriction – least distance across the top of the skull posterior to the postorbital
process.
Breadth of Braincase – greatest width across the braincase posterior to the zygomatic arches
Zygomatic Breadth – greatest distance between the outer margin of the zygomatic arches
Mastoid Breadth – greatest width of skull including the mastoid
Mandibular Diastema – same as for Diastema length (above, but measured on lower jaw
Mandibular Length – greatest length of the mandible, usually excluding teeth
Mandibular Tooth Row – length from anterior edge of alveolus of canine or first cheek tooth to
posterior edge of alveolus of last tooth. The incisor is not included in this measurement.
c.
a.
b.
a. Mandibular Diastema
b. Mandibular Length
c. Mandibular Tooth Row
Dentition
Most mammals are diphyodont, having only two sets of teeth. The deciduous, or milk teeth, present
in immature mammals are usually replaced by a set of permanent teeth that are retained for life. The
patters of tooth eruption and replacement can often be used to age animals until all permanent teeth
are present.
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Teeth in mammals are measured in quadrants of the jaw. Drawing a line straight through the middle
of the palate from the back to front of head, you describe the number of teeth on each half of either
the upper and lower jaw. This is short-hand, and the teeth are normally matched on either side of the
head (e.g. same number of molars on the upper left as upper right of the mouth). However, the
number of teeth in each category can differ between the upper and lower jaw.
Kinds of Teeth
Incisors – rooted in the premaxillary bone, and the corresponding teeth in the lower jaw. Placenetal
mammals never have more then thee incisors in each jaw quadrant, but marsupials may have up
to five in each half of the upper and lower jaw.
These teeth are generally chisel-shaped and function primarily for nipping. In artiodactylids
(cattle and deer), the incisors are missing from the upper jaw, and nipping is done against a horny
plate on the upper jaw and the lower incisors. In gnawing rodents (Rodentia), there is a reduction
in the number of incisors (one in each quadrant of the jaw)
Canines – the most anterior teeth routed in the maxilla, and the corresponding teeth of the lower jaw.
Never number more than one per quadrant. Typically long, conspicuous, unicuspid (single
rounded point) and have a single root. Used to capture, hold and kill prey, these are often
reduced or absent in herbivores.
Premolars – situated posterior to the canines and differ from molars in having deciduous
predecessors (your first “cheek teeth” as a kid are actually premolars).
Molars – situated posterior to the premolars, and do not have deciduous predecessors. Molars either
have a upper surface described as bunodont. The crowns of the bunodont teeth oppose each
other directly and the entire upper surface is shielded in enamel. Lophodont teeth have cusps
fused to form elongated ridges. Selenodont molars function in a similar manner, but in each
ridge is formed by the elongation of a single cusp. The ridges of selenodont teeth are cresent-
shaped and longitudinally oriented.
Bunodont (Raccoon)
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Lophodont (Porcupine)
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Dental Formulae
You will typically see descriptions of dental formulae in mammals (such as the one below for wolves,
Canis lupus, below) with a series of numbers, such as:
3 1 4 2
3 1 4 3
This is a shorthand method of describing the number of each kind of teeth found on one side of the
upper and lower jaw. The long hand version of this would be written:
The upper numbers indicate the number of teeth on each side of the midline of the upper jaw, the
lower numbers are the number of teeth of each type on either side of the midline on the lower jaw. As
the number of teeth of each type is identical on each side of the head (e.g. bilateral symmetry), they
often just describe the number of teeth on one side of the jaw.
Therefore, the second number after the dash is usually dropped, and the various teeth are also often
represented by their initial, or simply with no initial and assuming that you go in order from Incisor,
Canine, Premolar, Molar.
I 3 C 1 P 4 M 2 or 3 1 4 2
3 1 4 3 3 1 4 2
If there are no teeth in a particular category, then you simply indicated this with a zero. For example,
Norway rats (like most rodents) have only one incisor in either side of the midline in both the upper
and lower jaws, have no canines or premolars, and three molars on either side of the midline on both
the upper and lower jaw. Their dental formula is thus written:
I 1 C 0 P 0 M 3 or 1 0 0 3
1 0 0 3 1 0 0 3
In some species, like seals, the Premolars and Molars are difficult to distinguish, so sometimes they
are grouped as P+M in dental formulae. For example:
Resources:
Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection has an online manual for identifying small mammals of BC.
This is excellent – it has info on every species except those in the larger Orders (Artiodactyla,
Carnivora and Cetacea). This document not only has pictures of the specimens, but also gives
some of their life history, drawings of their skulls and range maps. It is an excellent resource and the
best thing is that is made available for free! I have put a copy of the pdf file onto the lab folder in the
portfolio on Studept.
http://wlapwww.gov.bc.ca/wld/documents/techpub/id_keys_s.pdf
There is also a great webpage with photos of animal skulls from Idaho which might be helpful
(although not all the species in BC are shown, it will definitely give you some access to the more
common species, and has photos of the skulls rather than just drawings). -
http://www.surweb.org/search/cover_page.asp?cid=163
CLASS: Mammalia
SubClass: Metatheria – the marsupials.
Marsupials have a different development process, and different
placental attachment of the embryo to the maternal blood supply,
which we will discuss in class. There is only one metatherian in
North America, the North American Opossum.
Order Marupialia
Family Didelphidae: New World Opossums
There are several other marsupials in central through
south America, but the North American Opossum in is the
only one in North America. Marsupials have a larger
number of teeth, particularly incisors, than do the
Eutherian mammals, so you can distinguish the skull of
Opossums by 5 incisors on the upper and 4 on the lower
jaw. This species has a prehensile tail for grabbing tree
branches.
North American Opossum (Didelphis virginiana)
Dental Formula: 5 1 3 4
4 1 3 4
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Family Vespertilionidae
Little Brown Myotis (Myotis lucifugus) *
Western Long-eared Myotis (Myotis evotis) *
Northern Long-eared Myotis (Myotis
septentrionalis) *
Long-legged Myotis (Myotis volans) *
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There are two families in this Order, the Leporidae (Hares and
Rabbits) and the Ochontonidae (Pikas). Within the Leporidea,
Hares (including jackrabbits) are typically longer-legged and have
larger ears than rabbits. Hares do not construct nests, they
typically bear their young in shallow scrapes on the ground. The
young of hares are precocial – born furred, open eyed and capable
Snowshoe Hare
of independent movement. As a result, hares spend very little time
in parental care. Rabbits make nests, often lined with hair the
female plucks from her underside. The nests can be in depressions
in the ground (forms), or burrows as in European rabbits (the
burrows are called warrens). The young of rabbits are born atricial
– no fur, eyes not fully developed and having limited movement.
The result is that rabbits are required to provide much more
parental care than hares. The two groups also differ in escape
tactics – when pursued, rabbits typically seek shelter in burrows or
in foliage, while hares tend to freeze and flatten themselves against
the ground. If the predator pursues, they take off running in a
zigzag pattern that makes capture difficult.
Hares also have two annual moults, and in northern species like the
Snowshoe hare and the arctic hare, the winter pelage (fur) is white
making the animals cryptic. Rabbits do not have this winter moult. Nuttall’s Cottontail
The Ochontonidae (Pikas) are smaller and have more rounded ears
than the Leporids. Pikas lack a visible tail. They also do not hop
like leporids, and have hind legs of similar size and length to the
forelegs. They run more akin to a mouse or guinea pig. Pikas live
in talus slopes at higher elevations, and build caches of cropped
grass for winter food. They are extremely vocal, and will sit on
rocks whistling.
Family Leporidae. Hares and Rabbits
Snowshoe Hare (Lepus americanus) *
White-tailed jackrabbit (Lepus townnsendii)
European Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) (introduced)
Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) (introduced)
Nuttall's Cottontail (Sylvilagus nuttallii)
Pika
Pika skull
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The tooth has enamel on the front (which often yellows), and exposed dentine on the back. The enameled front
of the incisors on the lower jaw scrape past the dentine on the back of the incisors on the upper jaw, and create
a “chiseled” edge. Further gnawing of hard material also wears out the dentine on both sets of teeth faster than
the enamel, increasing this chiseled effect, and making these incisors particularly adept for gnawing.
Skull architecture, and specifically the attachment of the massetor muscle to the skull, divides mammals into
three distinct group: Sciuromorph (squirrel-like), Myomorph, (mouse-like) and Hystricomorph (Porcupine-
like).
Sciuromorph means that the massetors attach directly to the zygomatic arch, with often has a large flattened
area on the underside for muscle attachment. In Myomorph rodents, part of the massetor muscle passes
through the eye socket and an enlarged infraorbital foramena to attach to the maxilla. This pattern is even more
pronounced in the Hystricomorphs, and the infraorbital foramena is very large to allow the passage of the
massetor to attach to the maxilla. This last pattern gives Hystricomorph rodents (like guinea pigs) their
characteristic boxy-looking rostrum.
Family Aplondontidae.
Consists of a single species, the mountain beaver. These occur only on
the coast forest areas of California north to BC. This is a very primitive
lineage, and has a sciuromorph skull architecture. The auditory bullae
are very elongated, and the first premolars are divided into three pegs.
They are fossorial (burrowers). The animal looks a bit like a muskrat with
a stubby tail, and the skull has a characteristic triangular shape and is
very flat. They have been prized for their pelts in the past, and were used
in cloaks among First Nations.
Mountain Beaver (Aplodontia rufa)
Dental Formula: 1 0 2 3
1 0 1 3
Mountain Beaver
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Meadow Vole
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Muskrat skull
Live in lodges that have openings to the water (usually multiple) allowing
access to water even when ice is on the surface. Dams ensure that the
water is deep enough to not freeze all the way to the bottom. Beavers
jam gnawed saplings into the bottom of the ponds, and will feed on the
bark during winter.
Skull is very large, and has Sciuromorph shape. Large “scoop” on the
maxilla also increases attachment of massetor muscles. Cheek teeth
have a very characteristic lophodont shape.
Beaver (Castor canadensis) 8
Dental Formula: 1 0 1 3
1 0 1 3
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Family: Cricetidae - All the new World mice are in this family, but it also
includes hamsters and gerbils. The most prominent of these in BC are
the deer mouse and bushy-tailed woodrat. Deer mice differ from house
mice (Muridae) in being very two-toned in colour, with a tan back and very
white belly and a two-toned tail of the same pattern. Woodrats (or
packrats) have very bushy tails, and are famous for collecting strange
items (e.g. tooth brushes and toy cars) that they hoard in their nests.
Skulls of these look “daintier” than Arvicolids – they lack the prominent
post-orbital processes and the rather squarish look when viewed form the
top that is characteristic of vole skulls. All individuals also lack premolars
– one incisor and three molars on each quadrant of the upper and lower
jaw is the total dental formula. In addition, all the molars are rooted and
bunodont. The molars are relatively equal in size, and this can be used to Deer mouse
distinguish them from the skulls of Murid mice/rats.
Bushy-tailed Woodrat (Neotoma cinerea)*
Deer Mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) *
Keen’s Mouse (Peromyscus keeni)
Columbian mouse (Peromyscus oreas)
Sitka mouse (Peromyscus sitkensis)
Western Harvest Mouse (Reithrodontomys megalois)
Dental Formula: 1 0 0 3
1 0 0 3
Bushy-tailed woodrat
Porcupine
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Porcupine Skull
Family: Muridae – old world mice, all species in north America are
introduced. These include the Norway and black rats – the former is
larger bodied and has a proportionately shorter tail (tail length equal to
body length). Black rats are smaller, more arboreal, and have a tail
longer than their body. The tails of both are largely bare of hair. House
mice are smaller, and most likely confused with deer mice. However,
they are less two-toned in colour than deer mice.
Skulls – all the species have characteristic bunodont teeth, and are
myomorphic. Like cricetids, lack premolars. Key distinguishing
characteristic from Cricetids is that the first molar is large (about twice the
size of the other two molars). Each molar also has three cusped ridges
running from front to back.
House Mouse (Mus musculus) introduced *
Norway Rat (Rattus norvegicus) introduced*
Black Rat (Rattus rattus) introduced *
Dental Formula: 1 0 0 3
1 0 0 3
Family: Sciuridae
The squirrel family includes squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks and
marmots (woodchucks are also known as common marmots). Most
members go into a state of dormancy (hibernation) for the winter.
Squirrels are typically arboreal, whereas the rest of the group tend to be
more ground-dwelling and burrowing. Ground squirrels and chipmunks
both have alternate dark/light striping on the back, but only in chipmunks
does this striping extend onto the face. Both dig burrows in which they
breed, cached food for the winter and will seek refuge. Marmots are the
largest members of the group.
Skulls – cheek teeth are all bunodont. Skulls have a very predominant Red squirrel
post-orbital process that is appears as sharp “point” when viewing the
skull from the top. Also tend to have prounced, and very rounded
auditory bullae when viewing the skull from below.
Northern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus) *
Hoary Marmot (Marmota caligata) *
Woodchuck† (Marmota monax) *
Columbian Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus columbianus) *
Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus lateralis) *
Red Squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus)*
Yellow-pine Chipmunk (Tamias amoenus) *
Least Chipmunk (Tamias minimus) *
Yellow-bellied Marmot (Marmota flaviventris)
Vancouver Island Marmot (Marmota vancouverensis)
Gray Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) introduced
Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger)
Arctic Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus parryii)
Cascade Mantled Ground Squirrel (Spermophilus saturatus)
Red-tailed Chipmunk (Tamias ruficaudus)
Townsend's Chipmunk (Tamias townsendii) Golden-mantled ground squirrel
Douglas's Squirrel (Tamiasciurus douglassii)
Dental Formula: 1 0 2 3
1 0 1 3
(only exception is red squirrel, which sometimes has only 1 premolar on
the upper jaw).
Least chipmunk
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Hoary marmot
Red squirrel
Lab 9 - Carnivora
Order Carnivora
Essentially, the meat eaters. This is likely to be the Order of mammals that people are most familiar with, as
they are the topic of most Nature documentaries (you see a lot more titles like “never cry wolf” than you do “my
life among the pocket gophers”). The animals in this family evoke a lot of interest, and part of this is their
powerful nature, but also because hunting often involves attributes of social behaviour and “cunning” that we
see in our own species.
A general characteristic of the skulls is prominent canine teeth and premolars that are specialized in slicing.
Among some families, molars are greatly reduced or absent. In other families, which tend towards omnivory,
the molars retain the bunodont flattened shape. There are no species in this order with hypsodont molars, all
are brachiodont. In this lab, we will focus more on the attributes that distinguish the various families of carnivors
in BC.
Family: Canidae
Highly socially organized. Wolf packs typically consist of a
dominant (alpha) pair that are the primary breeders, and a group of
subordinate animals. Coyotes and foxes are more solitary, but still
usually travel in mated pairs. Canids mate monogamously and
often form long-term pair bonds (e.g. often multiple years). Both
males and females care for young.
Pack hunting allows Canids like wolves to take prey much larger
than individual animals. Coyotes and Foxes that do not hunt in
packs tend to take smaller prey, such as rodents or rabbits.
Dental Formula: 3 1 4 2
3 1 4 3
Coyote skull
Ornithology and Mammalogy Lab Manual Biology 308
Family: Felidae
Typically solitary animals, males and females don’t make
long term pair bonds. Cats, however, are perhaps the most
efficient in design for predators. They are extremely
graceful, and can achieve very high speeds during chase.
They are powerful for their size, and have long retractable
claws that allow the tips to be maintained extremely sharp
for grasping and holding.
The skulls of cats are very typically short from back to front,
yet very massive in structure. They have a short biting
surface area to the teeth that concentrates the bite pressure,
and a large reduction or loss of molars. The carnassials are
extremely well developed, and the canines are among the
longest and best at piercing in the carnivores. Horny
protuberances on the tongue, which gives cat tongues their
characteristic raspy feel, are used to scrape meat from
bones.
All our cats fall into the “Felis” or purring cats group – yes,
Cougars apparently purr. Lions, jaguars and other large
cats belong to the Panthera group which have a slightly
different structure to their voice box and instead roar.
Cougar (Felis concolor) *
Lynx (Lynx canadensis) *
Bobcat (Lynx rufus)*
Dental Formula: 3 1 3 1 Cougar
3 1 2 1
Dental Formula: 3 1 2 1 Lynx and Bobcats
3 1 2 1
Cougar skull
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Family: Mustelidae
This is the most diverse family of Carnivores in north
America. Mustelidae includes the weasels (which includes
the mink, marten, fisher and wolverine), as well as
badgers otters and skunks. Most mustelids have relatively
long, slender bodies and proportionately short legs. They
range in size from the least weasel (about the size of a
chipmunk) up to male sea otters which can weigh in at
45kg.
Long-tailed weasel
Family: Otariidae
Otariidae are the eared seals, which includes the sea lions and
fur seals. Otariid seals have external pinnae to the “ears”
which give them their family name. These, and the Phocidae,
have fore and hind limbs that have evolved into flippers for
underwater locomotion. This adaptation, and their aquatic
lifestyle, has led to them (along with Walruses) to being
grouped into a separate order (Pinnipedia) in the past, but
genetic evidence suggests that bears and seals are closely
related.
Dental Formula: 3 1 4 2 or 3 1 4 1
2 1 4 1 2 1 4 1
Family: Phocidae
The “hair seals”, phocids are fairly ungainly on land. They
undulate on their bodies, as their flippers do not support their
body weight (a marine biologist I met referred to them as
“beach maggots”). Underwater, however, phocids are
remarkably graceful. In constrast to otariids, phocids propel
themselves through the water with alternating sweeps of the
rear-facing hind flippers. The forelimbs are used as
rudders/steering devices and brakes, and not for forward
propulsion. Phocids have little to no underfur, and lack
external ear pinnae, so appear “earless” compared to the
otariids. Northern Elephant Seals are the largest members of
this group, and males can weigh up to 2200kg and measure
5m in length.
Family: Procyonidae
Procyonids (which include the Ringtail and Coati of southern
and central America) are nocturnal and very good climbers.
They are omnivores, and have very highly dexterity in the front
paws. Raccoons often sit on their hind legs and manipulate
prey with their forepaws. Pet raccoons can be trained to turn
on faucets, and a friend who use to work with the humane
society often recounts tales of raccoons “jimmying’ the nut-
and-bolt style locks they used on their cages. There are even
pictures floating around the internet of raccoons that have
learned to milk dairy cows so they can steal the milk.
Family: Ursidae
Only two species occur in BC, although there are several
subspecies of each. Black bears on the Queen Charlotte
Islands, for example, are larger than those on the mainland.
Kermode bears (spirit bears) that occur near Terrace are a
white morph of the black bear – they are not albino, as they
have black noses and eyes. Rather they have a gene in the
skin that prevent melanin being deposited in the fur.
Grizzly bears have a very concave forhead and face, and this
makes their face look broader and their rostrum shorter than
black bears. The grizzly has a characteristic “hump” on it
back, and much longer and straighter claws than the black
bear – grizzlies use their claws primarily for digging, while
black bears have shorter more curved claws for climbing.
Coat colour is not a good distinguishing feature, as black bears
can range from white (Kermode), tan, chocolate brown through
jet black in colour.
Lab 10 - Artiodactyla
Order Artiodactyla
The Artiodactyla are the even-toed hoofed mammals. This means that they walk on either two or four toes, as
opposed to the Perissodactyla (including horses) that have and odd number of toes (in the horse, this is one).
In most of the BC species, the animals have two toes that make contact with the ground in regular walking, but
may have two smaller outer toes (called Dewclaws) that occur higher up on the leg and only make contact with
the ground when the animal is walking through deep snow or soft mud.
All of BC’s Artiodactylids are foregut fermentors (Ruminates). They fall into two Families, the Bovidae (cattle-
like) and Cervidae (Deer-like). The main difference between these two groups is that the Bovidae have horns,
while the cervidae have antlers.
Family: Bovidae
This family includes the cattle-like ungulates, which in BC
include sheep, mountain goats and bison. All members of this
family have horns, which can occur in both sexes but are
typically larger in males.
True horns are continuously growing and never shed. They are
keratinized material (similar to hoofs and fingernails) that is
deposited over a bony core extending from the frontal bone of
the skull. The horn is not living tissue, and material is added
from the base. The age of animals, especially bighorn or dall’s
sheep can be estimated from the length of the horns due to
their continuous growth pattern.
Thinhorn sheep (for which the BC populations are also called Bighorn sheep
Stone sheep and the Alaskan/Yukon populations are called
Dall’s sheep) can be distinguished from bighorn sheep due to
their slightly thinner horns the tips of which grow away from the
head (look at the front of the two pictured animals – bighorn,
the point is almost under the upper curl of the horn, whereas
the Thinhorn sheep’s are much farther out laterally from this
upper curl).
Bison (Bison bison) * Bison
Mountain Goat (Oreamnos americanus) *
Bighorn Sheep (Ovis canadensis) * Thinhorn (aka Dall’s or Stone) Sheep.
Thinhorn Sheep (Ovis dalli) *
Dental Formula: 0 1 3 3
3 1 3 3
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Mountain Goat
Family: Cervidae
The Cervidae is distinguished from the Bovidae in having
antlers rather than horns. Antlers are bone outgrowths of the
Frontal bone in the skull, and are highly vascularized during
growth through an outer skin covering called velvet. Blood
moving through the velvet supplying the underlying bone
growth through calcium and nutrient deposition. Antlers grow
seasonally, starting typically in the spring and reaching full
development in the fall during the breeding season. That the
point of full development, the blood supply to the velvet is cut
off and the skin covering the antler dies and is shed by the
animals rubbing against trees etc. In most Cervids, only males
have these enlarged antlers (the exception is females in
Elk
caribou). The antlers are typically used in male fighting over
control of harems or groups of females.
Skull – Cervids lack incisors on the upper jaw, but have rather a
horny plate against which the lower incisors articulate against.
The lower canine faces forward and looks like an incisor.
Moose (Alces alces)*
Elk (Cervus elaphus) *
Mule (Black-tailed) Deer (Odocoileus hemionus)*
Ornithology and Mammalogy Lab Manual Biology 308
Dental Formula: 0 1 3 3
3 1 3 3
White-tailed deer
Ornithology and Mammalogy Lab Manual Biology 308
Appendix – Track and Scat guides – from the “Mammals of Algonquin Park”
Ornithology and Mammalogy Lab Manual Biology 308
Ornithology and Mammalogy Lab Manual Biology 308
Ornithology and Mammalogy Lab Manual Biology 308