Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Aves

Order: Falconiforms(non-owls) or Strigiforms(Owls)

Families:

1)Cathartidae (Vultures- no feathers on head)

2)Accipitridae (hawks/eagles/harriers/ospreys)

3)Falconidae (falcons)

**Accipitridae have no "tooth" on upper mandible, wheras this is present in falconidae

***color streaking means probably young or maybe an adult female***

Great Grey Owl

-Largest, 22"

-Hunts Mornings and Evenings

-Hunts Dense Timber Forest

-Larger than crow size

-Not White

-Breast Streaked/Barred

-Ear Tufts absent

-Throat barred, black chinspot, large yellow eyes

-feeds mostly rodents and voles

Snowy Owl

-Large- 20"

Hunts during Day

Hunts in Open Country

Family: Strigidae

Larger than Crow size, and mostly white with some dark barring.

nomadic

-mostly feeds on lemmings and rodents

Family Strigidae

-Large, 20"

Hunts at Night

Hunts Open country and tense timber (edge)

-streaked breast, not white, large ear tufts

-eats medium sized mammals

Family Strigidae

Medium Sizd, 17"

Hunts by Night in Edge habitat

*No tufts present, streaked breast, throat barred eyes black

-feeds on mostly mice, but also medium sized mammals

Family Strigidae

Medium Size, 14"

Hunts Day and edge

tufts absent, barred breast, and long tail

Horizontal bars on breast, whiter area on upper breast (ring-like)

Yellow eyes?

-hunts voles, rodents and birds like thrushes

-rapid flight

Strigidae

Medium size 13"

Long eared Hunts night and edge

Short Eared hunts day and open country

Both are with streaked or barred breast

-LE has ear tufts conspicuous and well above crown

-SE has tiny tufts, hardly noticeable

Hunt rodents, small mammals, and birds

Long wings

Strigidae

Small, 10"

Hunts Night and dense timber

Breast streaked

-yellow beak, spotted forehead, black facial frames

-eats mainly voles and other mammals but also birds as well as insects and other invertebrates

Strigidae

-Small, 8"

Hunts mornings/evenings in open country

No tufts, breast is barred

-short tail, long legs, and prairie habitat

-highly variable diet includes invertebrates and small vertebrates. However, burrowing owls mainly eat large insects and small rodents and frogs

Strigidae

Small, 7"

Feeds at night in dense timber (like boreal)

No tufts

-breast streaked with black beak and no spots on forehead... tiny

-immature is breast plain brown and tiny

They mainly eat small rodents; on the Pacific coast they may also eat crustaceans and aquatic insects

tiny.. 6"

hunts during day and in edge habitat

Strigidae

dark, yellow eyes

-gray, or rufous in color

-round white head, weakly defined facial disk, and dark upper beast

They eat small mammals, birds and large insects

Small, widely spaced conspicuous ear tufts

prey which includes insects, reptiles, small mammals such as bats and mice and other small birds.

Dabblers (perching and dabbling ducks) (anatinae)

-legs set in middle of body

-narrow hind toe

-plumage (multi-coloured)

-feed by tipping up

-jump out of water to take off

-seen in small flocks on edge of wetlands

-upland nesting sites

Divers (divers and some sea ducks) (Aythyinae)

-lets set far back in body

-lobed hind tow

-plumage black and white

-feed by diving under water

-run along water to take off

-seen in large flocks in middle of wetlands

-over water nesters (generally)

1)Is Dcuk bill broad or slender? (slender= Merganser)

2)If Broad, is wingpatch

a)iriescent blue, purper green brown black or white?

b)gray, nonmetallic, or uniform color?

Anatinae

The breeding male is unmistakable, with a green head, black rear end and a yellowish orange (can also contain some red) bill tipped with black (as opposed to the dark brown bill in females). The female Mallard is light brown, like most female dabbling ducks. However, both the female and male Mallards have distinct purple speculum edged with white

Aythyinae

The breeding male is patterned grey, with a black rear end, light chestnut wings, and a brilliant white speculum.

The female is light brown, with plumage much like a female Mallard. It can be distinguished from that species by the dark orange-edged bill, smaller size, the white speculum, and white belly.

Anatinae

The adult male has a yellow bill, a dark body, lighter head and neck, orange legs and dark eyes. The adult female has a similar appearance but is slightly lighter overall and has a greenish-gray bill. Both sexes have a shiny purple-blue wing patch, which is not bordered with white as with the Mallard.

Anatinae

Wing patch green or black

Patch no shoulder of wing not blue

-Sholder of wing with whtie patch

Femaile American wigeon has brown breast and flank. Female green-winged teal has gray speckled berast and flank

Anatinae

The adult male has a greyish blue head with a white facial crescent, a light brown body with a white patch near the rear and a black tail. The adult female is mottled brown, and has a whitish area at base of bill. Both sexes have a blue speculum, and yellow legs

Almost identical to cinnamon teal (though bigger neck???beak???)

Anatinae

This is the smallest North American dabbling duck. The breeding male has grey flanks and back, with a yellow rear end and a white-edged green speculum, obvious in flight or at rest. It has a chestnut head with a green eye patch

The females are light brown, with plumage much like a female Mallard. They can be distinguished from most ducks on size and shape, and the speculum

ANatinae

The adult male has a cinnamon-red head and body with a brown back, a red eye and a dark bill. The adult female has a mottled brown body, a pale brown head, brown eyes and a grey bill and is very similar in appearance to a female Blue-winged Teal; however its overall color is richer, the lore spot, eye line, and eye ring are less distinct. It's bill is longer and more spatulate.

Anatinae

The male in breeding plumage has a chocolate-brown head and white breast with a white stripe extending up the side of the neck. Its upperparts and sides are grey, but elongated grey feathers with black central stripes are draped across the back from the shoulder area. The vent area is yellow, contrasting with the black underside of the tail,^[8] which has the central feathers elongated to as much as 10 centimetres (4 in). The bill is bluish and the legs are blue-grey.^[10]

The adult female is mainly scalloped and mottled in light brown with a more uniformly grey-brown head, and its pointed tail is shorter than the male’s; it is still easily identified by its shape, long neck, and long grey bill.

Anatinae

unmistakable in the northern hemisphere due to its large spatulate bill.

Anatinae

The adult male has distinctive multi-colored iridescent plumage and red eyes. The female, less colorful, has a white eye-ring and a whitish throat. Both adults have crested heads.

Aythyinae

The adult male has a blue bill, a red head and neck, a black breast, yellow eyes and a grey back. The adult female has a brown head and body and a darker bluish bill with a black tip.

Aythyinae

Adult males have a glossy, greenish-black head with a large white cap behind the eye and a mainly white body with a black back. Adult females have a brown head with a smaller white patch behind the eye and a mainly brown body with a light underside

Aythyinae

The adult male has a black bill, a red head and neck, a black breast, red eyes and a whitish body. The adult female has a brown head and body and a black bill.

Head flattish, sloping, with straight line appearance from forehead to bill

-don't confuse /w redhead

Aythyinae

Greater: It has a blue bill and yellow eyes. The male has a dark head with a green sheen, a black breast, a light back, a black tail and a white bottom. The adult female has a white band at the base of the bill and a brown head and body

Lesser Scaup: The adult males (drakes) in alternate plumage have a black, effervescent head and a small tuft at the hindcrown, a black breast, a whitish-grey back and wings with darker vermiculations and black outer and geyish-brown inner primary remiges. The underparts are white with some olive vermiculations on the flanks, and the rectrices and tail coverts are black. Adult females (hens) have a white band at the base of the bill, often a lighter ear region, and are otherwise dark brown all over, shading to white on the mid-belly.

Aythyinae

The species is aptly named for its golden-yellow eye. Adult males have a dark head with a greenish gloss and a circular white patch below the eye, a dark back and a white neck and belly. Adult females have a brown head and a mostly grey body. Their legs and feet are orange-yellow

Aythyinae

Adults are similar in appearance to the Common Goldeneye. Adult males have a dark head with a purplish gloss and a white crescent at the front of the face. Adult females have a yellow bill.

**less white**

Aythyinae

Hooded Mergansers have a crest at the back of the head which can be expanded or contracted. In adult males, this crest has a large white patch, the head is black and the sides of the duck are reddish brown. The adult female has a reddish crest, with much of the rest of the head and body a greyish-brown. The Hooded Merganser has a sawbill but is not classified as a typical merganser.

Aythyinae

has mohawk, sharp long orange bill

Males and females are easily distinguished, since the male merganser has a dark green head, while the head of the female is reddish-brown.

Aythyinae

Adult males have a rust-red body, a blue bill, and a white face with a black cap. Adult females have a grey-brown body with a greyish face with a darker bill, cap and a cheek stripe.

Aythyinae

2 blue-white rings

It has a grey bill with a white band, a shiny purple head, a white breast, yellow eyes and a dark grey back. The adult female has a pale brown head and body with a dark brown back, a dark bill with a more subtle light band than the male and brown eyes. The cinnamon neck ring is usually difficult to observe, unlike the white ring on its bill, which is why the bird is sometimes referred to as a "ringbill".

Family Anatidae

black head and neck, white patches on the face, and a brownish-gray body.

Subfamily Anserinae

They have bright orange legs and mouse-coloured upper wing-coverts

Both white-fronted species have a very conspicuous white face and broad black bars which cross the belly,

Ruffed Grouse have two distinct morphs, grey and brown. In the grey morph, the head, neck and back are grey-brown; the breast is light with barring. There is much white on the underside and flanks, and overall the birds have a variegated appearance; the throat is often distinctly lighter. The tail is essentially the same brownish grey, with regular barring and a broad black band near the end ("subterminal"). Brown-morph birds have tails of the same color and pattern, but the rest of the plumage is much browner, giving the appearance of a more uniform bird with less light plumage below and a conspicuously grey tail. There are all sorts of intergrades between the most typical morphs; warmer and more humid conditions favor browner birds in general.

The ruffs are on the sides of the neck in both genders. They also have a crest on top of their head, which sometimes lies flat. Both sexes are similarly marked and sized, making them difficult to tell apart, even in hand. The female often has a broken subterminal tail band, while males often have unbroken tail bands. Another fairly accurate sign is that rump feathers with a single white dot indicate a female; rump feathers with more than one white dot indicate a male.

Simple /w dark V-neck

light brown back, grey breast, and buff belly. The face is white with a black gorget. It has rufous-streaked flanks and red legs.

It is very similar to the Rock Partridge, Alectoris graeca, but is browner on the back and has a yellowish tinge to the foreneck.

Northern Bobwhites are distinguished by a dark cap stripe behind the eye along the head, black in males and brown in females. The area in between is white on males and yellow-brown on females. The body is brown, speckled in places with black or white on both sexes

very small

male darker neck, female beige neck

orange feather patches

-F has darker beak, and is more uniform and dark

-M has pronounced "facial hair"

brown-backed, with grey flanks and chest. The belly is white, usually marked with a large chestnut-brown horse-shoe mark in males, and also in many females.

Adults have a long square black tail. Adult males are mainly grey with a black breast with white bars, a black throat and a red patch over the eye.

small light brown tail feather tips

Franklin's variety

-no tail tips like regular version

-both varieties have red aruond eyes

Larger than ruffed /w less detailed tail

Adults have a long square tail, gray at the end (lighter in the Sooty Grouse). Adult males are mainly dark (especially Sooty Grouse) with a yellow (Sooty Grouse) or purplish (Dusky Grouse) throat air sac surrounded by white, and a yellow (Sooty Grouse) or yellow to red (Dusky Grouse) wattle over the eye during display. Adult females of both species are mottled brown with dark brown and white marks on the underparts

pointy tail & spotty snow look

Adults have a relatively short tail with the two central (deck) feathers being square-tipped and somewhat longer than their lighter, outer tail feathers giving the bird its distinctive name. The plumage is mottled dark and light browns against a white background, they are lighter on the underparts with a white belly uniformly covered in faint "V"-shaped markings. Adult males have a yellow comb over their eyes and a violet display patch on their neck.

Crazy pointy tail feathers

Adults have a long, pointed tail and legs with feathers to the toes. Adult males have a yellow patch over the eye, are greyish on top with a white breast, a dark brown throat and a black belly; two yellowish sacs on the neck are inflated during courtship display. Adult females are mottled grey-brown with a light brown throat and dark belly.

Families:

1)Cathartidae (vultures)

2)Acipitridae (hawks, eagles, etc)

3)Falconidae (falcons)

1) No Feathers on Head?- Turkey Vulture (Cathartidae)

 Feathers on Head? - 2

2)Tooth on upper mandible? - Family Faconidae

No tooth on upper mandible? - Family Accipitridae

1)Facial Disk Around Eyes? - Northern Harrier

No Facial disk? - 2

2)Larger Size? - 3

Small to medium size? 4

3)Feathers to toes? - Golden Eagle

No feathers on lower legs? - Bald Eagle

4)All white breast and belly? Osprey

Markings? - 5

5)Feathers to toes? 6

Bare Lower Legs? 7

6)Black/Dark belly? - Rough Legged Hawk

Light Belly Few Markings- Ferruginous Hawk

7)Long Narrow Tail extends well past wing tips 8

Short Broad Tail extends to or just beyond 9

8)Light Eyebrow line - Northern Goshawk

Rounded tip to tail, wide white tip- Cooper's Hawk

Square tip of tail, narrow white tip - Sharp-shinned Hawk

9)Four outer primary feathers emarginate - Red-tailed Hawk

Three outer primary feathers emarginate 10

10)Wing tips extend beyond tail - Swainson's Hawk

Wing tips do not extend beyond tail- Broad Winged (smallest Buteo)

1) Obvious Malar or "moustache" stripe 2

Faint Malar stripe 4

2)Double Malar stripe- American Kestral

Single Malar stripe 3

3)Narrow Brown malar stripe- Prairie Falcon

Broad Black Malar stripe - Peregrine Falcon

4)small size (24-30cm) Merlin

large size 50-60cm) - Gyrfalcon

Buteos (buzzard hawks)

-Rough-legged hawk

-Ferruginous hawk

-Red-tailed hawk

-Sawinson's Hawk

Harriers

-Norther Harrier

Accipiters (true hawks)

-Northern Goshawk

-Cooper's hawk

-sharp-shinned hawk

Falcons

-peregrine falcon

-prairie falcon

-merlin

-american kestrel

Accipitridae

he plumage colours range from black-brown to dark brown, with a striking golden-buff crown and nape, which give the bird its name.

Accipitridae

The plumage of the immature is brown, speckled with white until the fifth (rarely fourth, very rarely third) year, when it reaches sexual maturity.^[2][5] Immature Bald Eagles are distinguishable from the Golden Eagle in that the former has a more protruding head with a larger beak, straighter edged wings which are held flat (not slightly raised) and with a stiffer wing beat, and feathers which do not completely cover the legs

migrates

-likes water, eats fish

Accipitridae

-white rump

-hunt low to ground

-facial disk around eyes

-lives in grasslands and marshes

eats rodents

-migrates

-immature has rusted breast

Accipitridae

The juvenile is brown above and barred brown below.

-bare lower legs, light eyebrow line

-oportunistic, eats other birds, ruffed grouse, etc

Accipitridae

-rounded tail, wide white tip

-All have short rounded wings and a very long tail with dark bands, round-ended at the tip. Adults have red eyes and have a black cap, with blue-gray upper parts and white underparts with fine, thin, reddish bars. Their tail is blue gray on top and pale underneath, barred with black bands. Immatures have yellow eyes and have a brown cap, with brown upper parts and pale underparts with thin black streaks mostly ending at the belly

-mostly eats mid-sized birds, but other things as well

accipitridae

-bare legs, non-white breast, square tail, no tooth

-red eyes

-migratory

-likes open woodlands and wood margins

-eats small birds up to pigeons

NO MOUNT!

fish eating

-is a migrant

Accipitridae

-feathers to toes, black/dark belly

-tail is white with dark terminal band

Accipitridae

light belly, few markings

-feathers to toes

likes prairies/grasslands

-largest of buteos

Adults have long broad wings and a broad gray, rusty or white tail. The legs are feathered to the talons, like the Rough-legged Hawk.

The male and female have identical markings.

loves prairie dogs

Accipitridae

The underbelly is lighter than the back and a dark brown band across the belly, formed by vertical streaks in feather patterning, is present in most color variations. The red tail, which gives this species its name, is uniformly brick-red above and pink below.^[4] The bill is short and dark, in the hooked shape characteristic of raptors.^[4] The cere, the legs, and the feet of the Red-tailed Hawk are all yellow.^[2]

immature birds can be readily identified at close range by their yellowish irises.

-wide range of habitats, migrates

Accipitridae

-habitat is prairie

white on the underparts with a dark, reddish "bib" on the chest and a noticeable white throat and face patch. The underwings, seen as the bird soars, have dark linings (leading edge) and pale flight feathers (trailing edge), a pattern unique among North American raptors. The tail is gray-brown with about six narrow dark bands and one wider subterminal band. The upperparts are brown. Juveniles are similar but dark areas have pale mottling and light areas, especially the flanks, have dark mottling. The chest is pale with some darker marks. The subterminal band of the tail is less obvious. Birds in their first spring may have pale heads because of feather wear.

migrant

accipitridae

-smallest buteo

-wing tips do not extend beyond tail

Antlers//Horns

Cervids//Bovids

Shed Annually//Permanent (except pronghorn)

Branched//Unbranched

Solid Bone//Hollow Keratin

Males only(except caribou)//both sexes

seasonal growth//grow continuously

network of outer blood vessels(velvet)//iner network growth(core

Growth and shedding of antlers are under hormonal control

-hormones are "growth hormone", "prolactin", and "testosterone"

-testosterone inhibits other hormones

-antler size determined by nutrition, genetics, age

white-tailed: main bean /w unbranched tines

mule: upswept antlers, equal forked tines

R.Mtn Elk: white tips

Roosevelt Elk: white tips, darker, crowns at ends of tines

caribou: 2 tines, front and up

Barren ground caribou: lighter and rounder

Woodland Caribou: darker, straight up at top

pronghorn: horns straight near base, prong before curving backwards

Mtn Goat: Billy thicker and curve back on constant arc

Nanny narrow and straight

BHS- large curled horns /w heavy ridges

Dall/Stone- thinner small narrow, can't tell dif

Bison- short round curved black horns that grow upwards

Beaver: -dark and wide, roundish

Muskrat: like large, wide squirrel, square shape pelt

Badger: pronounced white stripe along nose and head

Wolverine: crazy clawed paws, white neck hair

River Otter: shiny fur, small wide eyes

Skunk: 2 white stripes

silver fox: very dark, black stripe down top

cross fox: darker than red /w black stripes horiz on tail

Coyote: smaller than wolf, larger ear, shorter tail

Wolf: large, dark tip of tail

Arctic fox: white

Farm-raised fox: uniform coat

Lynx- straight hair on ear tip

Bobcat- shorter ear hair, black on tip of tail and top only (not all around)

only have lynx pelt

lingual crest - on the inside

buccal crest- on the outside

pulp cavity- inner most part of tooth

dentine- next layer

-cementum - outside

6 months- third pre-molar is three-cusped

-only one molar is up

2.5- pre-molars all 2 crests

-all molar in

CATEGORIES

calf/fawn = <1year (tri-cusped, one molar)

subadult (molars in, 3rd pm still tri)

young adult 2.5-3.5 bicuspid, no wear

mature adult- 3.5-7.5

old - >7.5

for wear, look at lingual crests of first molar!!

Better way is Cemmentum Annuli!!

(I/C/P/M)

(upper;lower)

Deer

0;3/0;1/3;3/3;3

Elk/Caribou

0;3/1;1/3;3/3;3

most ungulates have 32 teeth!

-Ring Necked

-Canvasback

-Redhead (Long grey stripe)

-Ruddy (almost uniform dark)

-Bufflehead (large white all across or small white patch, other feathers all dark, across wing))

Gadwall (small white with darker and crimson feathers, rest brown.. 4 colors)

Scaup (long white band surrounded by dark, along wing)

Goldeneye (similar to bufflehead)

Merganser (similar to bufflehead, but with gray)

WITH BLUE

-shoveler (distinct)

-blue-winged teal

-cinnamon teal

NO BLUE

-wigeon (white shoulder)

-green winged teal (very green)

-pintail (caramel band)

Wood duck

Black Duck

Mallard