- •Introduction
- •Verreaux’s sifaka
- •Identification: Males reach 8–10 feet in length and have a massive neck, shoulders, and mane; females are smaller.
- •Identification: a large deer (standing 4-5 feet at the shoulder) with brownish red fur and a pale rump patch; males generally have enormous antlers and a long mane.
- •Identification: a 3-4-foot-tall deer with a brownish coat and large antlers (3 feet long) in males.
- •Identification: a medium-sized deer typically with a grayish brown coat and white underparts, and antlers in both sexes. Moose
- •Identification : The largest species of deer (weighing up to 1,300 pounds); has slender legs, a pendulous nose, and (in males) prominent palmate antlers and a dewlap or “bell” beneath the throat.
- •Identification: The tallest mammal (up to 19 feet), with a sloping back, enormously long neck, bony, knobbed “horns” in both sexes, and the familiar reddish brown spotted patterning.
- •Identification: a deer-sized mammal with distinctive, sharply forked horns in males and reddish brown fur with white patches.
- •Identification: a medium-sized gazelle; males have distinctive spiral horns and a black-and-white coat; females and juvenile males are tan colored.
- •Identification: a large wild sheep (weighing up to 300 pounds) with massive spiral horns in males; coat is brown with a white muzzle, underparts, and rump patch.
- •Identification: Similar to Bighorn, except smaller and with thinner horns; coat is all white or brownish black to gray,
- •Identification: a large (6—8—foot—long) mammal with long, shaggy fur, humped shoulders, and massive, down-sweeping horns.
- •Identification: a stocky, 3-foot-tall, goatlike mammal with shaggy white fur and sharp horns in both sexes.
- •Identification: An enormous buffalo (up to 61/2 feet high) with massive forequarters, humped shoulders, and (in males) a beard.
- •Identification: Similar to American Bison but more slender, less hunched, and with longer legs.
- •Identification: a huge (II-foot-long), usually black buffalo with massive, upward-curving horns in both sexes.
- •Identification: The familiar wild horse with a black-and-white-striped pattern; Mountain Zebras usually have a distinctive dewlap.
- •Identification: a 3—5-foot-long wild pig with a large head, prominent tusks, and distinctive warts in front of the eyes and on the jaw..
- •Identification: a piglike mammal with grayish, speckled, or salt-and-pepper fur and a light-colored collar.
- •Identification: The familiar large (up to 71/2 tons), trunked mammal with enormous ears and tusks in both sexes.
- •Identification: a large wild cat (up to 550 pounds) with a prominent mane in males.
- •Identification: a small canid (body length up to 3 feet) with a bushy tail and a reddish brown coat (although some variants are silvery or black).
- •Identification: The largest wild canid (reaching up to 7 feet in length) with a gray, brown, black, or white coat.
- •Identification: a small (3 foot long), reddish brown, bearlike canid with short legs and tail. Social Organization
- •Identification: a huge bear (7–10 feet tall) with dark brown, golden, cream, or black fur..
- •Identification: a smaller bear (4–6 feet) with coat color ranging from black to gray, brown, and even white. Park, Saskatchewan, Canada; subspecies u.A. Altifrontalis.
- •Identification: a yellowish brown hyena with spotted flanks and back, a strongly sloping body profile, and rounded ears; females typically heavier than males.
- •Identification: a large (over 3 foot tall) kangaroo with a gray coat and a hair-covered muzzle.
- •Identification: a smaller kangaroo (21/2 feet tall) with a reddish brown wash on its neck.
- •Identification: a light gray kangaroo standing up to 3 feet tall, with a white facial stripe and a long, slender tail.
- •Identification: a small (6–7 pound), rodentlike kangaroo with reddish brown fur.
- •Identification: Stocky, tree-dwelling kangaroos; chestnut or chocolate brown fur with lighter patches.
- •Identification: a small, mouselike marsupial with a thick, conical, fat-storing tail.
- •Identification: a catlike marsupial, up to 2 feet long, with grayish brown fur and white splotches.
- •Identification: a medium-sized (10—15 inch), primarily tree-dwelling squirrel with a reddish brown or tawny coat and white underparts, often with a dark stripe on the side.
- •Identification: a large (20 inch), tree-dwelling squirrel with a long, bushy tail and gray, grizzled, or buff fur.
- •Identification: Small, guinea-pig-like rodents with coarse fur; Dwarf Cavies have a distinctive white eye-ring, Cuis have yellow-colored incisors.
- •Identification: a small (less than I foot long) insectivore with sandy-colored spines, white underparts, and prominent ears.
- •Identification: a dark gray goose with fine silvery-white feather patterning; the wild ancestor of domestic geese.
- •Identification: a brown-plumaged goose with a distinctive black neck and white cheek patch; varies widely in size, from 2–24 pounds.
- •Identification: a pinkish-red-billed goose with two major color phases: all-white and “blue” (grayish plumage with a white head and neck).
- •Identification: The only swan with fully black plumage; wing feathers are white, bill is bright red, and the neck is especially long.
- •Identification: a large swan (up to 33 pounds) with a black knob at the base of its reddish orange bill (less prominent in females).
- •Identification: a familiar duck with a blue wing patch, an iridescent green head and white collar in males, and brown, mottled plumage in females.
- •Identification: a grayish brown duck with a light blue upper-wing patch, tawny spotted underparts, and white, crescent-shaped facial stripes in males.
- •Identification: a broad-billed duck with a purplish black head and breast and white underparts in males, and a dark head and brownish plumage in females.
- •Identification: Cinnamon breast, dark green head and back, and white collar; adult females have white eye and bill rings.
- •Identification: a large, grayish duck with a prominent lobe hanging from the lower bill, and a spike-fan tail..
- •Identification: a gull-sized, web-footed bird with contrasting black upperparts and white underparts; some individuals have a white eye ring.
- •Identification: a large, white-plumaged, gull-like bird with an enorous wingspan (over 61/2 feet), a dark back, and a grayish black wash on the face.
- •Identification: a large (3 foot), black, web-footed bird with a white throat and white filamentary plumes on the nape.
- •Identification: Similar to Great Cormorant, but smaller and uniformly black, with a prominent forehead crest.
- •Identification: a ducklike bird with grayish white plumage, bright red eyes, and yellow facial tufts.
- •Identification: Similar to Silvery Grebe, but with a buff or chestnut wash on the breast, white streaks on the head, and black-and-white eyes.
- •Identification: a stocky, medium-sized (2 foot long) heron with a black crown and back, white underparts, gray wings, and white ribbon plumes at the nape of the neck.
- •Identification: Long-legged, typically white herons with ornamental, filamentous plumes on the back, breast, and nape; these are golden-buff-colored in the Cattle Egret.
- •Identification: Similar to Little Egret but with slaty-gray plumage and a reddish brown head and neck.
- •Identification: a large (3 foot long) heron with a gray back, white head and neck, and black “eyebrow” stripe and nape plumes.
- •Identification: a large (nearly 20 inch) wading bird with bluish purple plumage, a red shield on its forehead, and red feet with long toes.
- •Identification: Similar to Pukeko, but flightless, and with grayish brown plumage, no red frontal shield, and shorter legs.
- •Identification: Similar to Pukeko, but with black plumage and shorter legs.
- •Identification: The largest flamingo species (4—5 feet tall) with plumage ranging from pale whitish pink to bright orange-pink.
- •Identification: a large (12 inch) sandpiper with gray or brownish plumage and, in some males, spectacular ruffs and feather tufts on the head that vary widely in color and pattern (see below).
- •Identification: a medium-sized (7—8 inch) wading bird with a small head and short beak, buff-colored face and underparts, and regular dark brown patterning on the back and crown.
- •Identification: a large (13—14 inch) sandpiper with streaked and spotted, dark brownish gray plumage; long and slightly upturned bill; greenish yellow legs.
- •Identification: Slightly smaller than the Greenshank; plumage grayish brown, with black and dark brown streaks and spots; orange-red legs.
- •Identification: a fairly large (12—15 inch) sandpiper-like bird with long pink legs, white plumage with black wings and back, and a slender black bill.
- •Identification: Similar to Black-winged Stilt but with entirely black plumage.
- •Identification: a medium-sized (10 inch) sandpiper-like bird with mottled buff and black plumage; adult males have a black face and underparts bordered with white.
- •Identification: a large gull (up to 27 inches) with a dark gray back and wings; spotted black-and-white wing tips; pink legs; and a yellow bill with a red spot.
- •Identification: a smaller gull (to 17 inches) with a blue-gray mantle; more pointed black wing tips; relatively short black legs and dark eyes; and a yellowish green bill.
- •Identification: a medium-sized (16 inch) gull with gray back and wings; spotted black-and-white wing tips; bright red bill and legs; white iris.
- •Identification: Similar to Silver Gull except larger (2 feet long), legs pinkish, bill yellow with a red spot, and iris yellow.
- •Identification: a medium-sized gull (to 17 inches) with a distinctive black or chocolate brown “hood,” red legs, and a gray back and wings.
- •Identification: a medium-sized (to 18 inches) black-headed gull with white eye-crescents, a dark gray back, and red legs and bill..
- •Ivory gull
- •Identification: An all-white gull with black legs and a blue-gray bill.
- •Identification: a large (to 22 inches) gull-like bird with a black cap and crest, light gray back and wings, forked tail, and long red bill with a black tip.
- •Identification: Similar to Caspian Tern but smaller (to 17 inches) and with a more deeply forked tail and slighter bill.
- •IdentifIfAtion: a crow-sized bird with cinnamon-brown plumage and a bare, blue-gray face..
- •Identification: Adult males are black with a red crown and a light blue patch on the back; yearling males and females are all green, while younger adult males are green with a reddish crown..
- •Identification: Small (5–7 inch) birds with brown and rufous plumage and a bluish gray patch around the eyes; Ocellateds have a distinctive scalloped pattern on the back feathers.
- •Identification: a small (5 inch), plain olive-green bird with a long tail and an ocher- or tawny-colored lower breast.
- •Identification: a small to medium-sized swallow with iridescent blue-green upperparts, white underparts, and a tail that is only slightly forked.
- •Identification: a bluish brown swallow with pale underparts, buff forehead, and a chestnut throat; tail is not forked..
- •Identification: a small, sparrow-sized swallow with a slightly forked tail, brown plumage, white underparts, and a brown breast band.
- •Identification: a small songbird with bright yellow underparts, olive green upperparts, and a black crown (“hood”) and throat in adult males and some females (see below).
- •Identification: a sparrow-sized bird with olive-brown plumage, distinctive white shoulder bars, and (in males) blue-gray crown.
- •Identification: a sparrow-sized bird with olive to orange-red plumage and a distinctive crossed bill..
- •Identification: a small (61/2 inch) bird with a thick, hooked bill, grayish brown plumage, and a darker facial mask (black in males)..
- •Identification: a tiny (41/2 inch) chickadee-like bird with a bright blue crown, black-and-white face, bluish green plumage, and yellow underparts.
- •Identification: a sparrow-sized bird with bright blue plumage, white underparts, and a chestnut throat and breast.
- •Identification: a grayish buff, sparrow-sized bird with a pale gray-white crown..
- •Identification: a drab, sparrowlike bird with brownish gray plumage and a black throat patch..
- •Identification: The familiar black-bibbed sparrow; Cowbird is iridescent black with a dark brown head..
- •Identification: Light gray plumage, black wings and tail, and (in some birds) bare yellow head and fleshy black wattles.
- •Identification: a small crow with black plumage and gray on the back of the head.
- •Identification: a large (2 foot), all-black bird similar to a crow but much bulkier..
- •Victoria’s riflebird
- •Identification: Adult males are black with an iridescent sheen and metallic crown, throat, and central tail feathers; females and younger males are drabber, with brown, buff, and off-white plumage.
- •Identification: a thrush-sized bird (12 inches) with velvety black plumage and brilliant golden yellow crown, nape, upper back, and wing feathers.
- •Identification: a pheasant-sized bird with brownish gray plumage, powerful legs and claws, and long, ornate tail feathers.
- •Identification: The largest living bird (over 6 feet tall), with striking black-and-white plumage in the male and powerful legs and claws.
- •Identification: The second-largest living bird (5—6 feet tall), with shaggy, brown plumage and bare patches of blue skin on the face and neck.
- •Identification: Similar to Ostrich but smaller (up to 41/2 feet tall) and with overall grayish brown plumage in both sexes.
- •Identification: a small penguin (approximately 2 feet tall) with a black band on its chest and patches of red skin at the base of its bill..
- •Identification: a large (3 foot tall) penguin with orange ear patches and a yellow-orange wash on the breast.
- •Identification: a medium-sized penguin (up to 21/2 feet) with a white patch above the eye.
- •Identification: a large vulture (wingspan up to 9 feet) with a white head and neck and brown plumage.
- •Insects
- •Introduction
Identification: a medium-sized (10—15 inch), primarily tree-dwelling squirrel with a reddish brown or tawny coat and white underparts, often with a dark stripe on the side.
GRAY SQUIRREL
Identification: a large (20 inch), tree-dwelling squirrel with a long, bushy tail and gray, grizzled, or buff fur.
LEAST CHIPMUNK
IDENTIFICATION: A small, ground-dwelling squirrel with alternating dark and light stripes on back and face. DISTRIBUTION: Yukon to Ontario; upper Midwest; mountainous western United States. HABITAT: Conifer forests, sagebrush. STUDY AREA: Lake Superior State College, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan; subspecies T.m. neglectus.
Social Organization
Squirrels are generally not gregarious, especially outside of the breeding season, and Red Squirrels defend individual territories throughout the year. The mating system is promiscuous: males and females mate with multiple partners, and only females raise the offspring. Chipmunks are territorial and live in elaborate underground burrows.
Description
Behavioral Expression: Male and female Red Squirrels participate in homosexual mountings, particularly outside of the breeding season. One animal approaches the other from behind (either on the ground or vertically, as on a tree trunk) and grasps it around the waist. The posture used is the same as for heterosexual mating, with the mounter tucking its paws in front of the haunches of the other animal. The mounter often licks, nibbles, or grooms the fur on its partner’s nape or the sides of its neck, and mounting may also be accompanied by play-fighting (harmless “boxing” or kicking sessions) and soft buzzing or mok- calls. Sometimes three animals of the same sex participate in mounting activities at the same time, either alternating among themselves or else all three mounting each other simultaneously (one behind the other in a row). Unlike heterosexual copulation, mounting may be reciprocal, and the mounted animal is usually a more willing participant (although occasionally it will turn around to bite the mounter). In addition, same-sex mounting does not usually involve penetration or pelvic thrusting and is not usually preceded by a courtship chase. Among Gray Squirrels, a similar type of same-sex mounting (with grooming) occurs primarily among younger animals (sometimes among siblings). The activity is often initiated differently from in Red Squirrels, in that the mounting animal makes a bouncing leap onto its partner before grasping it around the waist. Adult male Least Chipmunks also sometimes mount one another.
Occasionally two female Red Squirrels form a bond with each other that includes sexual and affectionate activities and joint parenting. The two share a den (tree hole), follow one another about, and often touch noses or gently nudge each other’s flanks. They also take turns mounting each other, each female nibbling or stroking her partner’s fur while mounting. The pair may raise a single litter of young together; although the youngsters are probably the biological offspring of only one female, both partners may nurse them. In addition, they cooperate in taking care of the young: one such pair was observed leading their lost baby out of a tree and across a street back to their home den. Notably, heterosexual pairs do not usually form in this species: females typically raise young on their own and are generally very aggressive toward other adults that try to approach them.
Frequency: In Red Squirrels, 18 percent of mounts are homosexual; the majority of these are between males, who may participate in same-sex mounts as often as once every half hour outside the breeding season. This is slightly higher than the rate of heterosexual mounting at the same time of the year. Young Gray Squirrels participate in same-sex mounting at a much higher rate, up to 10 times an hour for some age groups (which is more than three times the rate of heterosexual mounting). Among Least Chipmunks, one male was seen to mount another 20 times over four days. Pair-bonding with joint parenting between female Red Squirrels probably occurs only occasionally, although no systematic study has been conducted to determine its prevalence.
Orientation: Adult Red Squirrels that participate in same-sex mounting are seasonally bisexual: outside of the breeding season they engage in both same-sex and opposite-sex mounting, while during the breeding season they mostly participate in heterosexual matings. Females that pair with each other, however, are involved primarily in same-sex activity for the duration of their association, although one and possibly both are functionally bisexual (since they reproduce). Younger animals tend to mount their siblings and therefore are either simultaneously bisexual (interacting with both males and females) or, among males, primarily homosexual (interacting mostly with other males even if females are present). Gray Squirrels are sequentially or chronologically bisexual: juveniles, adolescents, and young adults (up to one and a half years old) show a preference for homosexual activity, while older adults generally exhibit much less same-sex mounting. Since males do not usually start breeding until they are 18 months old, some individuals may be involved exclusively in homosexuality up to that time.
Nonreproductive and Alternative Heterosexualities
Both Red and Gray Squirrels participate in a wide range of nonprocreative sexual activities. Heterosexual mounting outside of the breeding periods is common, especially in Red Squirrels. Since males have a seasonal sexual cycle that renders them infertile at these times (like females), this activity is definitely nonreproductive. In addition, penetration is usually not involved, and REVERSE mounting (females mounting males) also occurs, accounting for about 5 percent of such activity in Red Squirrels. Sexual behavior also takes place in other situations that are not optimal for breeding. Juveniles of both species often participate in mounting or sexual chases, for example, including incestuous activity between siblings or mothers being mounted by their offspring. Interspecies mating chases have also been observed between Gray Squirrels and fox squirrels (Sciurus niger).
During Gray Squirrel mating chases, as many as 34 males may pursue and harass a single female; when cornered in a tree cavity or at the end of a limb, she often defends herself by screaming and lunging at the males and then bolting away. Mounts by males result in full copulation only 40 percent of the time, as females usually escape from a male that is trying to mate with them. In addition, mating pairs are often attacked by other males, who knock the couple from the tree or savagely bite them, in some cases inflicting fatal wounds on the female. When mating does occur, the female copulates with several different males, sometimes as many as eight during a single mating bout. Mating chases in Red Squirrels can involve up to seven males at a time; a female may drag a male mounted on her for some distance or vigorously try to shake him off her back. In Gray Squirrels, sperm coagulates in the female’s vagina following copulation, forming a plug that may prevent inseminations by other males. However, females often remove these plugs, thereby preventing insemination by the male who just mated with them (while at the same time possibly allowing subsequent males to impregnate them). Young Red Squirrels sometimes suffer fatal injuries from adults during territory takeovers, and Gray Squirrel youngsters are occasionally attacked and/or cannibalized by adults. Not all adults participate in breeding: about a third of female Red Squirrels in some populations are nonbreeders, while about 30 percent of male Gray Squirrels do not mate with females each breeding season (and some individuals skip entire seasons).
IDENTIFICATION: Woodchucklike rodents with gray, brown, reddish, or black fur. DISTRIBUTION: Olympic Peninsula, Washington; Alaska south to northwestern United States. HABITAT: Alpine slopes. STUDY AREAS: Olympic National Park, Washington; Glacier National Park, Montana; subspecies M.c. nivaria.
Social Organization
These two species of Marmots are highly social creatures that live in clusters of colonies; each colony is a series of underground burrows that is home to one male, one to three females, and their offspring. Males are generally not involved directly in parental care of their young. Occasionally an additional SATELLITE male is peripherally associated with an Olympic Marmot colony.
Description
Behavioral Expression: Olympic and Hoary Marmot females often mount other females and participate in other same-sex affectionate and sexual behaviors, especially when they are in heat. A homosexual encounter often begins with a “greeting” interaction in which the two females touch noses or mouths, or one female nuzzles her nose on the other’s cheek or mouth. She may also gently chew on the ear or neck of the other female, who then responds by raising her tail. The first female sometimes also sniffs or nuzzles the other’s genitals with her mouth. At this point she may mount the other female, gently biting her neck fur while she thrusts against her partner. The female being mounted arches her back and holds her tail to the side to facilitate the sexual interaction.
A female Olympic Marmot mounting another female
Frequency: Homosexual behavior is quite common in Marmots: in one study of Hoary Marmots, for example, three of five observed mounts by adults were between females.
Orientation: Many female Marmots that participate in same-sex mountings also mate with males. However, some nonbreeding females in Hoary Marmots (see below) probably also participate, which means that they may be involved only in homosexual interactions for those seasons that they do not breed.
Nonreproductive and Alternative Heterosexualities
Although many Marmots form monogamous heterosexual pair-bonds, in some populations the majority (two-thirds) of Hoary Marmots actually live in trios consisting of one male and two females. Occasionally a “quartet” of one male and three females live together as well. Some male Hoary Marmots also seek promiscuous matings with females outside their colony, a behavior that has been termed GALLIVANTING. A form of reproductive suppression occurs in this species as well: females usually procreate every other year, but 11 percent of the time, a female “skips” breeding for two consecutive years. This is especially common in trios, where the two females alternate their skipping patterns. Males sometimes still try to mount females that are not breeding, however. Sexual activity also occurs among juveniles, including mounting of adults.