Birds and Mammals of the Sierra Nevada: With Records from Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks [Reprint 2019 ed.] 9780520326163

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BIRDS AND

MAMMALS OF

SIERRA

THE

NEVADA

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS Berkeley and Los Angeles 1953

LOWELL

S U M N E R AND J O S E P H

S. D I X O N

Birds and Mammals W I T H RECORDS FROM

of the Sierra Nevada SEQUOIA AND KINGS CANYON NATIONAL PARKS

UNIVERSITY O F CALIFORNIA B E R K E L E Y AND LOS

PRESS

ANGELES

CALIFORNIA CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY

PRESS

LONDON, ENCLAND COPYRIGHT,

1953,

BY

T H E REGENTS O F T H E UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA

Prepared under the auspices of the National Park Service United States Department of the Interior PRINTED IN T H E UNITED STATES O F AMERICA DESIGNED B Y J O H N B . COETZ

Preface

This study was commenced in 1916, when the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology of the University of California organized a rather extensive field investigation of the Kings Canyon area. The basic purpose was to explore a characteristic strip from the San Joaquin Valley, such as the area from Minkier just east of Fresno, eastward through Hume, Horse Corral Meadow, Kanawyers, Bubbs Creek, Bullfrog Lake, and Kearsarge Pass. This "Sequoia Survey," as it was first called, was intended to parallel certain other cross-sectional surveys, which have subsequently been completed and published, on the Yosemite region (Grinnell and Storer, 1924) and the Lassen Park region (Grinnell, Dixon, and Linsdale, 1930). The Sequoia field party, consisting of the late H. S. Swarth, Joseph S. Dixon, and Halstead White, spent from August 16 to October 13, 1916, on this survey. The 1,021 specimens collected have all been identified by Grinnell and Swarth. Listed as Accession 1136, they are housed in the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, where they are available for reference purposes.0 Of the specimens collected, 382 were birds, 556 were mammals, 334 were reptiles, and 49 were amphibians. They were taken from the following places: Hume, August 16-23, Horse Corral Meadow, August 24; Kanawyers, August 25; Bubbs Creek, August 26; Bullfrog Lake, August 27-September 7; Kearsarge Pass, September 1; Charlotte Lake, September 5; Kings Canyon, September 8-17; Horse Corral Meadow, September 18-23; Mitchell Peak, September 21; Hume, September 24-25; • The abbreviation MVZ before a specimen number indicates that the specimen is in the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley. v

vi

PREFACE

Dunlap, September 26-October 3; Minkler, October 4-12. Of this collection, approximately 200 mammals and 100 birds were taken inside the area now included within the combined Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. Hume, Horse Corral Meadow, Dunlap, and Minkler are outside but not far from the park boundaries. Some additional field work on the original Sequoia project was done by the Museum staff, but the resulting material was not published. In 1932 the National Park Service asked Dixon to do the field work for a book on "The Birds and Mammals of Sequoia National Park," which the Park Service planned to issue as a volume of its Fauna Series.® Dixon carried on field work on life histories in Sequoia from 1933 to 1937, and from 1940 to 1942, completing a first draft of the proposed scientific publication in 1942. In addition, he made similar but less extensive surveys in the Kings from 1940 to 1942. Sumner had made preliminary biological surveys of the Kings Canyon area in 1935 and 1936. In 1940 he was assigned by the National Park Service to make intensive ecological and life-history studies in the newly created Kings Canyon National Park; and the scope of the proposed publication was broadened to include a treatment of both parks under joint authorship. Sumner carried on field work in the Kings during the periods 1935-1936, 1940-1942, 1947-1950, and made less extensive observations in Sequoia in the same years. In 1947, the University of California Press and the National Park Service agreed that, inasmuch as the book Animal Life in the Yosemite (by Grinnell and Storer, 1924) was out of print and it was not feasible to reissue it, the Park Service would assign to Sumner f the task of combining the Sequoia-Kings manuscripts, and revising them in such manner as to make them more useful to the average park visitor. The result is the present volume. In addition to the Sequoia-Kings studies already mentioned, it includes a wealth of hitherto unpublished life-history observa* This Fauna Series comprises: No. 1, A Preliminary Survey of Faunal Relations in National Parks, by Wright, Dixon, and Thompson ( 1 9 3 3 ) ; No. 2, Wildlife Management in the National Parks, by Wright and Thompson ( 1 9 3 5 ) ; No. 3, Birds and Mammals of Mount McKinley National Park, by Joseph S. Dixon ( 1 9 3 8 ) ; No. 4, Ecology of the Coyote in the Yellowstone, by Adolph Murie ( 1 9 4 0 ) ; No. 5. The Wolves of Mount McKinley, by Adolph Murie ( 1 9 4 4 ) . These were issued by the Government Printing Office. No. 1 is out of print. t Joseph S. Dixon had retired from the National Park Section of the Fish and Wildlife Service in March, 1946. He died on June 23, 1952, at Escondido, California, after a long illness.

PREFACE

vii

tions by park naturalists and rangers. Credit for these observations is given in the text; when no observer is named, it is understood that the observations were made by the present authors. Weights of the various species, when not specifically credited to other authorities, are based on approximately 414 mammals and 943 birds of these species weighed over a period of years by Sumner. The grams of the original records have been converted into pounds and ounces for the convenience of the general reader. The cover photograph is by Cedric Wright; the photograph on the title page, by Underwood and Underwood. The color plates of birds are from Birds of the Pacific States, by Ralph Hoffmann (Boston and New York, Houghton Mifflin Co., 1927; those of mammals, from Fur-bearing Mammals of California, by Joseph Grinnell, Joseph S. Dixon, and Jean M. Linsdale (Berkeley, University of California Press, 1937). The photographs (figures) are by the authors; the negatives of these are in the files of the San Francisco Office of the National Park Service. The scientific and common names of birds in this book are based on The Distribution of the Birds of California, by Grinnell and Miller (1944). As advocated in that work, we have for the most part disregarded minor subspecific distinctions in our life-history treatment of each species. We have used the English (i.e., common or vernacular) name of the species; however, we have included the scientific Latin name of the subspecies or local race, for the benefit of the comparatively few persons interested. In relatively few cases, to avoid confusion, we have retained certain wellknown, if not theoretically logical, names of subspecies, because of their widespread use in popular bird books. The scientific and common names of mammals are based primarily upon Grinnell's Review of the Recent Mammal Fauna of California (1933), and have been brought up to date by certain more recent revisions mentioned in our text. Some names and authorities have been brought up to date by staff members of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, by Dr. Hartley H. T. Jackson of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and by officials of the U. S. National Museum. Identification of plant specimens has been made by Dr. Herbert Mason of the University of California. We are much indebted to the late Dr. Joseph Grinnell, former Director, and to Dr. Alden H. Miller, present Director, of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, for critical examination and identification of puzzling bird specimens; and to the late E. A. Gold-

viii

PREFACE

man and to Dr. Jackson of the Fish and Wildlife Service, for the classification of certain critical specimens of small mammals. Dr. Miller devoted many hours to a painstaking review of the entire manuscript, before its final revision; Dr. Seth B. Benson, Curator of Mammals at the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, also gave invaluable assistance with respect to the mammal section. Their many suggestions have greatly increased the usefulness and accuracy of the final report. Raymond Gregg and Victor H. Cahalane in the Washington Office of the National Park Service performed a similar service. Special thanks are due to William B. Richardson who worked with Dixon in 1934 in the Kern River drainage; to former Superintendent John R. White, former Park Naturalist Frank R. Oberhansley, Superintendent E. T. Scoyen, and Park Naturalist Howard R. Stagner, who made available to us the extremely valuable wildlife records contained in the park files. We are deeply grateful to Wildlife Ranger Clarence Fry, a keen naturalist who has spent practically his entire life in the Sierra, for reviewing our material and contributing to it out of his great storehouse of experience. Many other staff members of the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks have from time to time assisted wholeheartedly in this work. To them we offer sincere thanks, particularly to Wildlife Ranger Richard H. Boyer, whose painstaking records of noteworthy life-history observations have contributed much original material to this book.

Contents

INTRODUCTION

xv

WILDLIFE POLICIES AND PROBLEMS

1

HUMAN USE OF PARKS

10

LIFE ZONES

13

THE BIRDS

20

VANISHED SPECIES AND QUESTIONABLE RECORDS: BIRDS

264

THE MAMMALS

276

VANISHED SPECIES AND QUESTIONABLE RECORDS: MAMMALS

463

REFERENCES

469

INDEX

481

ix

Illustrations

Color Plates Facing

1.

WESTERN KINGBIRD, CASSIN KINGBIRD, SAY PHOEBE, ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER

2.

109

ORANGE-CROWNED, NASHVILLE, AUDUBON, YELLOW, TOWNSEND, HERMIT, PILEOLATED, AND TOLMIE WARBLERS, YELLOW-THROAT

3.

LINNET,

CASSIN

AND

CALIFORNIA

140 PURPLE

FINCHES,

ROSY FINCH

269

4.

RING-TAILED CAT, RACCOON

300

5.

FISHER

333

6.

PINE MARTEN, MOUNTAIN OR LONG-TAILED WEASEL

364

7.

WOLVERINE

397

8.

MOUNTAIN LION

428 X

ILLUSTRATIONS

Figures Following page 12

1.

FEMALE SOOTY GROUSE

2.

MALE PINE SOOTY GROUSE ON "HOOTING" LIMB IN YELLOW

3.

SPOTTED SANDPIPER NEST AND EGGS

4.

PIGMY OWL

5.

SPOTTED OWL

6.

NEST SITE OF BLACK SWIFT

7.

NEST OF WRIGHT FLYCATCHER

8.

DIPPER CARRYING FOOD

9.

MALE BREWER BLACKBIRD

10.

NEST SITE OF ROSY FINCH

11.

NEST AND EGGS OF OREGON JUNCO

12.

(STEPHENS)

FOX SPARROW: FEMALE FEEDING YOUNG

IN NEST 13.

BLACK BEAR: ADULT AND CUB

14.

ROCK DEN OF BLACK BEAR

15.

DEN OF BLACK BEAR IN FALLEN SEQUOIA

16.

FEMALE GRAY FOX

17.

GRAY FOX IN OAK TREE

18.

COYOTE PUPS AT ENTRANCE TO ROCK DEN

19.

MARMOT

20.

CALIFORNIA GROUND SQUIRREL

xii

ILLUSTRATIONS

21.

GOLDEN-MANTLED GROUND SQUIRREL

22.

LODGEPOLE CHIPMUNK

23.

CHICKAREE WORKING ON CONE

24.

TYPICAL HABITAT OF CONY IN BROKEN GRANITE ABOVE TIMBER LINE

25.

CALIFORNIA MULE DEER: TWO BUCKS FIGHTING

26,

CALIFORNIA MULE DEER: BUCK LICKING A YEARLING

27,

CALIFORNIA MULE DEER: DOE STANDING ON HIND LEGS TO REACH BUCKEYE LEAVES

28,

29.

30,

31,

32,

33,

DRAGON PEAK, A FAVORITE BIGHORN HABITAT ARCTIC-ALPINE SUBDIVISION

OF BOREAL L I F E ZONE:

EAGLE SCOUT PEAK HUDSONIAN SUBDIVISION OF BOREAL LIFE ZONE: FOREST OF FOXTAIL PINE HUDSONIAN SUBDIVISION OF BOREAL LIFE ZONE: WHITE-BARK PINE CANADIAN SUBDIVISION OF BOREAL LIFE ZONE: LODGEPOLE PINE FOREST AND MEADOW LODGEPOLE PINES OF CANADIAN LIFE ZONE MOUNTAIN WHITE PINE OF CANADIAN L I F E ZONE

34,

TRUNK OF PONDEROSA PINE IN TRANSITION L I F E ZONE 35.

SUGAR PINE OF TRANSITION L I F E ZONE 36.

GIANT SEQUOIA FOREST IN TRANSITION L I F E ZONE 37,

OAK CHAPARRAL IN UPPER SONORAN LIFE ZONE NEAR 38.

COLONY MILL

ILLUSTRATIONS

39.

CHAPARRAL IN UPPER

XÎii

SONORAN LIFE

ZONE

BELOW

CASTLE ROCKS 40.

GROVES OF BUCKEYES AND LIVE OAKS IN UPPER SONORAN L I F E ZONE

41.

YUCCA AND LIVE OAKS IN UPPER SONORAN LIFE ZONE

42.

LIVESTOCK GRAZING IN MOUNTAIN MEADOW

43.

LOWER PARADISE MEADOW, SHOWING EFFECT OF LIVESTOCK GRAZING

44.

BOG MEADOW, SHOWING FURTHER EFFECTS OF OVERGRAZING

45.

METROYHOY MEADOW IN SUGARLOAF DRAINAGE, SHOWING RECOVERY OF VEGETATION AFTER GRAZING HAS BEEN ELIMINATED

46.

ZUMWALT MEADOW, CEDAR GROVE, SHOWING GROWTH OF VEGETATION WHERE GRAZING IS NO LONGER PERMITTED

Maps MAP OF SEQUOIA AND KINGS CANYON NATIONAL PARKS SHOWING PRINCIPAL PHYSICAL FEATURES Facing page

20

LHE-ZONE MAP OF SEQUOIA AND KINGS CANYON NATIONAL PARKS

Facing page 468

Introduction

What is a giant sequoia worth, in dollars, as it stands deep in a forest where hermit thrushes sing? Some say that it contains enough lumber to build forty five-room bungalows. Can the value of that majestic tree be estimated only by its potential worth as lumber? What is the value of a sunset? Of a national park? Of freedom? W e commonly say that their value is intangible, not properly expressible in dollars and cents. But that does not make them less precious. We have spent hundreds of billions of dollars for freedom; men have died for it, and others may yet give their lives for it. Each national park and monument has been preserved primarily because it is a scenic, scientific, or historical gem of national importance. For the average visitor, a sufficient reason for protecting these parks is that they are beautiful, they inspire reverence, they provide wonderful opportunities for observing wildlife, and they offer rest from the "progress" which has exterminated much beauty elsewhere. To many, the unspoiled grandeur of the parks symbolizes America as no logged-over area, reservoir, crowded city, or beanfield ever can symbolize it. The scientific value of the national parks is more nearly measurable in dollars. Because these areas are so little changed, they show, as scarcely any other regions in the country now can show, what conditions of soil, grass, forests, and wildlife once existed when the land was unexploited and in balance. From studying park conditions, scientists and technical workers learn how to restore part of the original balance and abundance of resources in depleted areas outside the parks. XV

xvi

INTRODUCTION

Many people do not fully realize how much of our national resources has been used up. They do not know, for example, that virgin forest once covered 40 per cent of the area now included in the United States, that this has been reduced so that today less than 7 per cent is virgin forest (Osborn, 1948, p. 179) and that outside the parks the primeval forests are still diminishing. The average person also is not aware of the immense loss of fertile soil. When the pioneers came, soil erosion in most of the United States was either negligible or, as in the Southwest, in balance with the natural soil-rebuilding power of the subsoil and the native vegetation. Today, lumbering, burning, overgrazing, and bad farming practices have ruined an area eight times as large as Wisconsin. In the national parks and monuments, however, where grazing is not permitted, the mountain meadows remain almost in their original state. They are a refreshing contrast to the heavily used ranges and are valuable for scientific comparison with them. In addition to the intangible values of the nation's wildlife, its dollar vakie is astronomical when measured as income brought to businesses catering to tourists and sportsmen. The amount spent annually by hunters, fishermen, photographers, and other groups for their various wildlifeenjoyment activities has been estimated at six to eight billion dollars (Drury, 1947, p. 161). Yet the nation's wildlife has been depleted almost as thoroughly as its soil. Some species have become virtually extinct as a result of overhunting and fishing, but the greatest losses have been caused indirectly by agriculture—by the drainage of lakes and marshes on a vast scale and the wholesale poisoning and trapping of rodents and other fur bearers. Conversion of many hundred thousand square miles of wild land into intensively cultivated, nearly bare ground has, as far as wildlife is concerned, made enormous areas more forbidding than a desert. In the parts of San Joaquin Valley adjacent to the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, more antelope, elk, and waterfowl, and more lakes, marshes, and celebrated fields of spring wildflowers, have been eliminated as a result of intense cultivation than from all other causes combined. By contrast, in the near-by national parks, where there is no hunting, trapping, poisoning, or destruction of natural environment, many once-abundant animals and some plants, like the giant sequoia, are making a last stand. Here nature lovers can enjoy, at close range, rare species of animals, elsewhere persecuted, that have lost their fear of man. Scien-

INTRODUCTION

xvii

tists can work out the answers to such questions as: Do eagles deplete the deer and the bighorn? Can predators prevent a rodent "epidemic"? Are mountain lions as harmful to the deer herds as man is? Or, nearer home, and possibly of profound import to planners and historians: Do human and animal populations follow the same behavior patterns and cycles with respect to food shortages, wars, migrations? (See Leopold, 1949.) Some of the rare or endangered species that have found sanctuary within the national park system are the fisher, wolverine, and mountain lion of the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. Other parks and monuments safeguard the trumpeter swan, grizzly bear, buffalo, marten, manatee, otter, elephant seal, Kaibab squirrel, southern white-tailed ptarmigan, duck hawk, Hawaiian goose, roseate spoonbill, American crocodile, and bighorn. As these natural resources continue to diminish, in spite of the conservation efforts so far made, the value of the parks for recreation and as scientific check plots increases with every year that passes.

Wildlife Policies and Problems

Like the park lands themselves, National Park Service wildlife policies are unique because they are based on the obligation to preserve natural conditions. Therefore, the techniques of wildlife management used in the parks differ somewhat from those used elsewhere. Outside the parks, the objective of most wildlife management is to produce a crop of animals for sportsmen to shoot. These animals must be nursed along like any other crop that is harvested. Since vast changes in the original habitat have upset the natural order, the wildlife manager has to protect these animals by suppressing their enemies and competitors, just as the farmer destroys native wildflowers when they compete with his beans. Thus, the wildlife manager outside the parks usually persecutes the predators because they eat the birds and mammals that he wishes to kill for his own recreation. Inside the national parks and monuments, where there is no hunting, 0 all the native animals are given equal protection. This policy preserves the original natural balance. It also gives camera enthusiasts, and others who do not want to shoot the animals, special opportunities to enjoy at close range many wild creatures that are usually hunted, and to observe various rare and vanishing species which, because they eat game animals or other "crops" of man, have been nearly exterminated elsewhere. Such a policy, of course, is workable only for wilderness areas like the * Wildlife Ranger Clarence Fry has stated that when the Army was in charge of Sequoia National Park, in 1891, the soldiers used to go out of the high country in the fall with their buckboard wagons loaded with deer hides. From 1902 on, soldiers were forbidden to carry firearms in the park, and the guns of civilian visitors were sealed. Army administration continued until 1914.

1

2

BIRDS AND

MAMMALS

national parks. It is based on the fact that when the white man first came, predators and the animals which they ate often ranged over the same area in numbers which have not been duplicated since in settled regions, in spite of the most elaborate game-protection measures. Forest destruction by deer and elk, as described in the section on Mammals, was unknown before the white man came. Understandably, present-day livestock men and vegetable fanners could not operate successfully under the old-time primitive conditions. Most of the country, therefore, will never be restored to its original state. GENERAL POLICIES

Noninterference.—In their arguments against restoration of the "balance of nature," nonscientific opponents of the policy distort the meaning of the phrase. The "balance of nature" is not a rigid set of precariously balanced conditions that may be destroyed forever if slightly joggled by mankind. Instead, it resembles the old-fashioned beam scale that moved up and down within reasonably predictable limits. These natural fluctuations are much greater in some parts of America than in others, and also vary widely in different species. Quail in one national park may be scarcer this year; some elk may die in the next hard winter. This does not, however, mean that a theoretical, static balance has been upset, or that drastic action should be taken to restore it. As a rule, these variations are the temporary ups and downs of Nature's seesaw. In the next year or two, the direction may be reversed. When the quail are scarcest their life is often easiest, for they do not have to compete so hard for the best-protected nesting, roosting, and foraging areas. And when their life is easy, they are more successful than usual in raising their young. The quail population soon shows a marked increase. Likewise, the elk that survive the hard winter have less competition on the range. Contagious diseases will not spread so fast; in the spring there will be plenty to eat, perhaps for thefirsttime in years; coats will be glossier the next fall, and more calves than usual will be fat and strong when winter comes. From this experience that, if the wilderness is not tampered with, Nature will take care of her children with a minimum of assistance, the following National Park Service policies have evolved:

OF THE SIERRA NEVADA

3

1. Every species, for its greatest ultimate good, shall be left to carry on its struggle for existence unaided, unless there is real reason for believing that it will perish if it is unassisted. 2. Where artificial feeding, control of natural enemies, or other protective measures are necessary to save a species that is unable to cope with civilization's influences, every effort shall be made to place that species on a self-sustaining basis once more, so that these artificial aids, which themselves have harmful consequences, will no longer be needed. 3. The rare predators shall be considered special charges of the national parks and shall be given protection in the parks in proportion to their persecution elsewhere. 4. No native predator shall be destroyed to protect another park animal on which it normally preys, unless that animal is in immediate danger of extermination, and then the predator shall be killed only if it is not also a vanishing form. 5. Species predatory upon fish shall be allowed to continue in normal numbers and share normally in the benefits of fish culture. Restoration measures for upset environments.—By the time many of the parks and monuments were established, natural conditions had already been severely altered in the areas included in them. As early as 1875, overgrazing by sheep and cattle had laid bare much of Kings Canyon National Park. Even today, severe overuse by cattle, under lifetime permits issued to the stockmen by the Forest Service before the national park was created, has stripped the Roaring River drainage area of so much grassland that it is almost unusable even for pack animals. After park lands have been rescued from destructive commercial grazing, Nature slowly heals the gullies and restores the water tables. However, where old-time grazing permits must remain in force during the lifetime of the original holder—as is sometimes provided in the bill establishing a national park or monument—the National Park Service has adopted standard livestock-range management measures similar to those of the Forest Service. In the Roaring River district some improvements in range management have been adopted by the cattlemen in recent years. However, between 1948 and 1950, more than ten thousand dollars had to be spent there by the National Park Service in soil-conservation measures to

4

BIRDS AND M A M M A L S

check deep erosion gullies caused by overgrazing. Eventually, when the grazing permits expire, Nature will be able to carry on her healing work unassisted, and wildlife populations will recover. This gradual recovery also takes place on logged-over and burned areas. More permanent and more difficult to correct is the biological upset that results when some native species, particularly a predator, has been exterminated. Disappearance of mountain lions, for example, has been in part the cause of severely destructive increases in the number of deer in many western states. Some national parks and monuments that are too small to preserve lions within their boundaries have suffered from this type of biological unbalance, particularly Zion, Grand Canyon, and Glacier national parks and the Lava Beds National Monument. In a few places where the predators have been destroyed, the resulting hordes of deer have virtually exterminated shrubs, wildflowers, and young trees essential to forest reproduction (see section on Mountain Lion). Giant Forest provides a small-scale example of unbalance resulting from the partial retreat of mountain lions from an area that has become thickly occupied by human beings (see section on California Mule Deer). When shrub- and tree-eating animals become too numerous because their controlling natural enemies cannot be restored, the general policy of the national parks provides that: 6. The numbers of hoofed animals (deer, elk, buffalo, moose) on a deteriorated range shall not be allowed to exceed its reduced carrying capacity, and, if possible, shall be kept below the carrying capacity until the range can be brought back to its original productiveness. However, control of these hoofed animals is actually one of the most difficult management problems in the national parks. In some areas heavy reliance is placed on hunting outside the park boundaries, often through cooperative arrangements with state fish and game commissions for locally extending the hunting season. This type of management works well if the animals normally migrate out of the park area in the fall. In Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks such migration does occur, and the lion population is comparatively normal. Therefore the deer problem is serious only in certain local areas shunned by lions and in restricted localities, such as Hospital Rock and Ash Mountain Headquarters, where the deer do not ordinarily venture far enough beyond the park boundaries to be taken by hunters. If overbrowsing becomes serious in such limited

OF THE

SIERRA

NEVADA

5

areas, the number of animals usually is so small that the problem can be solved by shooting only a few. However, in accordance with National Park Service policy: 7. No management measure or other interference with biotic relationships shall be undertaken unless a properly conducted investigation has shown that it would be beneficial. A reduction program usually is carried out by park rangers, in cooperation with the appropriate state fish and game department, and the carcasses of the animals killed are turned over to charitable institutions or Indian agencies. However, as pointed out in the section on the California Mule Deer, the animals in a recent small-scale control program in Sequoia, shielded from the culling action of their natural enemies, became so diseased and malnourished that they were unfit for human food. Park policy provides that: 8. Any native species which has been exterminated from the park shall be brought back, if possible; but if this species has become extinct, no related form shall be reintroduced in its place. "If possible" recognizes the practical limitations. The Park Service could not consider restoring either the wolf or the grizzly to the Sequoia-Kings, because near-by livestock might be endangered. Any grizzly introduction also would be contrary to policy on scientific grounds, for the native California grizzly is extinct. To a sportsman, this distinction might seem trivial, but many scientists feel that substitution of some other nonnative species, even though closely related, would seriously distort the history of each local race, obscuring its origin and making difficult the study of its adaptations to its particular environment. Nonnative plants and animals often seriously upset the original balance. In the absence of their own natural enemies they may run wild and crowd out native species, as Klamath weed has done on the Pacific Coast, 0 and as rabbits have done in Australia. In keeping with the obligation to preserve natural conditions, National Park Service policy provides that: 9. Any nonnative species that has already become established in a park shall be either eliminated or held to a minimum if complete eradication is not feasible. " Recently the weed has been controlled in some areas by the importation of its own natural enemy, a beetle.

6

BIRDS AND MAMMALS

Confinement and feeding of animals.—If the parks are to be preserved in their original natural condition, their wildlife cannot be caged or otherwise maintained in unnatural concentrations. In 1904, before this policy crystallized, tule elk were penned up in Sequoia, although they had never lived there under natural conditions (see section on Dwarf or Tule Elk). At one time, in order to provide a spectacle for visitors, animals were lured to special feeding areas. However, this proved even more harmful to the animals than caging them. Bears fed at garbage pits lost their natural feeding habits and became dependent upon easily obtained but unhealthful swill. The young bears suffered most of all, because, dependent from infancy, they never learned to live entirely on natural food obtained by their own efforts. Each fall when the garbage supplies were curtailed abruptly at the end of the tourist season, dozens of malnourished bears, their fear of human beings reduced through summer-long familiarity, broke into cabins, storehouses, tents, and cars. As their hunger increased, the boldest offenders became so dangerous that it was necessary to shoot them. Among the bird population, some young blue jays, no longer able to obtain food from campers, actually starved (see section on Steller Jay).

When the feeding of garbage to bears in Sequoia National Park was discontinued, in 1940, bear depredations diminished appreciably. In Kings Canyon National Park, bears never have been deliberately fed, although at Cedar Grove, where garbage disposal has been inadequate owing to lack of funds, some bears have acquired perverted appetites and have learned to steal from human beings. In the past, the Park Service has at times fed buffalo, elk, deer, and bighorn; but even when this was done primarily to help the animals to survive winter storms, more harm than good resulted. Like the garbage-fed bears, the hoofed animals preferred to eat the inferior food provided for them, such as hay, rather than search for more suitable natural forage. Overcrowding on the feeding grounds caused contagious diseases to spread rapidly through entire herds. At Glacier National Park, one band of bighorn was almost exterminated by a lung disease before biologists discovered that the only way to save the remnant of the herd was to stop the artificial feeding. When this was done, the bighorn recovered. Thus, in relations between visitors and animals in the national park system, the policy provides that:

OF THE SIERRA NEVADA

7

10. Presentation of the animal life of the parks to the public shall be a wholly natural one. 11. No animal shall be encouraged to become dependent upon man for its support. 12. Problems of injury to visitors, to their property, or to other special interests of man in the park shall be solved, if possible, by methods other than killing the animals or interfering with their normal way of life. BOUNDARY PROBLEMS

Since national park wildlife is relatively unafraid, and year by year becomes more trustful, the visitor may wonder why it is not more abundant —the old-time stories tell of flocks that darkened the skies and herds that took days to pass a given point. The answer is that the high mountain country of most national parks, though often majestic, is by comparison to the lowlands a cold and barren world. Wildlife, like man, cannot live on scenery alone. However, this fundamental fact is often overlooked when the designation "wildlife sanctuary" or "park" is conferred upon some snowy crest or desert canyon. In marked contrast to the cold, still, mountaintop areas, it is the foothills and lower valleys, with their abundant moisture, warmth, and deep soil, that swarm with life. The tall grass of lowland fields and valleys nourishes the billions of insects that furnish food for the hordes of insect-eating songbirds and rodents. These in turn must be abundant if there are to be appreciable numbers of badgers, foxes, and other fur bearers, and of eagles and large hawks. In lowland forests and chaparral, bark beetles and leaf-eating insects are abundant enough to feed the forest's big defense army of flycatchers, chickadees, and woodpeckers. Squirrels, grouse, deer, moose, and elk thrive in these lowlands because their food grows more luxuriantly there than at higher, colder elevations. Coyotes, raccoons, and bears also are more numerous because of the greater abundance of their natural food supplies. In lowland marshes, ponds, and rivers, the warmer waters and more fertile bottoms give to pondweeds and rushes a luxuriance unknown in higher places. The swarms of crustacea and insect larvae that live on this vegetation provide food for far more frogs, marsh wrens, curlews,

8

BIRDS AND MAMMALS

blackbirds, rails, and bitterns than ever inhabited our mountains even in the earliest days. Fish in lowland waters grow more rapidly than those that live in icy alpine streams, and the abundance of food supports them in vastly greater numbers. Because the idea of setting aside land for national parks did not develop until after the more fertile lands had already been put to other uses, the tendency has been to create parks chiefly out of remote, unproductive lands. Therefore, in spite of the fact that the national parks and monuments are dedicated to wildlife conservation, proportionately more barren rocks and alpine wastes are included in the national park system than in the lands of any other wildlife conservation agency. Boundaries of national parks almost never have been drawn to meet wildlife protection needs, and very few parks areas are so situated as to provide satisfactory year-round living conditions for all their native species. Creation of Kings Canyon National Park adjoining previously established Sequoia resulted in a better than average wilderness sanctuary for the protection of endangered California species. The combined area of the two parks would probably be sufficient to give adequate protection if all the boundaries coincided with the biological barriers. Boundary troubles are particularly acute on the east side of these parks, where the line follows the crest of the Sierra and thus permits a formidable leak in the wildlife reservoir. Since these mountaintop boundaries cut right through the heart of the natural alpine habitat, a marten, fisher, wolverine, mountain lion, band-tailed pigeon, or bighorn that cannot read the boundary signs does not know when it is outside the park and its protection. If the boundaries followed natural barriers such as deep canyons or low-elevation contour lines, thousands of animals would not have to lose their lives because of their inability to read. On the west slope of the Sierra, the biological boundaries of Kings Canyon National Park are less effective than those of Sequoia. Relatively little chaparral was included in the Kings, and, as will be repeatedly brought out in the species descriptions that follow, this is the reason that the Kings lacks many of the species that are quite common in Sequoia. Smaller parks can never hope to restore the vanishing members of their original wildlife communities, although usually these are the species that most need protection in the country as a whole. Particularly inadequate are such mountaintop parks as Lassen, Mount Rainier, and Crater Lake, which are little islands of wilderness surrounded by an ocean of logged-

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over, burned, overgrazed, and plowed-up land, where the wildlife has been destroyed by trapping, poisoning, or shooting. Although economic obstacles may prevent all efforts to remedy such boundary deficiencies; wherever possible, as in minor boundary realignments, the National Park Service policy provides that: 13. Each park shall contain the year-round habitats of all native resident species. 14. Each park shall include a sufficient amount of all these required habitats to maintain at least the minimum population of each species necessary to insure its perpetuation. 15. Park boundaries shall be drafted to follow natural biological barriers where possible, particularly life-zone or similar habitat boundaries.

Human Use of Parks

Scars on ancient trees show that the wilderness has recovered many times from forest fires. Seldom or never has it recovered from the effects of a paved highway. Because the automobile road has destroyed more primeval areas than any other single development, the National Park Service tries to hold road construction to a minimum. Only a fraction of Sequoia National Park is traversed by roads, and in the Kings there is but one road. Fifty years ago, when most wilderness areas were so remote that it took days of travel just to reach them, roads were built to make such places "accessible." But times have changed, and the entrances to remaining primeval areas now can be reached by automobile in a few hours. The building of a road in order to make the wilderness "accessible" defeats its own purpose: as soon as the road permits the motorist to see "unspoiled nature" without getting out of his car, the wilderness, together with various wildlife species, vanishes. Even the mountain fishermen, once eager for more roads, are beginning to discover this. When the roads to make favorite fishing spots accessible were constructed, the fishing was fine for the first year, but after that it petered out. The really good fishing automatically moved farther back and was still a day's walk from the new road —and the good fishing territory that remained was smaller. The secondary effects of a road are often more detrimental than the primary effect. Initial construction tends to be only the first step in a gradual process of "development," for it invites new gas stations, cabins, stores, ski lifts, trailer camps, fire-protection roads, telephone and power lines, water-storage systems, and sewage-disposal systems. Eventually, the area may require residences and garages for administrative personnel, overnight accommodations, a post office, hospital, and sometimes even a school. 10

BIRDS AND M A M M A L S

OF THE SIERRA NEVADA

11

When the new buildings come, the safety standards of a residential area begin to enter the picture. The rules say that snags, inflammable undergrowth, and dead wood must be removed within a thousand-foot radius of such buildings. When these are removed the wildlife must go elsewhere. Go elsewhere? It is not that simple, for wild creatures that are thrown out of their homes cannot easily move to some new place. In accordance with a fundamental law of animal populations, suitable near-by territory usually is occupied already by other individuals of the same species. Hence the refugees are even worse off than most human displaced persons, for no one is willing or able to take them in, and there is no charitable organization to feed them. Some wildlife DP's, by hard fighting, may be able to seize living space from their competitors; but this only lowers the margin of survival for all. Therefore, every area developed for human visitors means deprivation or death for many wild creatures originally found there.

COMPROMISE

Development of an area for the convenience of large crowds and preservation of natural features and wildlife turn out, then, to be very nearly opposites. At least they can be reconciled only by a compromise of some kind. This means real compromise: wildlife must be sacrificed in some areas, but man must exercise some restraint in order to preserve for the future not only the wildlife but the underlying beauty and harmony of natural forces that exist in wilderness areas. A new development plan cannot be justified merely by statistics showing that the acreage already under intensive development is small compared to the total park area. Such statistics would be particularly misleading in the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, because most of that region is deficient in livable habitat for large numbers of wild creatures, although it is replete with beautiful scenery. As has been already pointed out, neither wildlife nor human beings can live on scenery alone. Therefore, preservation of a reasonable amount of accessible, fertile, really desirable areas free from human development requires special care in the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. In weighing the arguments for further development, the National Park Service feels that human developments in vital areas must be justified by considerations other than that of making it possible for a great many people

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BIRDS AND MAMMALS OF THE SIERRA NEVADA

to have "a great deal of fun." It is the duty of custodians of national treasures to pass them on to posterity, unimpaired. The enjoyment of national treasures by the public has to be limited by the degree of perishability of the treasures.

Ficlow C a s t l e R o c k s on t h e M i d d l e F o r k of the Kaweah River.

F i g . 4 0 . O p e n groves of b u c k e y e a n d live oak also a r e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of t h e U p p e r Sonoran L i f e Zone. P h o t o g r a p h t a k e n n e a r Ash M o u n t a i n H e a d q u a r t e r s .

I'ili- 41. Y u c c a a n d l i v e o a k s ol U p p e r S o n o r a n n e a r Vsli M o u n t a i n

Lite

Zone

I lca(l inches; weight, 0.34 ounce (against 4 to 4% inches, and 0.29 ounce for the Nashville). Habits.—The Tolmie warbler, like this other species, is a hard-to-see inhabitant of dense foliage, but it is found characteristically within a few feet of the ground among dense thickets on wet mountain slopes rather than on dry, brushy hillsides or in the crown foliage of deciduous trees, which are typically Nashville warbler habitat. However, as we have pointed out, individual birds, unaware of rules of average behavior for the species as worked out by man, occasionally depart from them; thus a male Tolmie warbler was observed singing fully 50 feet up in the lower branches of a large incense cedar. The usual habitat of this particular bird, however, was a seepage slope directly below, covered with dogwood, and he sang customarily from this more characteristic environment (Grinnell and Storer, 1924, p. 535). The Tolmie warbler nests close to the ground in vines and thickets, in moist brushy places, in the Transition and lower Canadian life zones of western North America from Alaska to central California, northern Arizona, and northern New Mexico. It winters from Lower California to South

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America. The nest is made of dried weeds, grass stems, pine needles, and strips of bark, and is lined with fine grasses, rootlets, or hair. Park status and records.—A summer resident. In Sequoia, the first spring arrival was seen, Apr. 17, 1935, at Ash Mtn. Hdqrs. Records of Tolmie warblers in 1933: one seen at Crescent Meadow, Aug. 8; one seen by Williams (1933) at the same place, June 18; two families, of four young each, seen at upper edge of Round Meadow, Aug. 12; one bird seen at Giant Forest, Sept. 13. Records in the Kings, in 1916: one seen at Bullfrog Lake, Aug. 27 and Sept. 7; a specimen (MVZ 27480) taken at Bullfrog Lake, Sept. 1; inany birds found migrating, Sept. 24, near west boundary of the park in and near Horse Corral Meadow (Swarth, 1916). Species seen in Kings Canyon, May 26,1941, by Bryant (1941); at Lewis Creek, May 8,1941, and at Little Creek, May 16,1942 (Dixon, 1943). CHAT

Icteria virens auricollis (Lichtenstein) Description.—A distinctly unwarbler-like, thicket-loving bird, larger than a sparrow, with a tail about as long as its body. It is olive brown above, with white eye rings that join a white stripe at the base of the bill, forming spectacles; the throat and breast are rich yellow, shading to white on the belly. The chat is 6V2 to 7% inches long and weighs % ounce (Grinnell, Dixon, and Storer, 1930, p. 378). The bird is more frequently heard than seen; its loud, unusual song, issuing from dense, shadowy tangles of streamside vegetation, suggests a thrasher or mockingbird rather than a warbler. The various phrases, some harsh and chattering, some clear, musical whistles, are repeated several times slowly, or are emitted at irregular intervals, each phrase being followed by a pause and then a different series. The beginning bird student may not realize that so many different sounds are coming from the same bird. Frequently, the chat imitates calls of crows, woodpeckers, nighthawks, jays, and robins; in this it resembles the mockingbirds, thrashers, magpies, jays, and other mimics of varying abilities and degrees of kinship. The chat, however, is not as accomplished as the mockingbird, and as a rule duplicates only the short notes and harsher calls of other species. In fact, it is a question how much the chat's mimicry represents conscious

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effort, and how much is chance resemblance. Like the mockingbird, the chat becomes wakeful and bursts into song on bright nights when shafts of moonlight penetrate its roost. Then, the weird, experimental catcalls and cheerful chuckles, interspersed with unexpectedly musical notes, coming from the motionless but faintly illuminated, jungle-like growth, create a special and unforgettable atmosphere. In the daylight, the chat's song, which like the songs of other birds proclaims ownership of territory, may be accompanied by a display flight. In this the bird flutters, with characteristic jerky wing motions and legs dangling, high into the air above the protecting thickets; then, while continuing to sing rapidly, it flutters slowly down again, with wings drooping and long tail hanging. No doubt this conspicuous performance reinforces its warning to others, "Trespassers beware!" Habits.—The voluble chat summers in the Upper and Lower Sonoran life zones, and in the lower Transition Zone where its special environment is present, from southern British Columbia, the north central United States, Ontario, and New York to Florida and Mexico. It inhabits luxuriant tangles of wild grape, wild blackberry, willow, rose, elderberry, and tall weeds, in damp situations where wild fruits and berries are to be had and the heavy, moist air swarms with insect life. When flies no longer buzz or crickets chirp, and winter has shriveled the leaves upon the vines and whitened the hard ground with frost, the chat is safe and far away in the thickets of Mexico and Central America. The bird is not shy, and has 110 particular aversion to civilization. Nevertheless, in the long run, civilization is harmful to the chat, although the bird and most of its human admirers are unaware of this. To make more and more farmlands, sloughs are drained and the green, shady world of willow branches and grape tangles is pulled down and burned. Each year more and more rivers are dammed up in the mountains and the stored waters are drawn off to irrigate the new farmlands. As a result, the lower reaches of the rivers receive less water than the headwaters, instead of the reverse, which is the more natural sequence. Year by year, as the lowland streams flow more meagerly, their broad fringes of timber, which once teemed with wildlife, shrink and die. Particularly is this true of streams in the foothills of the southern Sierra. An inspection by air of Kern River, brimming and turbulent in the park but beyond Bakersfield dwindling in summer to the trickle of a garden hose, dramatically illustrates this trend. Originally, the Kern on its way to Buena

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MAMMALS

Vista Lake, a shallow, marshy expanse, miles across, that harbored millions of waterfowl, flowed through avenues and great belts of cottonwoods and willows, habitat of the chat. Civilization dried up the river before it could reach the lake, then drained the lake and turned it into a grainfield. The shady groves have withered and died. The receding water table of the San Joaquin Valley, yearly sucked lower by thousands of deep wells, does not foretell prosperity for such streamside dwellers as the chat. The nests of the chat, hidden in the briers and tangles, are made of leaves, weeds, shredded grapevine bark, and other plant fibers, and are lined with fine grasses. Park status.—A summer resident in willow tangles along lowland streams, in Sequoia only at its lowest, westernmost edge but common in summer along the Kaweah River below the park. Not recorded in the Kings and not to be expected there, because the altitude is too high. PlLEOLATED WARBLER

Wilsonia pusilla chryseola Ridgway Description.—A small, restlessly active, yellow warbler with a round black cap. It is restricted to thickets near streams, lakes, or damp ground but is very common in its chosen habitat. The under parts are a clear, bright yellow, the upper parts yellowish green but not as yellow as in the yellow warbler. The pileolated warbler has no dark streaks, wing bars, or white markings, which are present in some other warblers. In females and young birds, the cap is less sharply defined and occasionally is absent. About the only other warbler in the same habitat is the Tolmie warbler, which is much larger and has a gray head. The call note of the pileolated warbler is a flat, husky "chep." The bird's habit of continually twitching its tail with a sideways motion is characteristic. Habits.—The pileolated warbler nests from Alaska and Canada to the north central and northeastern states and south through the cool high mountains of the West to New Mexico and Texas; it winters in Mexico and Central America. In the Sierra it nests chiefly in the Canadian Life Zone, and also to some extent in the Transition Zone. Nests are placed on the ground, in cavities in banks, or among the upturned roots of fallen trees, where they are well covered by overhanging vegetation. Sometimes they are a few feet higher—in the crotch of a fallen

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dead bush, for example (Gabrielson and Jewett, 1940, p. 517)—but still are well hidden by ferns, azaleas, willows, and other low-growing plants. Leaves, grass blades, and weed stems are typical materials used in the main construction; pine needles, rootlets, and hair are used for lining. Since the older books about birds describe the nest as having a lining of horsehair, the reader may well wonder what pileolated warblers used before the Spanish introduced horses into the New World, or what they use now that horses have practically disappeared from the modern world. A nest with a lining of deer hair, found in Yosemite, indicates the answer. Park status and records.—A common summer resident. In Sequoia, Pickwell (1933) found it common in willow and dogwood thickets near Giant Forest Lodge, June 18-25,1933. At Tokopah Falls, June 20,1933, a male, by showing great concern over Dixon's presence, indicated that there was a nest in the near-by willows. In 1933, the species was seen at Crescent Meadow, Aug. 8; at Cahoon Meadow, the birds had departed on their migration by Sept. 22. Records in 1934: one pileolated warbler seen at Upper Funston Meadow, May 26; two seen hunting for insects at Junction Meadow on Kern River, June 6; numerous birds along the Kern-Kaweah River evidently about to nest in willows and quaking aspen groves, June 7. The birds are often seen in spring along the Middle Fork of the Kaweah, according to Oberhansley (1942). The species was reported in wet meadows at Grant Grove, by Shaw (1936); it was seen there in June, 1940, by Bryant (1941). Records in the Kings, in 1916: one bird seen, Aug. 27, near Bullfrog Lake; a female (MVZ 27484) taken at Bubbs Creek, Sept. 3; a few birds seen in the wet meadow near Kanawyers, Sept. 10-17 (Swarth, 1916). In 1943, one bird was seen in a willow thicket at 8,000 ft. elevation in Hotel Creek, May 20; one in a dwarf willow at 10,700 ft. on Darwin Creek, July 28. ENGLISH

Passer domesticus

SPABROW

domesticus

(Linnaeus)

Description.—The English sparrow, often and appropriately known as the house sparrow, is chunky, short-tailed, and large-headed, with brownish, streaked upper parts, white wing bars, and dirty-white under parts.

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Males have a conspicuous black throat patch; the cheeks are white, and the top of the head gray. Females are duller, lack the black throat patch, and have a grayish-brown head. This is the common "sparrow" that is seen hopping along the curbs and gutters of large cities, flocking in railroad yards, congregating on roof tops, and nesting untidily behind shutters, in vines, on the rafters of open sheds and warehouses, and in the ornamental palm trees of southern California. Its hoarse, repetitious "cheep" is characteristic, being particularly noticeable at daylight before other city noises rise to drown it out. Actually, this bird is an Old World weaver finch, representing a different family from that to which our native sparrows belong. Habits.—The English sparrow is native to most of Europe, and ranges east to Siberia. However, even in the Old World it is not known to thrive away from human settlements; the extensions of its range in northern Scandinavia and Russia have occurred only as these areas have lost their wild characteristics (see Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1911, XXV, 609). The history of the English sparrow in North America illustrates the usual bad results of man's attempts to tinker with the natural balance. In 1851, in the hope that they might destroy caterpillars, eight pairs of this species were released in New York City. In the course of the next twenty-five years numerous liberations of sparrows were made in other eastern cities. Since, in the cities, there were no bird hawks, chipmunks, snakes, or other potential enemies of the English sparrow, the species multiplied enormously, and rapidly became so serious a pest that municipalities, assisted by the federal government, spent large amounts of money and energy on control campaigns. However, since the environment for the sparrows remained favorable, no lasting success was possible, because of the continual influx of sparrows from adjacent regions. (For instances of extermination campaigns that had similar results, see section on California Jay.) English sparrows spread westward across the entire United States and into southern Canada. Attracted by the hay and spilled grain about stockyards, they traveled from town to town, often riding in boxcars and livestock cars. By this means they made their way at length even to spots as remote as the oasis of Furnace Creek Ranch in Death Valley, which is surrounded by hundreds of miles of barren terrain inhospitable to such birds. The English sparrow under favorable conditions raises three or more broods of young each year. It is pugnacious and aggressive. It has perma-

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nently driven many native, insect-eating songsters from the dooryards that they formerly occupied, yet it has not adequately taken over the caterpillarextermination function that was the original reason for its introduction. Although it feeds on insects to some extent, particularly around rural dwellings, in the cities it is—or at least was—primarily a grain and refuse feeder. It was the grain diet that facilitated the bird's rapid spread in the first place; its curtailment has proved to be almost the only effective agent in controlling the sparrow population in recent years. The chief reduction in English sparrow numbers apparently has occurred since the automobile superseded the grain-eating horse. English sparrows once throve in great flocks around the stables and in the streets, picking at spilled grain and horse manure; their descendants, which must work harder for a living, pick squashed bugs off radiators of parked cars. Thus, the reduction of food supply, although an unintentional biological control, proved effective where no amount of shooting and poisoning previously had been successful. The effectiveness of natural checks and balances upon the English sparrow is particularly evident in the national parks and monuments. In the wild lands of North America, perhaps even more than in Europe, the bird has been notably unsuccessful in establishing itself. This may be due to its vulnerability to native predators when it is away from the cities—a vulnerability induced or aggravated by centuries of dependence upon a protected, man-made environment. In this the English sparrow resembles the domestic pigeon, which, although it is a vigorous, fast-flying bird, is unable to thrive away from the immediate vicinity of farm or city buildings and commonly falls prey to hawks and owls. The city house sparrow populations, though somewhat reduced as a result of the disappearance of the horse, promise to be permanent as long as a supply of food can be obtained from gutters, stockyards, and garbage heaps. Around farmyards, urban parks, and cemeteries, and in similar places where native predators are discouraged, this sparrow's raucous chirp can be expected to persist indefinitely. Contrariwise, to the extent that national park areas remain primitive and unspoiled, there need be no fear of an invasion of the English sparrow, which, like the rat and the cockroach, is both a form and a symptom of city life. Park status and records.—The first English sparrows arrived at Ash Mtn. Hdqrs. in 1917, Walter Fry told Dixon. Only two nesting pairs

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were found there in 1935, eighteen years after the first pair arrived. Augustine (1940&) reported a nesting pair there, June 8,1939. Presumably a few were present throughout the intervening periods. In the wilder, so far less "civilized" regions of the Kings, this street bird has not yet appeared. Western

Meadowlabk

Sturnella neglecta Audubon Description.—A chunky bird; brown above, with conspicuously white outer tail feathers; bright yellow below, with a black crescent across the upper breast. Although about the same weight (3 ounces) as a robin, and appearing to be about the same general size, its noticeably short tail gives it a lesser total length (7% to 10 inches). The bird's rolling, throaty, musical song bursts with sharp but pleasing emphasis from the stubble in cultivated lands and from low perches on fence posts or small trees along the roadside. The alarm note, equally characteristic, is a low, short but musical "chuck," a little like a flute note abruptly terminated. Habits.—The western meadowlark nests on the grasslands and plains country of western North America from the Canadian prairies to Mexico. Feeding on seeds and grain as well as on insect life, it is for the most part a resident throughout the year except in the northern parts of its range and the higher mountain meadows, where deep snow necessitates a limited and local migration. Closely related races inhabit the grasslands of the eastern United States and Texas. Nests are well hidden in the tall grass, being woven of grass stems and often roofed over by a loose dome of grass. About 70 per cent of the meadowlark's food consists of small ground-inhabiting animal life such as beetles, crickets, grasshoppers, caterpillars, wasps, ants, and spiders. The vegetable food consists chiefly of weed and grass seeds, and waste grain gleaned from stubble fields. The western meadowlark seldom occurs away from lowland valleys, grassy plains, and the meadows of the lower foothills. However, like herons, wrens, and many other lowland birds, a few individuals wander far from the main crowd during the fall months and briefly visit the higher altitudes. Park status and record.—An exceptionally rare visitor. There is no record of this species actually within Sequoia, although for many years

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it has nested within a mile of Ash Mtn. Hdqrs., at Shepherd Cove just outside the park (Walter Fry, 1932fe). There is only one record for the Kings: one meadowlark was seen at Woods Creek Meadow, 8,500 ft. elevation, Aug. 27,1940, by Bryant (1941).

RED-WINGED

Agelaius phoeniceus

BLACKBIRD

aciculatus

Mailliard

and Agelaius phoeniceus

nevadensis

Grinnell

Description.—The male is a conspicuous glossy black, with bright-red shoulder patches edged with buff. The female is brownish, heavily streaked below. The length is 7 to 9 inches; the weight, about 2 % ounces. The male utters various whistling and scolding notes. His song, given from the top of a tule clump, weed stalk, or low bush, is a gurgling, musical "onk, a-lee'." The alarm note for both sexes is a sharp "chut, chut." This is a gregarious, marsh-loving species, usually found near water during the nesting season, although it sometimes nests in fields of tall grass or wild mustard if they are not far from water. As indicated under "Park status," we have specimens to substantiate that both subspecies, aciculatus and nevadensis, occur in the parks. But the subspecies cannot be distinguished by the ordinary observer. Habits.—The semicolonial red-winged blackbirds are among the most conspicuous and characteristic residents of lowland marshes and wet meadows in North America. Those inhabiting regions with a severe winter are forced to migrate, but those living in warmer climates are year-round residents. They nest from Canada to Florida and Mexico. Many kinds of birds with flocking habits scatter out in pairs in the nesting season and temporarily establish home territories. However, the advantages of extensive personal territory often are not available to species having specialized nesting requirements that are met only in limited areas. In varying degrees, cliff dwellers such as the swallows, swifts, and sea birds and marsh dwellers such as the mud-hen and the red-winged blackbird have requirements that make it impossible for them to have large individual home territories, although many have strong territorial instincts and do defend a restricted area in the vicinity of the nest. Red-winged blackbirds weave substantial, deeply cupped nests of rushes

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and grass stems and line them with fine grasses. They build the nests preferably over water, in dense stands of rushes and tules, but sometimes they place them in tall weeds and grasses and occasionally in willows. About a fourth of the food of red-winged blackbirds is made up of insects, which are abundant in marshy places; the remainder includes weed seeds, small fruits, and grain. Although grain usually comprises only a small proportion of their total diet, these blackbirds have sometimes caused serious economic damage, particularly to rice fields, in the neighborhood of marshes where the birds are numerous. For this reason, large numbers of them have been killed in agricultural regions. This, together with the conversion of vast areas of marshland into farmland, has markedly reduced the numbers of the species. Park status and records.—Agelaius phoenicetis aciculatus: A summer resident in swampy places at low altitudes near the boundaries of Sequoia National Park; so far not recorded from the Kings. On May 24, 1934, birds were observed nesting at Kern Lake just outside the park along Kern River and were seen flying up the river into the park. The nest, four eggs, and both male and female (MVZ 9053 and 9054) were collected. Agelaius phoeniceus nevadensis: A rather uncommon summer resident in the Kings; so far not recorded from Sequoia. Nested at Zumwalt Meadow in July, 1940 (Bryant, 1941). In 1942, two pairs of red-wings preparing to nest were found in the cattail swamp at Zumwalt Meadow, May 25; six females and two males were found in the same place, May 26; and there, May 27, an adult breeding female was taken, which A. H. Miller of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology identified as nevadensis (no. 9215, Dixon collection). The size of the ovaries showed that this bird had been about to lay eggs; the gullet contained four green caterpillars, each % inch long. BULLOCK

ORIOLE

Icterus bullockii (Swainson) Description.—About the size of a blackbird: length, 6% to 7y 2 inches; weight, about 1 ounce. The fully adult male is brilliant orange, with chin, top of head, upper back, and central tail feathers black; a black stripe extends from the bill up over the eye to the back of the head. Wings are black-

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ish, with a large white patch. Males less than three years old are somewhat less brilliant. The female is drab by comparison: the upper parts are yellowish gray; the tail, sides of throat, and breast, yellowish; the rest of the under parts, grayish white; the wings, dusky, with two white bars on each. The Bullock oriole is a bird of the deciduous treetops at lower elevations. Its rapid, mildly harsh, chattering note, "cha, cha, cha, cha, cha," and its rollicking and cheerful rhythmic song are characteristic. The song is described by Grinnell and Storer (1924, p. 412) as approximately "chuck'-atachuck, chuck'-ata-chuck, ta-wee'-tah." Habits.—The Bullock oriole nests in the lower parts of the Transition Life Zone of western North America, and also widely in the Upper Sonoran and even in the Lower Sonoran Zone, from southern Canada to Mexico. An insect-eater, it winters in Mexico. Protection of birds' nests from their numerous enemies is vital, but the methods that various species use to achieve it are almost as varied as their foraging habits. Some ground nesters, such as meadowlarks and quail, emphasize concealment to compensate for accessibility; some, like the swifts and many swallows, make use of inaccessible locations such as cliffs and hollow trees if they chance to find suitable ones. The orioles, however, by industry and skill make their nests inaccessible. Oriole nests typically are deep, firmly woven baskets of straw, grasses, and bark fibers, lined with hair, and are hung from the tipmost slender twigs of tall deciduous trees. Here the footing is so yielding and uncertain that small predators, including squirrels, cannot easily reach the swaying hammocks. Trees once used by orioles for nesting are likely to be re-used each year thereafter; and since the hanging baskets are very durably woven, several nests of various ages often can be seen in a tree that has lost its leaves in the autumn. The Bullock oriole is in the main insectivorous, preying on caterpillars, bugs, beetles, ants, wasps, scale insects, and other foliage dwellers. About 19 per cent of the diet consists of fruit, including some obtained from orchards. Park status and records.—In Sequoia, a summer resident along main streams and on oak-covered ridges in the lower sections of the park, arriving early in the spring. Walter Fry (in conversation) reported the first spring arrival at Ash Mtn. Hdqrs., Apr. 1, 1933. Pickwell (1933) saw a Bullock oriole about 1,000 ft. below the base of Moro Rock, June

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28,1933. In 1935, the earliest spring arrivals (ten) at Ash Mtn. Hdqrs. were noted on Apr. 10. Oberhansley (1942) observed the species nesting at Ash Mtn. Hdqrs., Apr. 17, 1940; he reported it (1943a) as common during his residence there, 1940-1942. In the Kings, where there is less low-elevation country, the oriole is an occasional summer resident. In 1942, the first spring arrival was noted on May 25, at Zumwalt Meadow; one bird was seen at Cedar Grove, May 29. BREWER BLACKBIRD

Euphagus

cyanocephalus

(Wagler)

Description.—A fearless species, allowing rather close approach. It travels in small flocks and is commonly seen foraging energetically, with bobbing head, on lawns and meadows and in farmyards and city parks. The continually uttered, short, sharp call note, "check," is characteristic. The male is a glossy black, showing iridescent reflections in the sunlight, and has conspicuous eyes, which appear to be white but are actually pale yellow. The female has dark eyes and is brownish gray, without any of the light-colored streaks of the female red-wing. This species is the commonest and most widely distributed blackbird in the parks, and in California generally, except in the marshes. The only other bird with which it might be confused is the cowbird. However, the Brewer blackbird has a long, slender bill, whereas the bill of the relatively uncommon cowbird is much shorter, more conical, and sparrow-like. Habits.—The Brewer blackbird nests over a large part of western North America, in the Lower and Upper Sonoran life zones and sparingly in the Transition Zone, from Canada to northern Lower California, New Mexico, and Texas. Eastward its range extends beyond the Rockies to Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Kansas. It is a hardy bird. Some individuals spend the winter as far north as southern British Columbia, Wisconsin, and Kansas; others travel south as far as Guatemala. After nesting in the valleys and at lower levels in the Sierra, small flocks wander widely upward nearly to timber line, very likely drawn thither by the large crop of grasshoppers and other insects that are then reaching their peak of abundance in the mountain meadows and along the lake shores. The bulky nests usually are placed less than 30 feet from the ground in various situations, including dense thickets, brush, and the outer foliage of

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trees. The loose platform of twigs and weed stems supports an inner cup of finer twigs, rootlets, and grass, which is lined with fine grass and rootlets plus hair or sometimes feathers. Many blackbirds are jealous protectors of their nests and young; the Brewer blackbird is conspicuously so. In city parks and residential areas, cats, dogs, and even people are driven from the nesting territory by the noisily protesting, flapping, bill-snapping parents, which sometimes even go so far as to strike human intruders on the head. In wilder localities, squirrels, crows, and even the bird-eating Cooper hawks are bullied and chased out of the country. A ludicrous but not uncommon sight is a large, slow-flying, red-tailed hawk clumsily retreating, while one of its black tormentors perches on the hawk's back, between the laboriously flapping wings, squawking and pecking furiously. Practically all the food of the Brewer blackbird is obtained on the ground in the open. Short-grass meadows, pastures, lawns, open lake shores, stubble fields and plowed ground are favorite foraging places. Cutworms, which are ground-inhabiting caterpillars, pupae, beetles, grasshoppers, grain, wild and occasionally domestic fruits, and weed seeds also are prominent in the diet. Park status and records.—A common summer resident at lower levels, such as Ash Mtn. Hdqrs., and a regular visitor to high mountain lakes and meadows in late summer, after the nesting season; seldom present in winter. On June 27, 1934, in a patch of willows, grass, and sedge along the marshy upper margin of Wolverton Lake, elevation about 8,000 ft., near Lodgepole, a pair of Brewer blackbirds repeatedly flew at Dixon's head, trying to drive him away; this indicated that there was a nest or young near by. Two birds were seen in September, 1939, on the Bighorn Plateau, by Augustine (1939&). Twenty were seen by Oberhansley (1943a) at Crabtree Meadow in 1940. Some were seen at Ellis Meadow, Aug. 27,1947; small flocks composed of both sexes were observed at Moraine Lake, Sept. 16, 1947, and July 22-23, 1949. The species was reported by Boyer (1948a) at Granite Pass, elevation 10,000 ft., July 10, 1948. In Grant Grove, Shaw (1936) reported it as "occasional" in the meadows; it nested there in June, 1940 (Bryant, 1941), and was fairly common there in the spring and fall of 1942 (Hauser, 1942).

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On Mar. 10,1950, a male Brewer blackbird was seen walking around on the blacktop road in front of the Grant Grove Coffee Shop. Later in the season, numbers of this species customarily inhabit the meadows in that vicinity and the near-by residential area of Wilsonia (Boyer, 1950a). Records in the Kings, in 1940: species seen by Bryant (1941) at Sixty Lakes Basin, Aug. 29; one female, at Rae Lake, Aug. 10; one male at Dougherty Meadows, Sept. 6. Cowbird

Molothrus ater obscurus (Gmelin) Description.—The cowbird is smaller than a Brewer blackbird, being only 6 to 7 inches long. The male has a brown head that contrasts with the glossy black body; the eyes are not whitish as in the Brewer blackbird. Female cowbirds are light brown all over and are distinctly smaller than Brewer females. In both sexes the bill is short and thick, unlike the tapering bill of the Brewer blackbird. Habits.—The cowbird summers in deciduous woodlands, particularly along stream bottoms, in the Lower Sonoran Zone of the San Joaquin Valley. Although somewhat irregularly distributed, it occurs in most of the wooded regions of North America from Canada to Mexico, except the southeastern United States. In winter it migrates south to Florida, the Gulf Coast, and Mexico. Other species inhabit Central and South America. Like the European cuckoos, cowbirds build no nests of their own but stealthily lay their eggs in the nests of other songbirds. Ornithological writers of an earlier generation, believing the birds to be homeless and sexually promiscuous as well as parasitic, censured them severely for social habits not in conformity with those of many other birds and most human races. However, Friedmann (1929, p. 175) has shown that cowbirds, although somewhat polyandrous, tend to pair off and establish home territories; they do not, however, defend their territories against rivals as ardently as many other birds. From a strictly biological point of view, the parasitic habits of the cowbird seem to have brought certain advantages, which are more or less counterbalanced by the disadvantages. The work of building a nest no longer is necessary; but the female must successfully locate nests of other birds and deposit her own eggs in them, either clandestinely or in the face of angry protests by the rightful owners. Even if the cowbird succeeds in

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laying an egg in the nest of another bird, that bird may throw out the egg, or seal it off by covering it with fresh nesting material, or it may desert the nest entirely. Young cowbirds do not recognize or respond to the warning calls of their foster parents; consequently they do not lie low in the nest to escape detection when threatened by predators such as snakes. By having other birds rear its young, the cowbird does avoid considerable work and expenditure of energy. Moreover, it tends to lay its eggs in the nests of species smaller than itself, with the result that the young cowbird, which has an unusually rapid growth rate, almost always tramples and suffocates its smaller nestmates, or starves them by eating all the food. A nest parasitized by a cowbird, therefore, often produces only a cowbird. In addition, the general habit of the cowbird is to lay but one of its eggs in a given nest. Since it lays two or three batches of four or five eggs each, it literally escapes the risks involved in placing all its eggs in one basket. However, the inescapable handicap to reproductive efficiency that affects other parasites also affects the cowbirds: if there were to be too great an increase, so many of the cowbirds' hosts would be destroyed that the existence of the birds themselves would be imperiled. Cowbirds are rarely abundant except locally during winter congregation. Friedmann's studies indicate that the parasitic habit of cowbirds may not be so much the result of competitive adaptation as it is of a gradual undermining of the original self-sufficient breeding cycle that is a prominent characteristic of most other birds. According to his reconstruction of the events leading up to the present habit, certain cowbirds began the present trend in bygone ages: instead of building their own nests, they relied on abandoned nests of other birds and, when the supply of these was not adequate, they gradually began to take freshly built ones away from the rightful owners. Some South American cowbirds still do this and raise their own young in the stolen nests. Many North American birds, today, nest in old woodpecker holes. Some owls rely on abandoned hawk nests and crow nests; the horned owl, and sometimes even small birds such as wrens and flycatchers, sometimes take new nests away from the builders. To this departure from average behavior, the ancestral cowbirds added another: the male, after seizing a nest, established his territory around it and took over most of the incubation duties of the female and the rearing of the young. Although male phainopeplas and certain male shore birds perform the duties of incubation, they establish the territory first and then build their own nests.

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BIRDS AND MAMMALS

By the development of these two habits in one species a potentially unstable division of family duties was established and the way was paved for a relatively easy transition into complete parasitism. After both male and female stopped taking the trouble to build a nest, and the female surrendered her responsibility for rearing the young, the household duties that in most birds either are shared or are carried on by the female alone could continue only by close cooperation of two individuals, with the heaviest burden resting not on the female but on the male. Some neststealing but nonparasitic cowbirds of South America are in this stage today. The female being thus committed to laying her eggs in the nests of other birds, and the male having taken over the responsibility of caring for them, only a diminution in the fighting and infant-feeding instincts of the male was needed for the establishment of complete parasitism. In this connection it is without doubt significant that the completely parasitic cowbirds of North America, in contrast to some of their nonparasitic relatives in South America, are among the least pugnacious and quarrelsome of all songbirds. Human beings may feel repelled by the cowbird's family life and the method by which young cowbirds reduce the numbers of young songbirds. Nevertheless, from a biological standpoint, the cowbird is no more injurious to the species upon which it preys than any orthodox "predator." The common species of small songbirds have long since adjusted their reproductive rate to neutralize the effects of this as well as other native predators. Therefore, the cowbird functions as one of the many checks upon the populations of small birds which otherwise would soon multiply enormously and destroy their own food supply. Like other blackbirds, the North American cowbirds forage chiefly on the ground in the open. More than three-fourths of their diet consists of weed seeds, waste grain gleaned from cultivated fields, and wild fruit. The rest is made up of animal matter such as grasshoppers, beetles, and caterpillars. Originally, cowbirds were known as buffalo birds because of their strikingly conspicuous habit of walking tamely around within inches of the feet of buffaloes and perching on their backs. When these animals were superseded by cattle and horses, the adaptable birds transferred their allegiance and received their present name. At first it was imagined that the cowbirds were eating the flies and parasites associated with the animals. However, stomach analysis proved that the birds, showing even here a

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certain parasitic or dependent tendency, with a minimum of effort were catching insects stirred up out of the grass by the feet of the grazing animals. Park status and records.—A spring and fall migrant in small numbers at the lowest elevations. Two adult males stopped in a bare oak tree for twenty minutes at Ash Mtn. Hdqrs., Apr. 30, 1933, and then flew on in a northeast direction, evidently in migration. On May 5, 1938, Assistant Forester Kenneth Flewelling (memorandum in park files) reported that three cowbirds had been at Ash Mtn. Hdqrs. for the past week, and one of these, a male, was then feeding in the grass a short distance from him. So far, the species has not been recorded from anywhere else in Sequoia, or from the Kings, which contains less lowland habitat. WESTERN

TANAGER

Piranga ludoviciana

(Wilson)

Description.—The male is a stocky, brilliant yellow and black bird that can be distinguished from the male Bullock oriole by its bright orange-red head and by the absence of the oriole's black cap. Under parts and rump are bright yellow instead of orange as in the oriole. Wings, middle of back, and tail are black; the wings are barred with yellow. Length is 6% to 7 inches; weight, 1 y5 ounces. Superficially, the female western tanager is not so easy to distinguish from a female Bullock oriole. Both are plain birds, yellowish green above and yellowish below, with white wing bars; the female tanager, however, is darker above and on the sides of the head. The tanager has a shorter, thicker beak than the oriole. In foraging and in its actions generally, the western tanager is characteristically deliberate and free from sudden, nervous motions. Habits.—The western tanager nests in Canadian, Transition, and occasionally the Upper Sonoran Zone forests of western North America from Canada to Lower California, and from the Dakotas and Texas eastward. Nests are placed near the tips of horizontal branches. They are flat and saucer-shaped and are loosely constructed of twigs, pine needles, grass, bark strips, and rootlets.

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BIRDS AND MAMMALS

Insects comprise a major part of the western tanager's diet; wild fruits and some domestic fruits make up the rest. This bird is quick to take advantage of the park visitor and sometimes comes and eats butter at the camp table while people are seated near by. Park status and records.—A common summer resident, particularly in the ponderosa pine and white fir belt. In Sequoia, Pickwell (1933) found a nest, in June, 1933, 30 to 40 ft. up in a white fir behind the museum at Giant Forest. One tanager was heard singing, Aug. 4,1933, at Huckleberry Meadow; Sept. 10 was the latest fall record for that year. Records in 1935: a pair noted at 7,500 ft. elevation on Granite Creek, May 19; two tanagers seen along the main stream in River Valley, May 21; one at Kern Hot Springs on Kem River, May 27. Oberhansley (1942) noted a nesting pair on the Crystal Cave trail, May 10, 1940. Clarence Fry (1942a) saw a tanager at Redwood Meadow in June, 1942. The first tanagers of the 1949 season were reported on May 13 along the Colony Mill Road and also in the Giant Forest area (Boyer, 1949k). Hansen (1942) found the species common at Grant Grove in the summer of 1942. In the Kings, a female (MVZ 27454) was taken at Bullfrog Lake, Sept. 2, 1916 (Swarth, 1916). A pair nested in Kings Canyon in July, 1940, according to Bryant (1941). The first spring arrival was noted, May 16, 1942, at Little Creek. BLACK-HEADED

Pheucticus

melanocephalus

GROSBEAK

maculatus (Audubon)

Description.—A large, conspicuously colored, black, white, and reddishbrown, sparrow-like bird with a massive bill, heavy head, and short tail. In the male the head is black; the back is streaked with black, white, and reddish brown; the tail is black, with white spots on the outer tail feathers; the wings are black with white spots; the under parts are rich reddish brown or orange-brown. The female has a similar heavy bill but is much duller in plumage, being chiefly brown above, with a blackish head that has white or yellowish streaks on top and on the sides of the face. The breast is brownish, the belly yellow, the wings brownish, with two white bars on each. The song of the black-headed grosbeak is bold and rollicking; the call note is a loud sharp "spick." Also characteristic after the nesting season is

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221

the soft, plaintive "whee'-you" of the young birds, as the family groups forage through the crown foliage of the trees. Habits.—The black-headed grosbeak usually inhabits scattered, deciduous woodlands such as oak groves and willow patches; it avoids dense coniferous forests. It nests in western North America from Canada to northern Mexico and winters in northern Mexico. The nest of this species is a rather flimsy structure, sometimes little more than a saucer, placed within about 15 feet of the ground in bushes or small trees. It is constructed by the female, of plant stems, grasses, and rootlets, and is so loosely woven that the outline of the contents may be seen from below. About half of the black-headed grosbeak's food consists of insects, including caterpillars, weevils and other beetles, and scale insects. The vegetable food includes seeds, wild and some domestic fruits, and the buds of trees. Park status and records.—A common summer resident at middle and lower altitudes, particularly the latter. In 1933, the first spring arrival was noted at Ash Mtn. Hdqrs., Apr. 12, when there was 51 in. of snow higher up, at Giant Forest; three grosbeaks were seen at River Valley, May 21, when cottonwoods and willows were just starting to bud. At Giant Forest, a male black-headed grosbeak and a male evening grosbeak were heard singing at the same time on Apr. 28, 1933; the song of the evening grosbeak was weak and lacking in color as compared with that of the black-headed grosbeak. Male blackheaded grosbeaks were still singing vigorously on July 10, in Giant Forest, and were last seen there on Sept. 12. Pickwell (1933) found three nests there in June, 1933. On May 22, 1934, a male sang while sitting on its nest, 8 ft. up in the center of a willow thicket at Kern Lake. (Male black-headed grosbeaks frequently sit on the nest and sing.) Oberhansley (1942) observed the species nesting at Ash Mtn. Hdqrs., Apr. 7,1940. Boyer (19496) heard it singing in Giant Forest, May 13, 1949; and in the Redwood Mtn. area, May 10, 1950 (Boyer, 1950a). In Grant Grove, Bryant (1941) found it nesting in July, 1940; Hansen (1942) observed it commonly there throughout the summer of 1942. In the Kings, Dixon and Swarth found a characteristic feather and a used nest of this species at Kanawyers in 1916 but saw no birds. Two males, the first spring arrivals, were noted, May 6, 1942, at 5,000 ft. elevation on Stag Dome.

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LAZULI BUNTING

Passerina amoena (Say) Description.—A small, short-tailed, sparrow-like bird, about 5% inches in length and y2 ounce in weight. The male is unmistakable, with its beautiful, sky-blue head and upper parts, narrow band of bright chestnut across the upper breast, white under parts, and white wing bars. The only bird with which it might be confused is the western bluebird, which is much larger and occupies a different habitat. The bluebird has no wing bars; its entire breast is chestnut-colored; and its bill is slender in contrast to the small conical bill of the bunting. The female lazuli (pronounced laz'you-lie) is mostly dull brown, fading to whitish on the belly; it has not the streaks that characterize many sparrows, but has white wing bars. The birds are found characteristically on brushy hillsides and in low streamside vegetation. Habits.—The lazuli bunting nests near streams in Upper Sonoran and Transition Life Zone thickets of western North America, from Canada south to northwest Lower California and central western Texas. Perhaps the bird chooses nesting sites near water because of the greater availability there of insects for its young, for during migration it is also found on dry, brushy hillsides. It winters in Mexico. Nests are built near the ground in thickets; they are composed of plant stems, grasses, and bark fibers, and are lined with hair. Most of the earlier writers say "horsehair." In the Sierra, where pack and saddle stock is much in use, this kind of hair no doubt will continue to be used for a long time. In other regions where the horse has been almost entirely supplanted by the tractor and the automobile, the birds have to substitute cow hair or revert to their original habits and use the hair of deer and other native animals if there still are any in the vicinity. Park status and records.—A summer resident in Sequoia, chiefly at low elevations. An adult male was seen in Upper Funston Meadow on Kern River, May 28, 1934; the species was evidently nesting there. Lazuli buntings nested at Ash Mtn. Hdqrs. in April, 1940, according to Oberhansley (1943a); he also saw one at Deer Ridge, July 6, 1941. In the Kings, the species is apparently a rare summer visitor; it is common at lower elevations in the vicinity of the park, as at Barton's

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Resort on the road into Cedar Grove. One male was seen, July 31,1940, in a chinquapin thicket along the trail to Coffee Mill Meadow at 10,000 ft. elevation. EVENING

Hesperiphona

GROSBEAK

vespertina brooksi Grinnell

Description.—A stocky, short-tailed, yellowish bird, marked with black and showing conspicuous white wing patches. Length is 6% to 7% inches; weight, approximately 2 ounces. The bird has a heavy, light-colored bill and a distinctly forked or notched tail, and it is characteristically tame and approachable. In winter it travels widely in small, roving flocks. The call note is a shrill chirp, "queer-up." Habits.—For most people who have met the evening grosbeak, it is a symbol of civilization's northern outposts, appearing occasionally in settled areas as a temporary refugee from remote areas where the winter is severe. The evening grosbeak nests in the Canadian Life Zone of North America, chiefly in Canada but also, sparingly and irregularly, farther south, in the mountains of the West and the high mountains of New Mexico, Arizona, and Mexico. In winter it makes brief, unpredictable visits to the lowlands, in small, restless flocks; at this season it is seen more commonly and regularly in the Pacific Northwest than elsewhere. Similarly, in the New England and north central states it appears from time to time when bad weather or shortages of seeds and wild fruits cause it to leave its usual, more northerly habitat. In summer, evening grosbeaks are retiring and unobtrusive. Their nests are rather flimsy saucers of twigs, rootlets, and bark strips, lined with fine rootlets or hair, and usually are well hidden high in dense conifers. Most of the food of the evening grosbeak consists of wild fruits and seeds of trees and shrubs, such as maple seeds, berries of mistletoe and juniper, pine seeds, and service berries. The birds eat some insects and spiders, no doubt chiefly while the young are in the nest, for most seed- and fruit-eating finches start their young on this softer food. Seed eating in quantity is beyond the ability of most young birds—unless the seeds are predigested and regurgitated by the parent, as in a few species—because they have not the equipment needed: a strong, conical bill and a thick-walled, muscular gizzard, containing gravel fragments, that can function as a grinding mill.

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MAMMALS

The birds do not acquire these until they are strong enough to leave the nest. Park status and records.—Usually uncommon, and irregular in its appearance. In Sequoia, found from time to time in summer at Giant Forest; reported to have remained there throughout the winter of 1933. Records of evening grosbeaks in 1933: at Round Meadow, Apr. 28, two; at Crescent Meadow, June 10, a pair, the female of which gathered rootlets and flew to her nest, halfway up in the outer branches of a large white fir; at Congress Grove, a pair carrying food to young in the late evening; in June, species "abundant in Giant Forest, the characteristic squeals almost constantly in evidence; noted daily" (Pickwell, 1933). In June, 1942, Clarence Fry noted two pairs nesting at Redwood Meadow (C. Fry, 1942). From Feb. 2 to 4,1949, a flock of about a hundred was noted there daily, twittering nervously and flying with swift, direct flight from tree to tree; they were seen again at Lodgepole on Feb. 28. About the middle of March, according to Boyer (1949b), "a mixed flock of approximately 150 Western Evening Grosbeaks and several Pine Siskins were seen for several days . . . feeding on the snowpack in the vicinity of Buena-vista Point and Commissary Curve . . . on food materials knocked down by a severe hail and rain storm of short duration. Smaller flocks of the grosbeaks have been noted in the vicinity of Ash Mountain by Asst. Supt. Carlson, and Rangers Fry and Black." In Grant Grove, the species has been reported "among conifers," by Shaw (1936) and by Graff (Dixon, 1943). In the Kings, it was seen at Dougherty Meadows, Aug. 2, 1940, by Bryant (1941). DISTINGUISHING FEATURES OF THE REDDISH FINCHES

(California Purple, Cassin Purple, Linnet, Rosy Finch, Red Crossbill) In the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks there are several red or pinkish, sparrow-like birds that are not always easy for a beginning bird student to distinguish. Although some of these are called "purple" finches, they are not the color we call purple today; years ago, the word had a meaning, now archaic, that included rosy red. Several of the species can be differentiated quite easily and reliably by their summer habitat; others can be identified by their song. (See the accompanying table.)

T H E REDDISH

Habitat

Coloration

FINCHES

Voice

Remarks

California Purple Finch Middle altitudes in summer (Transition Life Zone), foothills in winter; fairly common

Male rosy red on head, breast, and rump; whitish below with no sharp dark streaks on breast and belly; female grayish brown above with a greenish tinge, whitish below with dark streaks, has a dark cheek patch behind the eye bordered above by a broad pale stripe

Call note a characteristic sharp "pit-pit," particularly noticeable and diagnostic in flight, the notes in pairs; song a rapid, rolling warble resembling linnet's but without interruptions; a clear, rather sweet "che-wee'," often given while the bird is perched, is also characteristic

Does not occur in large flocks; tail decidedly notched at tip; the middlealtitude summer range and sharp "pit-pit" call note are particularly characteristic; does not nest about buildings

Cassin Purple Finch High altitudes (Canadian and Hudsonian life zones ) ; rarely visits Sierra foothills even in winter; fairly common

Male rosy red on head sharply contrasting with brown on neck and back, rose-colored breast and rump paler than head, under parts whitish without streaks; female almost indistinguishable in the field from female California purple finch but paler and without greenish tinge; both sexes larger than either California purple finch or linnet

A rolling warble resembling song of the California purple finch but more interrupted

Does not occur in large flocks; tail decidedly notched at tip; trie sharp contrast between head and back of neck, in males, and occurrence at high altitudes are particularly diagnostic; does not nest about buildings

Linnet Lowlands and low foothills (Upper and Lower Sonoran life zones); abundant

Male brighter than rosy red on head, breast, and rump, sometimes almost orange (red does not cover entire head but only forehead), whitish below, streaked with brown; female very similar to female California purple finch but lacks greenish tinge and dark cheek patch; smaller than female Cassin but distinguishable primarily by habitat

Song a rapid, joyful, lengthy, bubbling warble: introductory notes followed by main body of song (somewhat interrupted ), which characteristically but not invariably ends with a somewhat harsh but not unpleasant "churr"; call note an anxious, upwardinflected, somewhat burred "che-eep"; this species much more voluble than California purple finch

225

Occurs frequently in large flocks; tail not notched but square-ended; the bird's lowland distribution at all seasons and its association with roadsides, barnyards, orchards, and residential districts are characteristic

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BIRDS THE

Habitat

REDDISH F I N C H E S

(

Coloration

AND

MAMMALS

Continued) Voice

Remarks

Rosy Finch High altitudes near timber line or above, snowfields, rockslides, and high mountain meadows; common in its restricted habitat

Male a clear, dark brown, tinged with pink on rump and wings, the top of head black in front with gray patch behind; female similar but gray patch less conspicuous and pink less extensive

A loud, hoarse chirp; no song comparable to the preceding species

A bird of the windswept, treeless high peaks, where it forages quietly in small nocks

Red Crossbill Middle and high altitudes ( upper Transition, also Canadian, and Hudsonian life

Male brick red above and below (sometimes varying to orange or to greenish yellow), wings and tail dusky; female dull greenish gray, yellowish on rump and under parts, with wings and tail as in the male

A loud, ringing "kip kip kip," noticeable especially from small flocks in flight, near or above tops of pine trees

Usually does not occur in large flocks; tail short, notched; middleand high-altitude range and sharp call note in flight are characteristic; tips of bill crossed like a pair of pruning shears closed too far

PURPLE OR CALIFORNIA PURPLE FINCH

Carpodacus Description.—See

purpureus

californicus

Baird

preceding section on Distinguishing Features of the

Reddish Finches. The length of the purple finch is about 5% inches; weight, y 5 ounce. This is the species most likely to be seen by the average park visitor at altitudes higher than Ash Mountain Headquarters and Hospital Rock. Habits.—The

purple finch summers in Transition Life Zone forests along

the Pacific slope from British Columbia to Lower California. In winter it scatters more widely, descending from higher mountain regions, such as the Sierra, to the wanner foothills; but in lower, coastal regions that have a milder climate it remains throughout the year as a permanent resident. In the East it nests in the cool forests of Canada and the northeastern United States and in winter goes south to the Gulf Coast and Florida. The purple finch places its rather insubstantial, shallow nest in conifers

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and other trees. It makes the nest of grass, rootlets, bark strips, and other plant fibers and lines it with hair. The bird forages chiefly in the outer foliage of trees and bushes, where it obtains the buds and wild fruits that comprise its principal food. However, it can be observed foraging on the ground, at times. Typical foods are manzanita berries, coffeeberries, service berries, and willow buds and catkins. Weed seeds also are eaten, and some insects. Park status and records.—A summer resident in the Transition and Upper Sonoran zones, particularly in the ponderosa pine belt. Noted by Pickwell (1933), though not often, at Crescent Meadow in June, 1933; also by Ranger Naturalist Applegarth in Giant Forest in July, 1937 (Been, 1937). Recorded in 1940 in Grant Grove, by Hopping (1940). In the Kings, in 1942, the first spring arrival was noted, May 8, at Lewis Creek, where two purple finches were seen; an adult breeding male was taken, May 9 (no. 9200, Dixon collection); an adult male in breeding condition (no. 9214, Dixon collection) was taken at Zumwalt Meadow, May 27; Miller (1942) found purple finches in cottonwoods at Cedar Grove, May 21, 1942. CASSIN FINCH, OR CASSIN PURPLE

Carpodacus

FINCH

cassinii Baird

Description.—See section on Distinguishing Features of the Reddish Finches. The Cassin finch is 6 to 6]/2 inches long and weighs % 0 ounce. It is slightly larger than the common purple finch and occurs at higher altitudes. The bright crimson on top of the head contrasts with the pale pink of breast and rump. Habits.—The Cassin finch is a high-mountain bird, nesting in the Boreal Life Zone of western North America, from Canada to northern Lower California, central Arizona, and northern New Mexico. A hardy species, it rarely descends from the mountain heights even in winter. Like its relatives the California purple finch and the linnet, the Cassin finch builds a rather loose nest structure of twigs, weed stems, rootlets, and grasses. It conceals the nest well up in a conifer. The food of the Cassin finch is similar to that of the California purple finch and is similarly obtained—by foraging in the treetops and on the ground. Buds, including those of conifers, manzanita berries, and pine

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seeds are among the principal foods. The birds not only eat mud, as described below, but sometimes pick up "bits of something from spots where [campfire] ashes were scattered" (Grinnell, Dixon, and Linsdale, 1930, p. 398) and "rock salt spread on the ground for deer" (Bailey, 1928, p. 689). This habit, shown also by crossbills and by some other high-mountain creatures such as deer, apparently indicates a craving for minerals that are in short supply at these altitudes. Similarly, cattle raised in the high mountains have a strong craving for salt, in contrast to those of lower elevations where the water is not so "soft," and those of coastal regions where the vegetation is kept lightly salted by the sea breezes. The fondness for meat shown by many rodents may also indicate a need for salt (see section on California Ground Squirrel). Park status and records.—A common summer resident in the higher parts of the parks. In Sequoia, in 1933, our first spring record was at Giant Forest, Apr. 28; Pickwell (1933) found the species common at Giant Forest Lodge and at Sunset Rock in June; at Twin Peaks, Cassin finches were singing loudly from the tops of tall, dead foxtail pines, June 30; at Cahoon Meadow, July 2, a female carried nesting material to the outer branches of a pine tree and began to build a nest; that month, thirty-one birds were seen at Little Five Lakes in one morning. Records of Cassin finches in 1934: seven seen at Sky Parlor Meadow, May 29; two seen building a nest in a juniper at Junction Meadow, 10,500 ft. elevation, June 10; two seen mating at Emerald Lake, June 26; two seen drinking hurriedly and bathing at one of the large rock basins near the mouth of Huckleberry Creek, Nov. 13; one seen in a Jeffrey pine at Sunset Rock, Giant Forest, Dec. 9; one near the mouth of Panther Creek, Dec. 12. Ten pairs were noted at Hockett Meadows, June 18,1935. Cassin finches were common at Buck Canyon in 1942, according to Oberhansley (1942). In the Kings, a few were seen at Kanawyers, Sept. 10-17,1916; four near Bullfrog Lake, Sept. 4 (Swarth, 1916). On May 21, 1942, Miller (1942) saw and heard some along the Sheep Creek trail between elevations of 4,800 and 6,800 ft. Other 1942 records: at McClure Meadow in Evolution Valley, a pair eating mud at a mineral spring near the center of the meadow, July 25; adults and immatures eating mud at this spring, July 27; at Evolution Valley, July 28, a female feeding a bobbed-tailed youngster just out of the nest and barely able to fly.

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NEVADA

LINNET, OR HOUSE FINCH

Carpodacus

mexicanus frontalis

(Say)

Description.—See section on Distinguishing Features of the Reddish Finches. This bird is the common, tame, joyously singing, reddish "sparrow" of lowland farmyards and residences. The male is red on the forehead but not on the top of the head, and is heavily streaked below. The female is grayish brown above; whitish below, streaked with brown. In the regions where it lives, the bird is known as the linnet and not by the book name, "house finch." The latter name might lead to some confusion with the introduced English sparrow (also called house sparrow), but the only way in which the linnet, a native son, resembles that sparrow is in its trustful acceptance of civilization. The linnet is 5l/2 inches long and weighs 7/i o ounce. Habits.—The linnet inhabits the Upper and Lower Sonoran life zones from Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and northern Wyoming south to Mexico. Because it inhabits the warm lowlands, it does not have to migrate. Its nests are loosely constructed of weed stems, grass, paper, string, and other materials that can be gleaned from lowland fields and roadsides. Sometimes the nests are lined with horsehair—when this obsolescent material can be found. It is not uncommon to find the bird nesting fearlessly in crevices in the large stick nests of eagles and hawks. These large birds pay little or no attention to their small, loquaciously chirping guests, which in any event would be too agile for them to capture. Frequently the bird takes advantage of man-made structures by placing its nest under the eaves, in vines on front porches, or in odd corners about buildings. Its bright, cheerful song is particularly noticeable in late winter and early spring, when most other birds are silent. Insect food comprises only about 2 % per cent of the linnet's diet, the rest consisting of fruits and seeds, for the crushing of which the large thick bill is well adapted. Weed seeds gleaned from roadsides, vacant lots, and grainfields are a major food. Under natural conditions, wild fruits such as mistletoe, mountain lilac, and service berries are consumed in large quantities, but where advancing civilization has removed these on a large scale and substituted orchard lands, the birds have had to adapt themselves to a summer diet of cultivated fruit. As a result, thousands of the birds are killed by irate fruitgrowers.

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Park status.—In Sequoia, a resident in the lower parts of the park, especially at Ash Mtn. Hdqrs., particularly common in late winter and spring, but present throughout the year. Not recorded from the Kings, nor to be expected there, since that area is far from the lowlands. PINE

GROSBEAK

Pinicola enucleator californica Price Description.—A very large, uncommon finch, a little smaller than a robin, found in limited numbers at high elevations in the conifers. Males are rose red on head, rump, and breast, and have a dark, deeply forked tail and dark wings with white wing bars. Females are gray, the head and rump tinged with yellow; like the males, their wings and deeply forked tail are dark and the wings are barred with white. The bird is about 8 inches long. The loud, clear call note is described by Grinnell and Storer (1924, p. 420) as "woit-leek, woit-leek," and as suggesting the metallic clink of a spoon in a tin cup. Habits.—In California, the pine grosbeak remains at high elevations in the mountains at all seasons, seldom being seen at less than 9,000 feet. It inhabits coniferous forests in the Boreal Life Zone of the Sierra from the wild country near Gold Lake (northeast of Downieville in Plumas County) south to the Kings and possibly to Sequoia. Elsewhere it inhabits the northern type coniferous forests of the Rocky Mountains as far south as the high peaks of northern New Mexico, as well as Canada, Alaska, and adjacent large islands. It is found also in Kamchatka and Europe. Authorities agree that the pine grosbeak nests in conifers. The use of these trees does not necessarily indicate that the bird definitely prefers them, for in its habitat hardly any other trees are available. The foundation and outer walls of the nest are built of twigs and rootlets and surround an inner cup of finer twigs, weeds, and shreds of bark. The pine grosbeak has developed certain food habits that enable it to live the year round in a severe environment from which many of its less hardy competitors are forced to migrate. With its powerful bill it extracts and crushes pine seeds and nips off the tough-stemmed needle buds. It also eats wild fruits and berries, weed seeds, and occasional insects. Although it has avoided many competitors through its choice of habitat, the pine grosbeak has not been able to free itself from the biological pressures that affect practically all forms of life. The rarity of the bird may

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indicate that food supplies are insufficient to support sizable winter populations. Regions with long, cold winters have but a short growing season, which allows plant life only time to produce a limited food supply at best. During some seasons, particularly in the Far North, the situation is aggravated by a widespread failure of the cone crop, which apparently forces the birds to wander far from their normal haunts. It therefore may be questioned whether the pine grosbeak has gained greatly by braving extreme winter hardships to avoid competition. From a biological point of view, and judging from the small numbers of the birds, the answer seems to be that the advantages are at least counterbalanced by the disadvantages. Park status and records.—Rare. Not recorded from Sequoia. In the Kings, at 9,000 ft. elevation on Evolution Creek, Dixon found a male pine grosbeak in full red breeding plumage, July 25, 1942, feeding on the red, ripening fruit of a twinberry bush growing in a crevice above the stream. Its mate soon joined it, and the two fed quietly for several minutes within 20 ft. of Dixon, as he watched them with 8-power binoculars. This locality is among the southernmost known for the subspecies in California; other individuals have been seen in the Dinkey Lake region, 15 mi. west and a little south of Evolution Creek, outside the park (Dill, 1944).

ROSY

Leucosticte

FINCH

tephrocotis dawsoni Grinnell

Description.—The rosy finch is not closely related to the "purple finches" previously described and has little resemblance to them except in its coloration (see section on Distinguishing Features of the Reddish Finches). It is a large, dark-colored, rather silent finch, which occurs in small flocks and family groups, in the vicinity of snowbanks and rocky crests of the bleak region above timber line. Habits.—More than any other bird, the rosy finch has escaped from the competition of the multitude in the lowlands and has found a sanctuary among the remote high places. Its choice of this high-country habitat, however, may not have been due to an inability to compete effectually with lowland forms. The windblown snowbanks, alpine meadows, and talus slopes presented a real though spatially limited opportunity to make a living for some species hardy enough to adapt itself to the life. Nature abhors

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a vacuum; water rushes in to fill any freshly created hole below its level; similarly, some species from the surrounding reservoir of wildlife will press in to fill any habitable environment. In the Sierra, the rosy finch is stranded on an isolated alpine island, or, more accurately, archipelago, that extends from Pyramid Peak (southwest of Lake Tahoe) to Cottonwood Pass (on the Sierran crest almost due west of Upper Funston Meadow in Sequoia National Park). Farther north, it nests in bleak, timber-line places from Alaska to northwestern Montana and the higher peaks of central Oregon. Close relatives inhabit isolated snow-capped peaks in Idaho, Utah, Colorado, and northern New Mexico; still others, the barren Aleutian crags, the Kurile Islands, and Kamchatka. In the Sierra, rosy finches do not have to migrate far from their summer homeland, although many of those that live farther north do. At most, the Sierra birds descend a few thousand feet to some temporary shelter during severe snowstorms; however, the icy blasts keep many of the highest ridges almost free of snow. Nests of rosy finches are constructed of dry alpine grasses, rootlets, bark shreds, and sometimes a few feathers. On June 17, 1933, just west of the summit of Alta Peak at 11,000 feet elevation, where the rocky wall drops off 200 feet toward Heather and Pear lakes, six pairs were seen mating and building nests in the crevices of a tower of granite. Some of the males were courting the females; later these females were seen carrying nesting material into cracks in the rocks. Along the crest of Twin Peaks, rosy finches were singing loudly on June 30,1933, as they perched in the tops of foxtail pines. This was the first time Dixon had observed rosy finches of the Sierra perching in trees, although they had been observed doing so in the Tahoe region and occasionally elsewhere. Rosy finches are seedeaters primarily. On July 4,1933, just north of Silliman Crest at 10,000 feet elevation, a flock of from 12 to 20 individuals were seen picking up sprouting weed seeds along the edges of the melting snowbanks. Specimens collected had small lupine and other seeds in their mouths and throats, as well as some insect remains. On August 16, 1933, thirty-seven rosy finches were seen feeding on weed seeds on dry slopes just west of Kaweah Gap at 10,500 feet. The winds, which blow almost continually in these high places, had scattered seeds over the white surface of the snow. The birds also profit by the numbing effect that the snowbanks have upon

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insects lifted from warmer levels by updrafts and deposited upon the cold surface, which oilers no shelter into which the insects can retreat. On August 17,1933, at Little Five Lakes and at Nine Lakes Basin, rosy finches were seen feeding in the open meadows below timber line, as well as on the surface of the snow. Through 8-power binoculars at a distance of 30 feet it was observed that the birds were picking the benumbed insects off the snow. In 1940 and 1941, Oberhansley (1942) observed some eating ladybugs on snow. Nesting locations seem to vary somewhat from year to year. On June 21, 1934, no rosy finches were present at Heather and Emerald lakes, although many had nested there the previous season. On June 24, 1934, at the north boundary of Sequoia, between Table Mountain and Big Bird Lake, above 11,000 feet elevation, the only birds observed in the high granite country were six rosy finches, which appeared to be nesting there. Park status and records.—A common resident about the higher peaks, talus slides, and lakes above timber line, nesting among the broken crags and in the crevices of massive granite cliffs. In Sequoia, it is readily found in summer along Silliman Crest above Hamilton Lakes, in the vicinity of the Kaweah Peaks, and along the entire main crest of the Sierra. A female was taken while feeding on small grass seeds late in the evening at Junction Meadow, June 2, 1934; the mountains above the meadow were still mantled with snow. On June 3, between twenty and thirty rosy finches (males and females in about equal numbers) foraged over the rocks along the shore of a lake at 10,500 ft. elevation in the Kaweah Basin; some searched under the broken rocks of the talus slopes and hunted at the water's edge for the larvae of mayflies and other small flying insects. Although nesting time apparently had not yet arrived, some of the more vigorous and reddest males displayed some courtship behavior. Other 1934 records: species seen in barren, broken granite about 500 ft. above Wallace Lake, elevation 12,000 ft., June 9; a pair near the edge of Milestone Basin, elevation 11,700 ft., June 12; birds numerous and mating at a little lake above Moraine Lake at 11,000 ft., June 15. On June 16, at 7:00 A.M., near Kaweah Gap, a pair perched on a log within 8 ft. of us, eyed us intently, and hopped all over our bedding and clothes, inspecting us thoroughly; on June 18, Dixon saw a rosy

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finch at Hamilton Lake, at 8,300 ft. elevation. On June 24, he observed that a 500-ft. cliff near the summit of Twin Peaks on the north side was a favorite nesting haunt; there were birds also around the snow-clad west peak. On Oct. 7,1935, fourteen rosy finches were noted at Army Pass and several others at 12,200 ft. elevation near the ridge north of the pass, but there were none on the summit of Mt. Corcoran at 14,042 ft. Several were seen, July 18,1949, on the open, north side of Franklin Pass. In the Kings, in 1916, two were seen feeding young at 12,500 ft. elevation on Mt. Gould, Aug. 30; a flock of between forty and fifty was seen at a little lake near the west end of Kearsarge Pinnacles, where both adult and immature birds (MVZ 27267, 27268) were collected, Aug. 28 (Swarth, 1916). Three or four were seen, Aug. 9, 1940, on snowbanks at Glenn Pass; a flock of about seven was seen on snow 1 mi. east of Muir Pass, Sept. 1, 1940. The species was seen at Glenn Pass and at East Lake, in August, 1940, by Frances Payne (Dixon, 1943). On July 26, 1942, many rosy finches were feeding along the rocky margins of McGee Lake, at 10,900 ft. elevation, at the upper end of Evolution Valley. On July 28, one was seen eating buds and flowers of a dwarf Collinsia near the John Muir Trail; rosy finches were abundant on that date in Darwin Canyon, at Evolution Lake, and at 11,000 ft. elevation on Darwin Creek: more than one hundred were counted as they fed on the buds and opening flowers of dwarf buckwheat and other plants growing close to the ground. In Lost Canyon, July 28 and 29,1949, some were feeding full-grown young in a timber-line meadow at the foot of a talus slope. PINE

SISKIN

Spinus pinus pinus (Wilson) Description.—A small, heavily streaked, brownish bird about the size of a goldfinch and with similar behavior. It travels in flocks that whirl restlessly, twittering with high-pitched, slightly wheezy notes, from one treetop to another, seldom staying long in one place. When the bird is in flight, a small yellow area may be seen in the wings. One common call is a somewhat plaintive "swee'-ah." Even more diagnostic is a loud, buzzing, somewhat prolonged "shreeeee," uttered almost explosively and with rising

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vehemence, suggesting, in miniature, the sudden releasing or breaking of the mainspring of an alarm clock or child's mechanical toy. The bird is 4 y2 inches long and weighs % ounce. Habits.—The pine siskin nests chiefly in the Canadian Life Zone forests of Alaska, Canada, the cooler parts of the northeastern United States and the Allegheny Mountains, and in the higher mountains of the West, including those of Mexico. Its cup-shaped nest of rootlets, moss, grass, and leaves, lined with hair, is well concealed, usually in conifers but sometimes in oaks and maples. In the nesting season, the bird is so unobtrusive that more than one ornithologist has sought vainly for its nests and has proved the species to be a local resident only by locating young birds not fully able to fly. Except during the nesting season, siskins travel in compact flocks. Their flight is nervous, erratic, and often circuitous, the birds making off hastily with a chorus of twittering and buzzing, only to return very nearly to the take-off point a moment later. The continuous excited calls no doubt serve to keep members of the flock close together. When local food supplies are sufficiently abundant to keep these ordinarily noisy birds busily engaged in one spot for a while, the birds often make no sound for long intervals, with the result that a large flock may not betray its presence until it bursts into flight. The pine siskin is really a kind of dull-colored goldfinch and resembles the more typical members of the group in many ways, particularly in its gregarious habits. However, it differs from the others in its feeding habits and therefore avoids much competition with its relatives. Other goldfinches feed primarily upon seeds near the ground; the siskin forages extensively high above the ground on the buds of coniferous and broad-leaved trees, the tender tips of young needles, the catkins of alders and willows, and the seeds that it picks out of the pine cones. It does, however, descend at times to forage for seeds on the ground and in clumps of mountain wildflowers. Park status and records.—A resident, most often seen in fall and winter. In Sequoia, it was infrequent at Round Meadow and Sunset Rock in June, 1933 (Pickwell, 1933). A flock of twenty-three was observed at Hospital Rock feeding on alder cones along the Kaweah River, Dec. 10, 1934. The species is common in the Giant Forest area in the fall (Oberhansley, 1942). In the Kings, a few pine siskins were seen at Bullfrog Lake, Sept.

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2,1916, and at Charlotte Lake, Sept. 3 (Swarth, 1916); one was seen, July 31, 1940, near Coffee Mill Meadow. Doubtless the species nests in the parks, but as yet there is no definite record of its nesting there. A M E R I C A N OR W I L L O W

GOLDFINCH

Spinas tristis salicamans Grinnell Description.—The various goldfinches, often known popularly as wild canaries, are smaller than most sparrows. They are yellow below and dark above, with short tails and blackish wings marked with white. Characteristic are their flocking habits, their sweet, plaintive canary-like notes, their undulating or dipping flight, and their fondness for open fields and weed patches in the lowlands. The American goldfinch, or willow goldfinch, is slightly larger than the other goldfinches, being 4% inches long and weighing % ounce. Adult males in summer are easy to identify: they are bright yellow above and below, with the exception of a small black patch on the forehead; they have a black tail with white longitudinal spots at the end, and black wings with white wing bars. However, the American goldfinch molts twice a year. The bright plumage acquired by the male in the spring is shed in the fall, and brownish olive replaces the brilliant yellow of the back and under parts. In this fall and winter plumage the male resembles the duller-colored female except that his light wing bars remain brighter than hers at all seasons. The male in winter and the female at all seasons are hard to distinguish from their green-backed goldfinch counterparts. (See section on Arkansas Goldfinch.) By the short, stout, conical finch bill the goldfinches can be distinguished at all seasons from any of the small, dull-green warblers or vireos. Habits.—The American goldfinch inhabits the Upper and Lower Sonoran life zones of the Pacific slope, particularly the vicinity of willows and sycamores, from extreme southwestern British Columbia to northwestern Lower California. Near the coast in the northern part of this range it inhabits the Transition Life Zone. East of the Sierra and the Cascade Range it nests from Canada to Colorado, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Alabama, and Georgia. In the East it migrates to some extent to the Gulf Coast and Mexico, but on the Pacific Coast, where the climate is mild, such movements are unnecessary.

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The American goldfinch weaves a compact, deeply cupped nest of plant down, moss, leaves, and fine grasses, and frequently lines it with thistle down. True to the other name sometimes applied to the bird on the Pacific Coast, its nests in that region usually are placed in the crotch of a willow— although occasionally in some other low shrub—where they are well screened by the foliage. The principal food of the goldfinch is weed seeds, including the seeds of thistles, which in some parts of the country are so commonly used for food and nest lining that the species, particularly in the East, has been called the thistle bird. Park status.—A resident in the vicinity of willows along the streams in the lowest and warmest part of Sequoia. Its habitat lies chiefly below the park, but a few individuals have been seen in the vicinity of Ash Mtn. Hdqrs. It has naturally not been recorded from the Kings, which is higher and more remote from the lowlands. ARKANSAS OR G R E E N - B A C K E D

Spinus psaltria hesperophilus

GOLDFINCH

(Oberholser)

Description.—The Arkansas goldfinch, or green-backed goldfinch, is smaller, greener, and more common in the parks than the American or willow goldfinch. Its length is 4 inches; weight, % o ounce. The adult male has a black cap that extends to the top of the head, in contrast to the small patch on the forehead of the male American goldfinch. It is also a much darker bird: its upper parts are dark green, its wings and tail almost black; the under parts, yellowish. The female lacks the black cap and is generally duller in color. In flight, both sexes show white patches on wings and tail. Habits.—The green-backed goldfinch nests in the Upper Sonoran and Transition life zones, from southern Oregon, Utah, and Colorado to Mexico, moving south in winter from the northern and colder parts of its summer range. Unlike the American goldfinch, the green-backed bird does not range into Canada or the eastern United States. Its nests resemble those of the American goldfinch. Its food, which consists of weed seeds, particularly those of thistles, asters, and sunflowers, is also like that of the American goldfinch. The manner in which goldfinches cling to the tall, swaying thistle stalks, sometimes leaning over so far that they are half upside down, while they shell out the fat-bodied seeds, is

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characteristic. This same half-upside-down method of clinging is used by the birds when they sip water from dripping water faucets around lawns and farmyards. Civilization has begun to have a blighting effect on the sweet-singing goldfinch flocks, at least in the valleys of California. Vast acreages formerly covered with wildflowers have been transformed, by large-scale mechanized-farming methods, into biological deserts, where vegetables and orchard trees occupy the ground for miles. Few flowers or weed stalks are able to grow on the bare, carefully tilled earth between the countless geometrically spaced rows. Park status and records.—A common resident in lower parts of Sequoia, including the chaparral belt, where it may frequently be seen clinging to thistle stalks and picking the flowers to pieces to get the fleshy seeds. This goldfinch spreads up into the pine areas in summer. It was observed on the High Sierra Trail at Bear Paw Meadow in 1936 by Ranger Naturalist Jack Applegarth. Records in 1933: two green-backed goldfinches at Ash Mtn. Hdqrs., Apr. 23; a pair seen feeding on thistles near the park nursery, a week later; one bird seen in June, by Pickwell (1933), in the lower fringe of the black oak belt, 1,000 ft. below Moro Rock; birds numerous at Colony Mill, Sept. 9. One seen in a greasewood thicket at Ash Mtn. Hdqrs., Jan. 16, 1935, is evidence that some of these birds remain within the park throughout the winter. Oberhansley (1942) saw some there, Apr. 21, 1940. In the Kings, the species is a summer visitor. One bird was seen, Sept. 2, 1916, at 11,000 ft. elevation, near Bullfrog Lake, by Dixon; one, Sept. 17, in the meadow at Kanawyers (Swarth, 1916). Four were seen, Sept. 1, 1950, in Shadley Meadow near the Grant Grove Coffee Shop, by Boyer (1950a).

RED CROSSBILL

Loxia ctirvirostra grinnelli Griscom Description.—See section on Distinguishing Features of the Reddish Finches. The red crossbill is a stout, chunky bird that travels with undulating flight in small or medium-sized chattering flocks, in middle- and highaltitude coniferous forests. The adult males vary from rich red to yellow, the color being brightest on head and rump. Females are greenish gray;

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the young birds are dusky, streaked with gray. The call note, a vigorously sounded "kip kip kip," is particularly noticeable and is characteristic when uttered by the bird in flight high above the tops of tall conifers. In all crossbills the bill is crossed near the tip, like a pair of pruning shears that has been closed too far; this enables the bird to reach in and pry out the seeds from unopened pine cones. The bird is 5 to 6 inches long. Habits.—The red crossbill, like the evening and pine grosbeaks, has become specially adapted for obtaining its living from the conifers of the remote regions of the Far North and those islands of northern habitat that are isolated on high mountaintops farther south. It nests in conifers from Alaska and Canada south through the high mountains of the western United States to Guatemala. In eastern North America it nests as far south as Michigan, and irregularly in the higher parts of the Alleghenies. In winter it wanders erratically downslope from higher elevations, and to a varying extent southward. Other close relatives inhabit the Boreal Life Zone forests of the Far North, in this continent and also in Europe, Asia, Japan, the Philippines, and North Africa. The rather shallow nests of the red crossbill, placed in conifers, are somewhat crudely made of twigs, shreds of bark, and rootlets and are lined with moss, leaves, grass, pine needles, and soft fibers. The nesting season, like the wanderings of the bird, is variable. In the Sierra, for example, our observations indicate that nesting occurs in the latter part of July; but Grinnell and Storer (1924, p. 430) obtained evidence of nesting in Yosemite about March. As in human warfare nearly every special method of defense or offense becomes matched by its counterweapon; so in the age-old struggle for survival among plants and animals, a special defense is likely to develop a special weapon of offense. The odd-looking bill, which is peculiar to the group of birds to which the red crossbill belongs, is a highly specialized mechanism for extracting the seeds from pine cones. The seeds of most conifers are particularly well protected because they are deep in the recesses between the overlapping, shingle-like scales that comprise the main body of the cone. The musculature of the crossbill's powerful shears causes the upper and lower parts of the bill to move diagonally, so that the points come opposite each other when the bill is partly open; when opened still farther, under the continuing diagonal motion, the bill exerts a strong wedging action that, assisted by a sidewise prying motion of the bird's

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whole head, spreads the scales of the cone and tears them apart. When the seeds are thus exposed between the two open points of the bill, the bird extracts them with its peculiar, scooplike tongue. Nearly all the winter food and most of the summer food consists of the seeds of conifers. Much of the summer insect food must be taken for the benefit of the young, for the nestlings of seed-eating birds cannot digest the hard fare to which their parents are accustomed. Some finches solve this problem by feeding their young a gruel of partially digested seeds, but the majority feed them insects. The crossbill, like the other pine-seed eaters, has avoided competition with the majority of other birds for food but is affected by the irregular fluctuations of seed supply that are characteristic of coniferous forests. For this reason, the crossbill, like the other pine-seed eaters, leads a wandering existence. Park status and records.—Uncommon. In summer the red crossbill occurs from the upper part of the Transition Life Zone to timber line and may come down to 6,000 ft. elevation in winter. It is nomadic, even on its summer range, and may be present one season and scarce or absent at another; however, it may be looked for in summer in the lodgepole pine forests, where it has been found building nests late in July, after nearly all other birds were through nesting. In Sequoia, it is rare. On June 14, 1916, Walter Fry (1933a) found a nest with four eggs in a small lodgepole pine near Wolverton Dam, elevation 7,200 ft. "The nest was about twelve feet above ground, built back against the tree trunk and supported on two small limbs that grew close together. I was passing near the tree on horseback when the male flitted off the nest into the brush. Climbing the tree, I counted the eggs, which appeared to be in an advanced stage of incubation. Ten days later I visited the nest and found in it four baby Crossbills all covered over with a grayish fluffy down. Their eyes were not open and their bills were not yet crossed. While I was examining the nest the parents, horrified at my presence, fluttered hysterically about, snapping their heavy bills near my head, and all the while uttering shrill chip-chip, scolding notes of anger and fear. Nine days later I again visited the nest and this time found the young birds with their eyes open and their bills partly crossed . . . the upper mandible of each bird's bill crossed to the left."

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Superintendent Scoyen, Park Naturalist Oberhansley, and Rangers Augustine and Blanks saw a flock of twenty-five crossbills near Hockett Meadows, Mar. 25, 1941 (Superintendent's Monthly Report, March, 1941, p. 5). In the Kings, in 1916, red crossbills were seen near Bullfrog Lake, Aug. 28, and several were heard, Sept. 6 (Swarth, 1916). On July 25, 1942, at McClure Meadow, an adult male was seen feeding in a lodgepole pine. Several were seen at Ellis Meadow, Aug. 24,1947. GREEN-TAILED

Chlorura chlorura

TOWHEE

(Audubon)

Description.—A slender, long-tailed, sparrow-like bird found chiefly in patches of mountain brush. It has a conspicuous white throat patch, a rustyred crown, an olive-green back, and a greenish tail. The breast is gray, the belly whitish. The call note sounds like the mewing of a cat. The bird is 6%, to 7 inches long and weighs % 0 ounce. The habitat of this bird is very similar to that of the fox sparrow; the two birds, being about of a size, are frequently confused. Fox sparrows, however, are reddish brown, whereas the green-tailed towhee, as its name implies, is distinctly greenish. Habits.—The green-tailed towhee nests in Transition Zone thickets of snow-brush and in sagebrush and other chaparral, usually where these intermingle with pines, from central Oregon and south central Montana to southern California, southeastern New Mexico, and western Texas. It winters from southern California and western Texas to Mexico. Its nests are placed on or near the ground, on dry, brushy slopes. Often they have a foundation of twigs, an upper structure of grass stems and pine needles, and an inner lining of rootlets and horsehair—when such hair can be found. Sometimes the nests are smaller and less substantial. The green-tailed towhee eats the seeds of weeds and shrubs which it obtains by scratching in the leaf litter under the bushes. Its diet also includes wild berries and some insects. Park status and records.—A summer resident in the upper brush belt, particularly in snow-brush thickets. In Sequoia, seen frequently in the vicinity of Buck Canyon and Bearpaw Meadow in summer (Oberhansley, 1942). A specimen was taken by W. B. Richardson near

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BIRDS AND MAMMALS

Kern Hot Springs on Kern River, May 27, 1934 (our earliest spring record for the species in Sequoia). On June 26,1934, one bird was seen on a warm hillside near Aster Lake; one was still present, Sept. 22, 1933, at Willow Meadow. The species was seen at Grant Grove in the summer of 1940, by Bryant (1941); it was fairly common there in the summer of 1942 (Hansen, 1942). In the Kings, an individual was seen at Charlotte Lake, Sept. 2,1916 (Swarth, 1916). In 1940, the birds were rather common, July 31, in the vicinity of Coffee Mill Meadow; one was seen, Sept. 3, in a willow at timber line on the north side of Mather Pass. SPOTTED

TOWHEE

Pipilo maculatus falcinellus

Swarth

Description.—A sparrow-like bird about the size of a blackbird but with an entirely different silhouette: the large head and thick neck give the bird a heavy appearance in front. The head, neck, and upper breast are black in the male, brownish black in the female; the belly is contrastingly white, and the sides rich, reddish brown. The long, frequently upward-tilted tail is dark, with the outer feathers tipped with white; the back and wings are black, with rows of white spots. The spotted towhee might possibly be confused with the much smaller junco. That bird, however, has no spots on the back and wings, and it occurs in flocks; the towhee is solitary. The towhee is 7 to inches long (the junco, 5 to 6 inches) and weighs 1% ounces (the junco, % ounce). It characteristically forages by scratching noisily among dry leaves in or near thickets. The common call note is a harsh and protesting, drawn-out "cheee"; the song is a single, trilled "chuwheeeee." At close range, the eye of the male is seen to be bright red. Habits.—Spotted towhees occupy Upper Sonoran and Transition Zone thicket habitats of western North America from Canada to Mexico. In the colder, northern regions they migrate to some extent, but those which inhabit California, Lower California, and some of the offshore islands, are spared this effort. Additional races inhabit Mexico. The species hides its deep, cup-shaped nest on the ground among dense vines, underneath ferns and other overhanging vegetation, or low in thick brush. The nest is woven of pine needles, twigs, bark, grasses, leaves, and weed stalks and is lined with fine grass stems and horsehair—when such hair can be found.

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Towhees are preeminently ground feeders and seek their living by scratching in the underbrush like chickens, often making much noise amid the dry leaves and litter. Unlike chickens or quail, which scratch with one foot at a time, towhees leap into the air and kick backward vigorously with both feet at once. About a third of their diet consists of beetles, ants, bees, wasps, spiders, sow bugs, and millipeds, many of which the birds obtain as they scratch over the litter. The rest of the diet includes weed seeds, wild fruits, and berries. Towhees have the short, rounded wings and long rudder-like tails, for maneuverability in close quarters, that characterize brush-inhabiting birds of many unrelated species, such as wren-tits, road-runners, and thrashers. The spotted towhee is rather shy and retiring, but its curiosity is so great that a person can readily lure the bird from its hiding place by making a low, squeaking sound, particularly in the nesting season. Park status and records.—A common resident of the foothills. Its range temporarily expands upslope after the nesting season, as is common among many unrelated kinds of birds. In Sequoia, reported by Oberhansley (1943a) to be common at Ash Mtn. Hdqrs. in winter. In 1933, one spotted towhee was seen at the Colony Mill Ranger Station, Apr. 22, in a patch of brush at 5,500 ft. elevation; three were seen there, Sept. 11. In 1934, birds were noted at Panther Creek, Dec. 12; at Ash Mtn. Hdqrs., Dec. 13; along Paradise Creek, Dec. 16. In 1935, some were seen at Hospital Rock, Jan. 10; four at 3,500 ft. elevation on Paradise Creek, Jan. 11; two near Ash Mtn. Hdqrs., Jan. 16; one there, Feb. 25. In Grant Grove, the species was seen by Bryant in 1940 (Bryant, 1941). In the Kings, several birds were seen at Kanawyers, Sept. 10-17, 1916, and a male (MVZ 27423) was taken there, Sept. 17 (Swarth, 1916). Some were seen on the floor of Kings Canyon in 1940, by Bryant (1941). Sumner saw two, Sept. 27,1940, on a warm south-facing slope at Hotel Creek; Dixon saw two at Lewis Creek, May 8, 1942.

BROWN

TOWHEE

Pipilo fuscus carolae

McGregor

Description.—A plain, brown, stoutly built, overgrown sparrow, somewhat smaller than a robin, with a long tail and a single, loud, metallic

244

BIRDS AND MAMMALS

"chip." It feeds, with tail drooping down (in contrast to the spotted towhee, which feeds with tail tilted upward), in and near thickets bordering roadsides, and on lawns, provided shelter is not far away. The bird is usually both common and trustful. An area underneath the tail is bright reddish brown, and there are faint streaks on the buffy throat; otherwise the bird is without spots or other markings. The length is 8% to 9 % inches; the weight, 1 y2 ounces. Habits.—The brown towhee is even more sedentary than the spotted towhee and apparently does not migrate, except for local uphill and downhill population shifts. In consequence, it has a much less extensive geographic range than the spotted towhee, being restricted principally to the mild climate of the Pacific slope from southwest Oregon to Lower California, and to a warm canyon and streamside thicket habitat in the Upper Sonoran Zone of west central Arizona and adjacent parts of New Mexico, Colorado, and Mexico. The nest of the brown towhee is bulky, deeply cupped, and somewhat loosely constructed of twigs, weed stems, and fine grasses, and it is lined with horsehair or cow hair if either is available. The distribution of the brown towhees is probably not determined directly by climate, for most species of birds are notably hardy if they get enough food. Actually, the foraging instincts of this towhee may be a prime factor in its distribution. It is adapted to scratching in the leaf litter under, or close to, protecting brush thickets and overhanging oaks. Such a habitat does not occur in extreme desert areas, in mountain coniferous forests, or the forests of the Far North. The food of the brown towhee consists principally of seeds and other vegetable matter; but the bird takes some insects, probably in greatest amounts when feeding its young. Frequently, in cities or towns, a brown towhee is seen to fly furiously and repeatedly at windowpanes, and sometimes at the doors of wellpolished parked automobiles, as though it were demented. The explanation is that the bird catches sight of its reflection in these surfaces and fancies that it sees a rival. Since the towhee has a strongly developed territorial instinct, it immediately attacks; and no doubt becomes inordinately infuriated at the battering it receives from the unyielding surface, and at the unprecedented refusal of the "intruder" to retreat. Battles of this sort may go on at intervals for weeks, with the bird returning to the attack almost daily and fighting until exhausted and sometimes bloody.

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Park status and records.—In Sequoia, a common resident in the lower foothills, as at Ash Mtn. Hdqrs. There, on Apr. 23, 1933, for example, brown towhees fed occasionally under the protecting limbs of the oaks during a heavy rain. The species is characteristically present in the blue oak belt, occurring in maximum abundance near thickets or patches of brush, which provide nesting sites, food, and protection from enemies. In late summer it follows up the brush-covered ridges and sometimes reaches an altitude of 5,500 ft. or more; it was common in the brushy areas above the mouth of Buck Canyon, Sept. 1,1933, and at Colony Mill, Sept. 9. In 1934, brown towhees came near a cabin at Ash Mtn. Hdqrs., Jan. 18, to feed on bread crumbs; four were seen there the next day; two, Feb. 21; three, Feb. 25; a brown towhee and a Townsend solitaire perched in the same bush at Ash Mtn. Hdqrs., Mar. 4. In 1935, eight towhees were seen in the brush between Hospital Rock and Potwisha, Jan. 10; three were observed up to 3,500 ft. elevation on Paradise Creek, Jan. 11; eight at Ash Mtn. Hdqrs., Jan. 13, and nine, Jan. 16. In the Kings, which contains much less low-altitude brush habitat than Sequoia, the bird is a late-summer visitor. It has been seen in the southern part of Grant Grove, by Barclay and Jamison (1937) and by Bryant(1941). SAVANNAH

Passerculus

SPARROW

sandwichensis

Description.—A small, short-tailed, brown sparrow, heavily streaked above and below. The upper parts are brown, streaked with blackish; the under parts are whitish, with narrow streaks on the breast and sides. The length of the bird is 4 y2 to 5% inches, weight, ]{• ounce. At close range, a yellowish line can be seen extending from the base of the bill above and behind the eye, and a narrow, whitish line running down the top of the head. The bird inhabits open fields and meadows. When closely approached it flies up, emitting a weak "seet," darts along jerkily for a few yards, and quickly dives into the grass again. Habits.—Every habitable environment from the Antarctic to the North Pole has birds that are specialized in greater or less degree to fit into that particular habitat. The little brown savannah sparrow is streaked to match the grasslands; it creeps mouselike through the tangled stems, avoiding

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BIRDS AND MAMMALS

flight unless forced into it, and spends nearly all of its life within a few feet of the ground. The species, for the most part, nests in Alaska, Canada, and the northern United States; but the deep snows that cover its meadow, prairie, and tundra habitat force it to winter farther south, in the United States and Mexico. Nests are hidden in the grass, often in marshy areas; they are made of grass and are lined with fine grass or hair. The savannah sparrow eats weed seeds and a greater proportion of insects than most sparrows eat. Park status and record.—A fall migrant; present in winter at low elevations in the open grassy fields. We have been unable to obtain any specimens from Sequoia. There may be more than one subspecies. In Kings Canyon National Park, Swarth (1916) with the aid of binoculars examined a savannah sparrow at Bullfrog Lake, elevation 10,634 ft., Aug. 27, 1916. VESPER

Pooecetes

SPARROW

gramineus confinis Baird

Description.—In size and in its general brownish, streaked coloration, this bird resembles a song sparrow, but it has a white-bordered tail that distinguishes it from any of the other brown-streaked sparrows. At very close range a patch of chestnut is visible on the bend of the wing, in the same location as the shoulder patch of the red-winged blackbird. Like the savannah sparrow, the vesper sparrow frequents open grasslands, but in addition to having the distinguishing marks mentioned above, it is much larger than the savannah, it is less addicted to marshy places, and it frequents shorter, less dense stands of grass. The vesper sparrow might possibly be confused with the pipit, but it does not bob and wag its tail like that bird, and it has a sparrow's thick bill. Habits.—The vesper sparrow nests on the ground in flat, grassy, treeless places, the grass often being interspersed with weeds, sagebrush, and other bushes. It summers from Canada to California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and the northern half of the United States farther east; it winters from the southern United States to Mexico. About two-thirds of the food of the vesper sparrow consists of weed and grass seeds; the remaining third, beetles, grasshoppers, and other grassland insects.

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NEVADA

Park status and record.—A summer resident in Sequoia, chiefly east of the Sierran crest. So far it has not been recorded in the Kings. A specimen (MVZ 20258) was taken at Whitney Meadow. Probably this species winters in small numbers on the west side, as it does near Yosemite (Grinnell and Storer, 1924, p. 440). BLACK-THBOATED OR DESERT SPARROW

Amphispiza

bilineata

deserticola

Ridgway

Description.—Unusually marked for a sparrow: it has a black chin, two white face stripes, and white under parts; the top of the head is gray; the rest of the upper parts are grayish brown. The tail is blackish, edged with white. The length of the bird is 5 inches; the weight, % ounce (Grinnell, Dixon, and Linsdale, 1930, p. 417). This sparrow is not easily confused with any other bird except possibly the black-throated gray warbler, the head of which is black instead of gray like that of the desert sparrow. Habits.—The desert sparrow nests in the arid Southwest from California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and Texas to Mexico, wintering from the southwestern United States to Mexico. Its nests are hidden in the lower part of cactuses, yuccas, sagebrush, creosote bushes, junipers, and other shrubs. They are constructed loosely of grass, bark fibers, and weed stems, and are lined with feathers and hair. Park status and records.—A fall migrant from the desert east of the Sierran crest. In Sequoia, in 1933, one desert sparrow was seen, May 24, in manzanita and sagebrush on a sandy flat on the east side of Kern River near the mouth of Golden Trout Creek; one was observed in 1933 near Kern Hot Springs, and one was heard, May 24, 1934, near the same place. One was seen at Upper Funston Meadow, May 28, 1934. In the Kings, a specimen (MVZ 27320) was taken by Swarth (1916) near Charlotte Lake, Sept. 3, 1916. Because the plumage of this specimen was immature, Swarth thought the species might nest at Charlotte Lake west of the Sierran crest; but a more probable explanation is that this young bird came over Kearsarge Pass in late summer.

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BIRDS AND MAMMALS

BELL

Amphispiza

SPARROW

belli canescens

Grinnell

Description.—A retiring, grayish-brown sparrow, about the size of a junco or linnet. The upper parts are grayish brown; there is a distinct dark stripe from the base of the bill down the side of the throat; the under parts are white, with a conspicuous black spot in the center of the breast. Habits.—The Bell sparrow is restricted to hot, dry, brushy areas in the Upper Sonoran Life Zone of the western United States and Lower California. However, its range is somewhat broken up as a result of topographic and climatic factors. A narrow belt of dense chaparral embodying these characteristics extends along the dry, west side of the Sacramento and lower San Joaquin valleys, reaches to the coast at San Francisco Bay, and from there runs southward along the coast into Lower California. This coastal belt, plus a small detached strip of foothill chaparral on the west slope of the Sierra near Yosemite, comprises the restricted range of the bird called the Bell sparrow in the older bird books; these books considered the very similar "sage sparrow" to be a separate species (Amphispiza nevadensis). More recently it has been discovered that the "sage sparrow," which inhabits the open, sagebrush plains of southern California and the Great Basin, is merely a subspecies or local race of the Bell sparrow (see Grinnell and Miller, 1944, p. 500). Hence, the new, combined range of the Bell sparrow includes, in addition to the previously described coastal strip, the range of the "sage sparrow": sagebrush lands of the Upper and Lower Sonoran Zone along the inner Coast Range south of Monterey Bay, on the west slope of the Sierra south of Fresno, and at the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley; and also the great sagebrush plains region that lies east of the Sierra and the Cascade Range, west of the Rocky Mountains, and north of the Mexican boundary. In winter, the Bell sparrow does not have to migrate from mild-climate areas lying west of the Sierran crest. But in the colder regions of the interior it scatters to some extent, and certain individual birds wander to Mexico. The nests of Bell sparrows are made of twigs, shredded sage bark, and grass stems; they are placed on the ground under an overhanging sage plant or are hidden a few inches up in its foliage. The birds run from bush to bush

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with great rapidity and mouselike timidity, making observation difficult, but males can be seen more easily when they sit on the topmost twigs to sing their tinkling little songs. Park status and records.—In Sequoia, a summer resident in the sage belt along the upper Kern River, in the vicinity of Junction Meadow, where specimens 9081 and 9082 (Dixon collection) were taken in June, 1934 (see Grinnell and Miller, 1944, p. 500). Several other Bell sparrows were observed that same year on warm, sage-covered slopes at Kem River Ranger Station, at Kern Hot Springs, and at Junction Meadow. The species may inhabit similar sagebrush flats and valleys elsewhere in the park, and possibly in the Kings, although so far this has not been specifically recorded.

OREGON

JUNCO

Junco oregamis thurberi Anthony Description.—Small and sparrow-like but without streaks. The entire head and neck are black in the male, grayish black in the female, contrasting sharply with the rest of the body. The rest of the upper parts are rusty brown; the tail is blackish, with conspicuous white outer feathers, which are particularly noticeable in flight. The under parts are white, with pale rusty brown on the sides below the wings. In coloration this junco somewhat resembles the spotted towhee, but it is a much smaller bird, with no white spots on the wings, and it forages in clear areas rather than in dense brush as the towhee does. Unlike the towhee, it is gregarious, traveling in flocks except in the nesting season. The alarm note is a light, clicking or smacking "tsup." The junco is one of the most abundant and most conspicuous birds in the parks. Its length is 5y2 inches; weight, % ounce. Habits.—The Oregon junco appears to be an unusually successful species. In a large part of the Sierra its populations outnumber those of any other kind of bird (Grinnell and Storer, 1924, pp. 459-460). Its abundance, like that of most of the commoner kinds of wildlife, seems to be correlated with a general adaptability; that is, a lack of specialization. Specialization frees a species from much competition with others, but it limits the variety of environment the species can inhabit. The Oregon junco nests in open forests, or in clearings in denser forests, in Alaska, western Canada, the northwestern United States, California,

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BIRDS AND MAMMALS

and Lower California, and it migrates south as far as Mexico. In the Sierra it is not strongly migratory but, being a ground forager, it is forced to lower elevations by deep snows. Related species breed in a similar habitat in Alaska, eastern Canada, the northern part of the United States, and mountain regions to the south. On June 10,1933, a junco's nest was found at Crescent Meadow, close to the foot trail. It was level with the surface of the ground and was concealed under some green, fallen sugar pine boughs. It was made of fine weed fibers and contained five fresh eggs. On June 11 a junco was startled from under a rotten stump at Crescent Meadow and revealed a nest hidden under the rotten wood and slabs of bark. It was made of grass stems and contained four fresh eggs. Three junco nests were found at Emerald Lake, 9,340 feet elevation, between June 14 and 25,1934. These were made of dry grass, lined with fine grass stems, and were flush with the ground. One, hidden in a tuft of grass on a ledge overlooking Aster Lake, contained five fresh eggs. Another, on a level, open flat on the east side of the lake, at the base of a small willow, contained four. The third nest was on a rocky hillside and also contained five fresh eggs. On June 18,1935, two junco nests, each containing four fresh eggs, were found near Hockett Lakes. One was on the ground under a blueberry bush; another on the ground near the base of a young lodgepole pine. Boyer reported (1950a) that in June, 1950, a blue-bellied lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis) broke up the grass nest of a junco, destroying the eggs. Juncos hop actively about on the ground while foraging. Lacking large, strong feet, they do not scratch extensively in litter like towhees and some sparrows, but make up for this lack by searching over a greater area. Weed seeds comprise about 60 per cent of their food, insects, particularly in summer, making up a large part of the rest. Park status and records.—A common summer resident throughout the coniferous forests of both parks in the summertime; in winter, found in small numbers along the lowlands at the extreme western margin of the Sequoia; a common winter resident at Ash Mtn. Hdqrs., according to Oberhansley (1942). Records in 1933: seven Oregon juncos seen at Giant Forest, Apr. 28; a pair at Redwood Meadow, May 18; a flock of nine, consisting of two families of young, counted at Round Meadow, Giant Forest, Aug. 12;

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251

ninety, mostly young birds recently out of the nest, counted this same day at elevations of 8,500 to 10,500 ft. between Crabtree Meadow and Rock Creek; many seen at Little Five Lakes, Aug. 17; three at Heather Lake, Sept. 20; two at Willow Meadow, Sept. 22. Pickwell (1933) found nests with all stages from eggs and newly hatched young to fully fledged young at Giant Forest, June 18-25. Records in 1934: six Oregon juncos and one nest with four fresh eggs seen at Sky Parlor Meadow, May 29; thirty-four birds counted in Round Meadow, Oct. 3; only four seen by observers going from Lodgepole Camp to Cahoon Meadow, via Willow Meadow, Nov. 14; four, which probably had come down from the higher mountains for the winter, seen along the trail from Hospital Rock to Castle Rock, Dec. 16. In 1935: fifteen seen, Jan. 15, at Ash Mtn. Hdqrs.; two there, Feb. 21 and 25. In the Kings, in 1916: an adult female taken, Aug. 23, at Bullfrog Lake; thirty Oregon juncos counted between Charlotte and Bullfrog lakes, Sept. 4; only one small flock of eight or ten seen at Kanawyers, Aug. 27-Sept. 17 (Swarth, 1916). In 1940: species abundant almost throughout the park; seen July 31, at 10,500 ft. on Lewis Creek; abundant at East Lake, Aug. 4; numerous near Cartridge Pass, Sept. 4; a few birds in Deadman Canyon, Sept. 22. In 1942: some seen at Lewis Creek and eight others between Cedar Grove and Lookout Peak, May 9; birds common at Colby Meadow in Evolution Valley, July 27. CHIPPING SPARROW

Spizella passerina arizonae Coues Description.—A small, slender, long-tailed sparrow, clear gray underneath and brownish above, with a bright, reddish-brown cap, a black line through the eye, and a white line above it. The tail is rather deeply notched and has no white. This bird forages actively on the ground in open situations; the call note is a weak "chip." The length is 5 % inches; the weight, % ounce. Habits.—The chipping sparrow in many of its habits is as unspecialized as the junco, and in its distribution it is, if anything, more widespread. It nests from Canada through the United States, except the extreme southeast, to the Mexican tablelands, and from the hot lowlands to the cool mountain

252

BIRDS AND

MAMMALS

meadows near timber line; it winters in the southern United States and in Mexico. Its preferred habitat is neither forest nor treeless open country, but a mixture, found in many places regardless of altitude, "in which small trees dot open expanses of smooth, relatively dry ground, either practically bare, or grassy" (Grinnell and Storer, 1924, p. 453). The chipping sparrow usually places its nests within 4 to 6 feet of the ground in trees and large bushes, without much apparent preference as to type of site. The deeply cupped structures are somewhat loosely though neatly woven of long grass and weed stems. They are characteristically lined with hair, which the bird winds and weaves into a smooth and soft but compact layer. Horsehair was much used for this in the old days, but, unlike the hair of native mammals, the long mane and tail hairs sometimes formed loops that trapped and strangled the young, and even the adults. On May 14, 1935, a chipping sparrow was observed at Hospital Rock, building a nest of weed stalks, 25 feet up in the top of a blue oak above a cabin. The chipping sparrow like the junco, moves over the ground rapidly as it searches for food, with a minimum of scratching. About 42 per cent of its diet consists of insects, which is a high percentage for a member of the seed-eating sparrow tribe; many of these insects are taken at the season when the bird is feeding its young. The rest of the diet is made up chiefly of weed seeds, which are particularly abundant in the type of semiopen country which the bird inhabits. Park status and records.—A summer resident of both the oak and the pine belts. Common at Ash Mtn. Hdqrs. in fall and winter (Oberhansley, 1943a). In Sequoia, in 1933, five chipping sparrows were seen at Little Five Lakes, Aug. 17; two on Rock Creek between 8,500 and 10,500 ft. elevation, Aug. 26; forty, most of which were young of that year, at Willow Meadow, Sept. 22. In 1934, a pair was seen, June 10, at Junction Meadow on Kern River; one chipping sparrow was seen, June 16, at the head of the Big Arroyo, elevation 10,700 ft. (our highest record for this species in the Sequoia); one was seen at Emerald Lake, June 23. In the Kings, in 1916: a few seen at Kanawyers, Sept. 10-17; two seen between Bullfrog and Charlotte lakes, Sept. 5; a specimen (MVZ 559) taken by H. G. White at 9,900 ft. elevation on Bubbs Creek, Sept. 3 (Swarth, 1916). In 1940, four were seen between Cedar Grove

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OF THE SIERRA NEVADA

and Summit Meadow, Sept. 20. On Aug. 21,1941, on the floor of Kings Canyon above Cedar Grove, Dixon watched a Cooper hawk walking around a small, isolated clump of manzanita out on an open flat. When the hawk was driven away, a chipping sparrow was discovered hidden in the dense brush near the ground, where it had evidently taken refuge from the hawk. A pair of chipping sparrows was observed mating near Lewis Creek, May 17, 1942; two birds were seen at McClure Meadow in Evolution Valley, July 27, 1942. BREWER

SPARROW

Spizella breweri breweri Cassin Description.—A sagebrush and desert counterpart of the chipping sparrow but without the reddish-brown cap and eye streaks. It is paler, and the top of its head is finely streaked. The tail is notched. This bird is also slightly smaller than the chipping sparrow, being only 5 inches long. Habits.—The Brewer sparrow lives in the great sagebrush basin that lies east of the Cascade Range and the Sierra. In this habitat it nests from western Canada to southern California, southern Arizona, and central western Texas, including sagebrush regions on the east side of the Rockies and limited areas west of the southern Sierra. Most of this region has a severe winter season, with long-lasting snow, which the Brewer sparrow escapes by sojourning in southern California and other border states and in Mexico. Its small, cup-shaped nests, concealed in the sage clumps, are woven of twigs, grasses, and shredded sage bark, and are lined with rootlets and hair. Its diet, like that of most sparrows, can be summarized by the phrase "insects and weed seeds." Park status and records.—In Sequoia, primarily a bird of the Great Basin sagebrush area on the east side of the Sierra. Six Brewer sparrows were observed with binoculars at a distance of 20 ft., Aug. 22, 1933, along the Kern-Kaweah River above Junction Meadow, elevation 8,100 ft., where there are extensive tracts of sagebrush. They may nest in this warm pocket of Kern Canyon in certain seasons, although the lateness of the date of observation suggests the possibility that the birds had worked upslope from some more distant breeding area (cf. Grinnell and Storer, 1924, p. 457), as many kinds of birds do regularly in late summer.

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BIRDS AND MAMMALS

WHITE-CROWNED

Zonotrichia

leucophrys

SPARROW

oriantha Oberholser

and Zonotrichia

leucophrys

gambelii

(Nuttall)

Description.—A handsome, sweet-singing sparrow with a black-andwhite striped head; found in summer along the willow thickets of the high mountain meadows and lakes. At all seasons it inhabits thickets of an open, scattered nature, not primarily dense, unbroken chaparral. The adults have a broad white patch on the top of the head, bordered by a black stripe on the side of the head but well above the eye. From just above the eye a white stripe runs to the back of the head; a second black stripe runs through the eye from the base of the bill nearly to the back of the head. The upper parts are gray with brown streaks; the tail is plain brown; the wings have two white bars. The under parts are a clear grayish white. In the immature birds, the head stripes are reddish brown and dull buff instead of the distinctive black and white. A beginning bird student who sees the birds in this plumage might confuse them with some other birds having reddish-brown markings on the head, particularly the chipping sparrow. However, since white-crowned sparrows forage and travel in flocks, the observer could probably identify the species from the adult members, the markings of which are diagnostic. The length is 5 % to 6% inches; the weight, % ounce. Habits.—The white-crowned sparrow for the most part nests either in the Far North or in high, cool mountains to the south that have a corresponding climate. It breeds in the Canadian and Hudsonian life zones from Alaska and the Canadian Rockies south along the coast and in the higher mountains of central California and southern New Mexico, and also in the eastern half of Canada as far north as the tree limit, and in southern Greenland. One of the strong migrants among the sparrows, this species winters from northern California, Utah, southern Kansas, and the Ohio Valley south through much of Mexico. Nests of the white-crowned sparrow often are placed directly on the ground or a few inches up in the branches of shrubby willows. They are made of twigs, rootlets, and grass, and are lined with horsehair—and in the Sierra, mule hair and no doubt burro hair—when such hair is available. In summer the white-crown's food consists principally of insects, which

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abound in the meadows and leafy willow thickets. In winter, weed seeds and young weed sprouts started by the winter rains comprise a major part of the diet. The song, a series of clear, plaintive whistles ending in a husky trill, is a familiar sound in the alpine mountain meadows in summer. A sharp alarm note, "pink," with a metallic or anvil quality is given at all seasons. Park status and records.—A conspicuously common summer resident in high meadows and willow thickets near timber line. Sample records for Sequoia follow. In 1933: a specimen secured and three other birds seen, July 2, near summit of J. O. Pass, where willow clumps were just starting to leaf out; birds numerous at Twin Lakes, July 4; twelve seen near the summit of Kaweah Gap, Aug. 16, of which nine were immatures and three adults; four seen at Little Five Lakes, Aug. 17; three in the willow thicket above Gallats Lake on the Kern-Kaweah, Aug. 22; six along Rock Creek between elevations of 9,500 and 10,500 ft., Aug. 26. On Sept. 20, when the willows were turning yellow at Heather Lake, just one bird, an immature, was present; the adults apparently had left on their fall migration. In 1934, one white-crowned sparrow was seen at Junction Meadow on Kern River; three were seen (one was taken) in a willow thicket at 9,700 ft. near Gallats Lake on the Kern-Kaweah River, June 7. Twelve were seen feeding along a sandy, willow patch at Junction Meadow, elevation 8,100 ft., June 8; since we had visited this area several times each morning and evening on previous days without finding evidence of white-crowned sparrows, we concluded that snowstorms raging above 10,000 ft. elevation had driven the birds down temporarily to this lower level. This was confirmed, June 9, at Wallace Lake, where none could be found in the budding willow thickets between 10,700 ft. and 11,300 ft. elevation. Three were seen at the extreme head of Kern River below Lake South America at timber line, June 11. Six were seen at Kaweah Gap, 10,700 ft. elevation, June 16; one of these (a female parent, no. 9090 in Dixon collection) and a nest with four fresh eggs were collected. The nest was found on the ground in a clump of stunted willows near the edge of a meadow. On the west side of Kaweah Gap, June 17, the willows were just starting to leaf out and white-crowned sparrows were in full song; some were observed at

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BIRDS AND MAMMALS

Emerald Lake, June 23, and at Moose Lake, June 24. At Hockett Meadows, June 18, six pairs were noted and a nest containing four eggs was found on the ground at the base of a lodgepole pine. Other 1934 records: two white-crowned sparrows noted at Giant Forest, Oct. 3, evidently fall migrants from higher regions, since this species had not been there during the summer; two immatures seen just below Tharp's Rock, Oct. 5; one adult and one immature at Willow Meadow, and three adults at Cahoon Meadow, Oct. 13. Oberhansley (1943a) found white-crowned sparrows at Guyot Flat, Sept. 29, 1939. Some were seen at Grant Grove in the fall of 1940, by Bryant (1941) and, Sept. 20,1950, by Boyer (1950a). In the Kings, in 1916: ten seen at Bullfrog Lake, elevation 10,634 ft., Aug. 28; one between Charlotte and Bullfrog lakes, Sept. 5; MVZ 27281 and 27282, male and female, collected at Bullfrog Lake, Aug. 30 (Swarth, 1916). In 1940: July 23, one seen at Granite Basin; July 31, many in the chinquapin-ceanothus habitat of the Lewis Creek drainage; Aug. 30, two in LeConte Canyon; Sept. 4, one near Cartridge Pass; Sept. 21, one near Marvin Pass; Sept. 22, one in Deadman Canyon (they were no longer common in the vicinity); Sept. 24, one at Scaffold Meadow. In 1941, two adults and one young bird were seen at Reflection Lake, elevation 10,168 ft., Aug. 24. In 1942: first spring arrival inside the park seen after a snowstorm, May 12, at Lewis Creek; birds numerous among willows at upper end of Evolution Lake, July 26; fairly common in willows at Colby Meadow, July 27; several in willows at Evolution Lake, and a pair with young just out of the nest in willows at 10,300 ft. elevation on Darwin Creek, July 28; some seen by Hansen (1942) at J. O. Pass and at Ellis Meadow, July 2. All birds seen in summer at higher elevations in the parks can be considered oriantha; those seen in midwinter at lower elevations most likely are the race gambelii. These races are almost identical except that in gambelii (the Gambel sparrow of earlier bird books) the white stripe above the eye projects forward beyond the eye to the base of the bill instead of starting at the eye itself as in oriantha. The race gambelii arrives from its breeding grounds in the North usually about the third week in September. The white-crown (oriantha) leaves the parks at this time, and in the spring returns from the South about the time gambelii leaves for its northern breeding grounds.

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GOLDEN-CROWNED

Zonotrichia coronata

SPARROW

(Pallas)

Description.—Slightly larger and definitely darker than the whitecrowned sparrow, both above and below, though similar in haunts and flocking habits. It lacks the white stripe above the eye, and it has a dull gold patch, margined with black, on top of the head in place of the conspicuous white patch of the white-crowned group of sparrows; the goldencrown also lacks the dark stripe through the eye. In immature birds, and some adult birds in the fall, the top of the head is dull brown, instead of gold. At close range the immature golden-crowns can be distinguished from the somewhat similar immature white-crowns by the absence of the dull-buffy head stripes. Adult golden-crowned sparrows are 6 to 7 inches long and weigh 1 ounce. The characteristic song, sung even in winter, is a series of three plaintive musical notes, descending in pitch: "Oh dear me." The alarm note is a sharp, metallic "pink." Habits.—The golden-crown is a bird of the humid coast and of timber line in the ranges overlooking the coast. It nests in thickets along the streams of Alaska and central British Columbia and winters in the lowlands west of the Sierra, and chiefly west of the Cascade Range, from Central Oregon to Lower California. The bird hides its nests in low clumps of alders and associated vegetation, or underneath them on the ground. The nests are made of twigs, grass, weed stems, and rootlets, and are lined with fine grass. While in its winter headquarters, the bird eats weed seeds and a large amount of newly sprouted weed seedlings, and also some flowers, buds, grain, wild fruits, and a few insects. On its Alaska and British Columbia nesting grounds it probably increases its take of insects while feeding its small nestlings. Park status and records.—In Sequoia, a winter visitor at low elevations in the western part; common at Ash Mtn. Hdqrs., according to Oberhansley (1942). Two golden-crowned sparrows were watched with binoculars at a distance of 25 ft., on the Marble Fork, elevation 2,000 ft., May 2,1933; they seemed to be migrating and did not remain long in the vicinity. Our earliest record of fall return of the goldencrown to Sequoia was Dec. 11, 1934, when one bird was seen at Hos-

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BIRDS AND MAMMALS

pital Rock. Two golden-crowned sparrows were seen at Ash Mtn. Hdqrs., Feb. 19, 1935. Not recorded so far from the Kings, which does not have the typical Upper and Lower Sonoran Zone foothill and lowland habitat in which the golden-crown winters. THE FOX SPARROWS

Some sixteen different local races of fox sparrows nest in Alaska, Canada, and the high mountains of the West as far south as the Sierra in California, certain ranges in Nevada, and the Rockies in Colorado. Many of these races assemble together on their wintering grounds in various parts of the United States, particularly in California. At such times their close similarity renders it practically impossible even for professional ornithologists to tell one from another without shooting specimens for identification. In the Sequoia and Kings region, the Stephens fox sparrow is the common (and only) summer resident subspecies; it will be described in detail. Five migrant races have been recorded from the parks, but since their habits and appearance are similar, they will be treated more briefly. (STEPHENS) F O X SPARROW

Passerella iliaca stephensi

Anthony

Description.—Slightly smaller than a spotted towhee but considerably larger than a junco. Dark brown above, the tail and rump being somewhat redder than the rest of the upper parts. Under parts are white, spotted, and streaked heavily, particularly on the breast. In the color of its upper parts, a fox sparrow somewhat resembles a hermit thrush, but the spots on its under parts are triangular instead of round. The fox sparrow is more active and less sedate than the hermit thrush, and it does not jerk its tail upward and flutter its wings while perching, as that bird does. The fox sparrow has the heavy, conical bill of a seedeater, whereas the bill of the thrush is slender. The fox sparrow is primarily an inhabitant of low, dense brush, where it forages characteristically in the dry leaves by jumping and kicking backward vigorously with both feet at once, like its relatives the towhees, which in many other ways it resembles. The song is unusually loud, emphatic, and musical for a sparrow, commencing with several clear notes, "sweet sweet" or "wee chee," and turn-

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bling through a series of trills and runs. The singing bird is usually visible in the top of some low thicket; but when not singing, the fox sparrow lurks out of sight in the dense growth. The alarm note is a sharp, metallic "clink," like that of a brown towhee. The bird is about 7 inches in length and weighs 1 y 5 ounces. Habits.—The Stephens fox sparrow is one of the relatively few races of this northern group that nests in the United States. It breeds in the southern Sierra, in the Canadian Life Zone and the higher parts of the Transition Life Zone, from the vicinity of Horse Corral Meadow south through Tulare County, and also in various high, semi-isolated ranges of southern California, including Mount Pinos and the San Gabriel, San Bernardino, and San Jacinto ranges. In winter it descends to the lower foothills and moves south. Williams (1933) found a nest, on June 20, 1933, about 20 inches above the ground in a thicket of mountain whitethorn. It was the usual structure of twigs and plant stems, lined with fine bark. It contained one egg and one recently hatched bird. Dixon watched the female feed the young at this nest at intervals of from five to fifteen minutes, on June 22, 1933. Most of her foraging was done within 30 feet of the nest and was confined to scratching in the leafy litter under the thickets. When a pair of blue-fronted jays was near, she did not visit the nest. She carried away the white fecal sacks as fast as they were voided by the young. The food of the fox sparrow consists chiefly of the insects and seeds that the bird uncovers by its characteristic raking and scratching in the leaf litter under the low-spreading bushes. Some wild fruits and berries also are eaten. Park status and records.—A common summer resident. Many specimens have been collected (see Swarth, 1920; also no. 9013, Dixon collection ). In Sequoia, the species is common in the snow-brush thickets in Giant Forest, and in similar situations elsewhere in the park. It occupies the same habitat as the green-tailed towhee but is much more common. Two fox sparrows were observed near Beetle Rock at Giant Forest, Apr. 28, 1933 (our earliest spring record). On June 9, 1933, at Giant Forest, a male sang from a dense thicket at frequent intervals all day; its favorite singing perch was the tip of a young white fir. Fox sparrows were numerous and in full song at Panther Gap, June 17,1933; they are

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BIRDS AND MAMMALS

the principal breeding birds on the brushy slopes there. At Round Meadow, nearly all the birds had completed their fall moult by Sept. 2; they had clean, fresh fall plumage with almost full-grown tail and wing feathers. One was seen in Giant Forest, Sept. 13; two at Willow Meadow, Sept. 22, 1933 (our latest record for the species in the fall). In 1934, birds were abundant on the warm brushy slopes at Junction Meadow on Kern River, June 6. In the Kings, numerous young on the wing were seen in the Lewis Creek basin, July 31,1940; by the last of August the species had for the most part moved to the foothill regions. Two birds were seen at Junction Meadow on Bubbs Creek, Aug. 23, 1941. Records in 1942: first spring arrival noted May 11, at Lewis Creek; two fox sparrows seen in manzanita thickets inside the park, May 12; six seen (some carrying nest material) at Sheep Creek, May 14; twelve seen in chinquapin and snow-brush at Hotel Creek, May 20, several carrying nest material, the males in full song; ten in full spring song, May 29, on the east face of Lookout Peak below Summit Meadow; many seen at 6,500 ft. elevation on the Sheep Creek trail, May 21, in chinquapin and snow-brush (Miller, 1942). OTHER LOCAL RACES OF FOX SPARROWS

Swarth in his "Review of the Genus Passerella" (1920) found six kinds of fox sparrows in the Kings Canyon area. All six races are verified by actual specimens collected in 1916, which are in the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California. The Stephens race has been described. Of the remaining five kinds, four—the Valdez, Alberta, Kodiak, and slatecolored fox sparrows—are fall and winter visitors. The Yosemite fox sparrow, in addition to being a fall migrant, may breed in the northern part of the park. Presumably most of these races also occur in Sequoia. A L B E R T A F O X S P A B R O W , Passerella iliaca altivagans Riley. MVZ 26364 was taken at Horse Corral Meadow, Sept. 22, 1916 (Swarth, 1920; Grinnell and Miller, 1944, p. 527). KODIAK F O X SPARROW, Passerella iliaca insularis Ridgway. MVZ 27370 was taken at Hume, Sept. 25, 1916 (Swarth, 1920; Grinnell and Miller, 1944, p. 528). VALDEZ F O X SPARROW, Passerella iliaca sinuosa Grinnell. MVZ 27369 was taken at Horse Corral Meadow, Sept. 22, 1916 (Swarth, 1920; Grinnell and Miller, 1944, p. 529).

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In Sequoia National Park, Dixon saw two Valdez fox sparrows on October 14,1934, in the willows near the base of Tokopah Falls. He identified them on the basis of similar birds which he had observed in summer at Prince William Sound in 1908. Obviously they were not local breeding birds, for none of the breeding Stephens fox sparrows in Sequoia had been seen in Tokopah Valley after October 5, by which time all apparently had left. The brownish Valdez fox sparrows had come after the weather had turned cold and snow had begun to fall. SLATE-COLORED F O X S P A R R O W , Passerella iliaca schistacea Baird. Two specimens were taken in 1916 on the floor of Kings Canyon at Kanawyers: MVZ 27373, Sept. 12, and MVZ 27371, Sept. 15 (Swarth, 1920; Grinnell and Miller, 1944, p. 532). Y O S E M I T E F O X S P A R R O W , Passerella iliaca megarhynchus Baird. MVZ 27384 was taken at Horse Corral Meadow, Sept. 20, 1916; MVZ 27385, at the same locality, Sept. 22,1916 (Swarth, 1920; Grinnell and Miller, 1944, pp. 534,535).

LINCOLN

Melospiza

SPARROW

lincolni alticola Miller and McCabe

Description.—A short-tailed, shy little streaked sparrow of the wet mountain meadows. It is a high-mountain relative of the lowland song sparrow, which to a large degree it resembles. The upper parts are dark brown, finely streaked with black. A brown or buff-colored band across the upper breast, also finely streaked with black, is the principal distinguishing character; the chin is white, the throat a little darker, and both have narrow streaks that extend down the bird's sides. The song is bubbling and wrenlike. The bird is 5 inches long and weighs % ounce (Grinnell, Dixon, and Linsdale, 1930, p. 433). Habits.—Lincoln sparrows nest in dense thickets of willows, dogwoods, and similar vegetation on wet slopes or at the edge of wet meadows in the Boreal Life Zone. The bulk of the population nests in Alaska, Canada, and the northern United States; local colonies occur on high mountain islands of cold climate extending down through the West to the mountains of southern California and the Rockies in New Mexico. The species winters from central California, Arizona, southern Texas, and northern Mississippi to Guatemala. Lincoln sparrow nests are tucked away in moist places on the ground,

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under dense thickets of willows and associated brush. They are made of coarse grass and are lined with fine grass stems, or sometimes with hair. The birds are extremely furtive and secretive, slinking like mice through the brush and wet meadow grass. Their habitat abounds in insect life, which makes up a large part of their diet; seeds comprise most of the remainder. Park status and records.—An uncommon summer resident in moist meadows and thickets at high elevations. Pickwell (1933) reported two pairs of Lincoln sparrows, June 26, 1933, at Round Meadow, and one pair and a nest with half-fledged young at Crescent Meadow. On June 20, 1933, at Round Meadow, Sumner observed two Lincoln sparrows which indicated by their actions that they were nesting. In the Grant Grove this species nested at General Grant Meadow in June, 1940, and in July, 1941 (Bryant, 1941). Song Spabhow

Melospiza melodia heermanni

Baird

Description.—A small, brown, heavily streaked sparrow that frequents dense brush and tall weeds along lowland streams. Its motions are jerky and nervous like those of a wren, and, like a wren, it holds up its short tail at an angle with the back. The streaks on the center of the breast form a large central spot. The bird's jerky short flights from thicket to thicket are accompanied by a bobbing of the tail and a loud, fluttering rustle of the wings. The brisk, cheerful song pours from the open bill of the male as he sits, with uptilted head, near the top of some low bush. It starts with two or three characteristic, high, introductory single notes, followed by a double note: "chit, chit, chit, to-hee." Then comes a medley of buzzing but melodious descending runs and trills. The alarm note is a slightly metallic, buzzing chirp. Habits.—Song sparrows nest in lowland stream, swamp, and lakeside thickets almost throughout North America, except in the regions of most extreme cold, from coastal Alaska and the Aleutian Islands through the Canadian, Transition, and Upper Sonoran (but not the Hudsonian or Alpine) life zones of Canada, throughout most of the United States except in the high mountains, and in Mexico. Those that nest in the Far North or

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at the higher altitudes are forced by winter snows to migrate, some quite widely; others in more temperate areas migrate less, or not at all. Song sparrow nests are deep cups made chiefly of grasses and sometimes lined with hair. They are placed a few feet above the ground in dense clumps of weeds and brush. About a third of the food of the song sparrow consists of insects; this high proportion is undoubtedly correlated with the bird's close association with water and moist ground. The rest of the diet consists principally of weed seeds, which also are abundant in its chosen habitat, plus a few fruits and berries. Park status and records.—Primarily a lowland bird, not yet recorded definitely from Sequoia but a summer visitor along the lower parts of the Kings River. One song sparrow was seen and another heard at Zumwalt Meadow, Aug. 17, 1916; Swarth shot one there, but it fell in the cattails, where he could not find it. One was seen, Aug. 21, 1941, along the riverbank opposite Cedar Grove. On May 9, 1942, none could be found in the cattail swamp at Zumwalt Meadow; the vegetation was not yet high enough to afford good protective cover for the birds. On May 25,1942, one song sparrow was seen in the willows there; on May 26 two were seen and one breeding male (no. 9308, Dixon collection) was secured there; and on May 27 another song sparrow was caught in a mousetrap set at the edge of the water.

Vanished Species and Questionable Records Birds

When all the species currently of indisputable occurrence have been chronicled for the parks, there remains a tag end of records less substantial but not to be ignored. Some of these records are of rare or vanishing species, like the red-bellied hawk and the white-tailed kite, which civilization has brought to the verge of extinction in many places. Some, such as the burrowing owl, the shorteared owl, the ducks, geese, and other water birds, the snipe, the mountain plover, and various marsh birds, are species that used to have their center of abundance in a different habitat, which was relatively near by but lay beyond the boundaries of the parks; such species overflowed into the parks in the old days when their populations were at the height of their vigor, before man cleared away the streamside groves and drained the ponds and marshes. Some, such as the redhead, canvas-back, and lesser scaup ducks, still may fly over the parks when visiting near-by lakes. Still others, such as the barn owl, bank swallow, and American or bald eagle, must be considered to be of more or less accidental occurrence, if the records are authentic, since their normal habitat is quite far removed from the parks. Such occasional strays are observed every year in some part of the country, particularly after young birds have left their homes and are on their own for the first time, and when birds are migrating. They are not to be regarded as part of the normal park fauna. 264

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NEVADA

265

Walter Fry (19326) in his Twenty-jive Year Study of the Bird Life in Sequoia National Park—1906 to 1931, summarizes the changes thus: A twenty-five year study of the bird life in Sequoia National Park . . . reveals . . . that . . . many species have been greatly reduced, while others that were formerly abundant, now do not occur. The greatest reduction is in waterfowl and shore birds, while black birds, mourning doves, and California roadrunners are almost extinct. Little difference is noted in the appearance of the various kinds and number of song and small perching birds; on the whole they seem more plentiful . . . While the park area, owing to its geographical and topographical location, never was considered strictly a breeding ground for water fowls and shore birds, it furnished a splendid refuge for them during the winter months in the lower elevations along the rivers. Until recent years, it was a common sight to see many of the fowls such as ducks, geese, swans, and others during the autumn, winter, and spring, some of which remained throughout the year. Now most of these species are seldom seen, and when seen they are few in number. The rapid decrease in water and shore birds started about the year 1909, and has continued every year since.

EARED GREBE

Colymbus nigricollis californicus

(Heermann)

Smaller than a duck, with an erect, slender neck, straight, pointed bill, and no visible tail. While swimming quietly on lakes and lagoons, it will suddenly pop head first under the water, with a tiny splash, and will emerge several seconds later some distance away. Sometimes it is called "helldiver" by hunters. In winter it is dark gray above and white below. In summer it becomes quite resplendent. Then, in both sexes, the upper breast and the entire neck and head are black, and the head has a black crest. A tuft of silky, yellowish-brown feathers extends backward from each cheek, and the flanks become reddish brown. The bird is 12 to 14 inches long. This species breeds in shallow, marshy lakes of western North America, in California chiefly east of the Sierra Nevada and rarely in some of the smaller mountain lakes west of the Sierran crest. Mr. Charles L. Smith reported to Walter Fry that in the summer of 1911 he saw an adult with three

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MAMMALS

young at Moose Lake in Sequoia. However, on August 11,1933, an examination, by Dixon, of several small, grass-grown lakes and ponds, including Moose, Pear, Aster, and Heather lakes, failed to reveal any eared grebes. Near the boundaries of Kings Canyon National Park, the eared grebe is an occasional fall visitor at Sequoia Lake (Bryant, 1941) and at Hume Lake (one was seen there, August 23, 1916, by Dixon; three were seen, August 17,1916, by Swarth). Clarence Fry reports that his only observation was at Moraine Lake, 9,500 feet elevation, in September, 1928, and that the species now may well be considered absent. About twenty eared grebes were observed on small glacial lakes at elevations between 11,000 and 12,000 feet at the base of the Lyell Glacier in Yosemite National Park during the first week in October, 1940; therefore it is possible that the birds may occur under similar conditions in Sequoia and the Kings. The detailed description has been given in the hope that interested people will continue to watch for this species. Repeated search extending over a number of years has failed to show any trace of nesting of the species in Sequoia, with the possible exception of the one observation mentioned above. PLED-BILLED GREBE

Podilymbus

podiceps

podiceps

(Linnaeus)

This bird is about the same size as the eared grebe, but it has a short, blunt, light-colored bill. In summer the bill is crossed by a black band, and there is a black patch on the throat, but these markings are absent in winter. Upper and under parts are brown, the brown being paler below. This grebe is an occasional fall visitor in the vicinity of the parks. One was seen at Hume Lake on August 23, 1916. FARALLON OR DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT

Phalacrocorax

auritus albociliatus

Ridgway

A large, slender, blackish-brown, diving bird, about 30 inches in length. Its slender bill is as long as the head and has a decidedly hooked end. The hook, the upward tilt of head and beak when the bird rests on the water, the longer tail, and the uniformly dark plumage distinguish it from any of the loons. The under parts of the loons are light. The Farallon cormorant nests commonly along the California and Ore-

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OF THE SIERRA NEVADA

gon coasts, and locally on some of the large inland lakes of the western United States. Many of these lakes, however, have been drained in recent years. In the Sequoia area the bird was listed as a rare winter visitor, by Walter Fry (1934c), but there are no recent records. LESSER S N O W

GOOSE

Chen hyperborea hyperhorea

(Pallas)

A medium-sized goose, 23 to 28 inches in length, with plumage white except for the black tips of the wings. Formerly a very rare winter migrant in Sequoia, according to Walter Fry (1934c); it is now absent. BALDPATE

Mareca americana (Gmelin) This duck is brownish, the male with a gray head and a distinctive white crown patch; the female is similar but lacks the white crown patch. Both have a large white patch at the front edge of the wing; this is particularly conspicuous in flight. The duck is 18 to 22 inches in length. The baldpate has not actually been recorded inside the parks but it is an occasional visitor to Sequoia Lake, where it was observed, October 21-22, 1940, by A. E. Thompson (Bryant, 1941). This is just outside the boundary of Grant Grove. CANVAS-BACK

Aythya valisineria (Wilson) A chunky duck, 20 to 23 inches in length, resembling the redhead but larger. In the adult male, the head and neck are a rich brown, becoming blackish about the base of the bill; the back and sides appear white. In the female, the head and neck are light brown; the back and sides, gray; the throat, white; the breast, dark brown; and the belly, whitish. In both sexes the long, sloping forehead distinguishes this species from the redhead. Walter Fry (1934c) called the canvas-back a winter migrant in Sequoia. There are no subsequent records, but it may still be an occasional winter visitor. It was noted at Sequoia Lake just outside Grant Grove, on November 24 and 25, 1940, by A. E. Thompson (Bryant, 1941).

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BIRDS AND MAMMALS

REDHEAD

Aythya americana

(Eyton)

The male is a large, red-headed duck, with a gray back that appears distinctly less white than that of the canvas-back. The bill is blue, and the forehead rises abruptly from the base of the bill. The female is brownish, with a broad gray stripe at the rear of the extended wing. Presumably this species can be classed as a rare fall migrant. There are no records of its occurrence within the parks, but it was reported, by Oberhansley (1942), from the upper Kern Lake just outside Sequoia National Park in September, 1940. L E S S E R SCAUP

DUCK

Aythya affinis (Eyton) A medium-sized, chunky duck, the male with a black head and neck, black tail, and conspicuous white (actually light gray) sides and back. The female is a uniform dark brown, with a distinct whitish patch at the base of the bill. In flight, both sexes show a conspicuous white patch near the rear edge of the wing. The species has not actually been recorded in the parks, but 168 birds were noted by A. E. Thompson at Sequoia Lake, % mile from Grant Grove, on November 25, 1940 (Bryant, 1941). BUFFLE-HEAD

Bucephala

albeola

(Linnaeus)

A very small duck, 12 to 15 inches in length. The male has a conspicuous black-and-white pattern: the back is black; the front and back of the puffy head are glossy black interrupted by a broad, snow-white patch that extends across the top of the head back of the eye; the under parts are pure white. A large white wing patch shows in flight. The female is dark gray, with a distinct, elongated white area on the side of the head behind the eye. A white patch shows when the wing is extended in flight. Walter Fry (1934c) records the buffle-head as a rare winter migrant, but there are no recent records.

Left:

Linnet, malt' and

Ri«ht:

California Purple

female Cassin Purple Finch.

Finch, male and female

male and female

Kosv F i n c h , m a l e (right) and f e m a l e

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WHITE-TAILED

Elanus leucurus majusculus

KITE

Bangs and Penard

A handsomely colored, hawklike bird of medium size: its length is 15 to 17 inches. It has a habit of hovering, with rapid wingbeats and outspread tail, in its search for mice, snakes, and other small game. Most of the head is white; the remainder of the upper parts, bluish gray. The tail is white, and there is a broad black area on the bend of the wing. In the female, the white of the head and breast is duller than in the male, and does not contrast so sharply with the bluish gray of the upper parts. Walter Fry (1934c) listed the white-tailed kite as originally a "resident at low elevations" in Sequoia. The species has been greatly reduced by persecution since that time, and there has been no record of it in the area for many years. R E D - B E L L I E D OR RED-SHOULDEBED

HAWK

Buteo lineatus elegans Cassin A small squirrel hawk, 18 to 22 inches in length, with a wingspread of 40 to 44 inches. The upper parts are reddish brown, the under parts a rich, reddish color; the tail is black, crossed by four or five bands of white. This bird is, or was, a characteristic resident of the river bottoms at low elevations, where its noisy call gave it locally the nicknames "squalling hawk" and "river hawk." Like the white-tailed kite, this species was conspicuous as well as trustful. As a consequence, ignorant shooters, who overlooked its beneficial food habits, rapidly reduced its numbers. Walter Fry (1934c) called it a rare resident of Sequoia, but it is now absent. SWAINSON

Buteo swainsoni

HAWK

Bonaparte

A medium-sized squirrel hawk, 19 to 22 inches in length, with a wingspread of 4 to 4y 2 feet, resembling the red-tail but with longer and more pointed wings. The upper parts are brown, the tail is light gray with a whitish base; the throat, white; the breast, reddish brown; the rest of the under parts, white. The unmarked, buffy area of the undersurface of the wing

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is characteristic. However, in this species there is a great deal of color variation, and light and dark phases exist. In the Kings, a Swainson hawk was observed on the summit of Mount Gould, which is on the east boundary, on August 30, 1916 (Swarth, 1916). AMERICAN OR BALD E A G L E

Haliaeetus leucocephalus leucocephalus

(Linnaeus)

This differs from the golden eagle in that in the adults the head, neck, and tail are white, the remainder of the plumage being dark brown. Immature birds are entirely dark brown. This species was formerly present in Sequoia, according to Fry (1934c), but it is now very rare or absent. It has not been seen there in recent years. Golden eagles have been reported many times as bald eagles, because the buff or golden head has been mistaken for white; these reports have been checked by Oberhansley (1942) and found to be erroneous. OsPREY

Pandion haliaetus carolinensis (Gmelin) A large brown-and-white, eagle-like hawk found in the vicinity of lakes and rivers and in coastal areas. The head is white, with a wide brown band through the eye and another on the top of the head; the under parts are clear white. The osprey flies with a distinct bend in the wings and has a characteristic habit of hovering over the water and then plunging feet first into it, after fish. The length is about 2 feet; the wingspread, 5 feet. This species has been included in the Sequoia National Park list as a rare visitor. It was seen at Sequoia Lake, % mile outside Grant Grove, in October, 1940, by A. E. Thompson (Bryant, 1941), and had been reported there previously (Hopping, 1940). Augustine (1940&) believed that he saw one on Kern Lake, iy 2 miles below the park boundary, in the week of September 15-27, 1940. He also writes: "Mr. Sworder, who camps at least four months in the Kern every year, and who has visited the area since 1903, says that he has seen this Osprey appear every fall for 25 years. The possibility is that this is the same bird. Note: Received a phone call today that this Osprey was seen on Coyote Creek one mile east of Kern Station, so it is in the park." However, we feel that additional evidence is needed before this species can safely be included in the authenticated bird list.

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WILSON

SNIPE

Capella delicata (Ord) A small, inconspicuous brown-and-black bird with a short brown tail and a slender, straight bill nearly as long as its body. It flies up suddenly from almost underfoot, with a sharp nasal "scape," and darts away with erratic, zigzag flight; it is usually found in wet-meadow or swamp areas. It was formerly a winter visitor along the Kaweah River, but it has not been recorded in Sequoia within the past four years. Like other marsh birds, it has decreased in numbers as a result of the wholesale drainage and cultivation of San Joaquin Valley marshlands. L E A S T SANDPIPER

Erolia minutilla

(Vieillot)

A very small sandpiper, 5% to 6% inches in length. In fall and winter, which are the only seasons in which it has been recorded in the vicinity of the parks, the upper parts are grayish brown; the breast, light ashy gray, narrowly streaked with dusky. The feet are yellowish green, whereas the legs and feet of the otherwise similar western sandpiper are black. Unlike the spotted and the solitary sandpipers, the least sandpiper usually is seen in flocks. When approached closely, members of the flock take wing simultaneously, with a thin chorus of startled cries, darting and turning together, so that the entire flock alternately shows the dark backs and flashing under parts of the birds as they whirl away. This bird was listed as a winter visitor by Walter Fry (1934c); however, it appears rarely if at all now, according to Clarence Fry. His only observation was in September, 1927, on Kern River above Kern Lake, about a mile from the park boundary (oral statement). BARN

OWL

Tyto alba pratincola (Bonaparte) This owl is golden brown above and white below and has a heart-shaped or "monkey" face. The bird is 15 to 18 inches long. In the night it utters a sharp clicking sound in flight, and sometimes also a harsh shriek like a burst of escaping steam.

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MAMMALS

This species was formerly a resident in the foothill area in and near Sequoia; but its numbers have been much reduced by persecution, in spite of the fact that it feeds almost exclusively on small rodents such as pocket gophers and meadow mice. Its habitat coincides quite closely with ridges and valleys along the foothills where these rodents are numerous. The nearest place where recent nesting has been recorded is Woodlake—21 airline miles from Sequoia—according to Oberhansley. There are now no bam owls in the park. BURROWING O W L

Speotyto cunicularia hypugaea

(Bonaparte)

A small, brownish, long-legged owl without ear tufts, commonly known as the "ground" owl, or "billy" owl. It inhabits burrows in open fields. Its length is 9 to 11 inches. Upper parts are brown, speckled or dotted with white; under parts, white, heavily barred or spotted with brown. The bird's habit of bobbing or bowing while perched on the ground is characteristic. Several pairs of burrowing owls formerly lived at Shepherd's Cove on the north side of the Kaweah River, % mile from the southern boundary of Sequoia National Park. They were last reported there in 1911; there are none in the park now. The gentle little billy owl has been fighting a losing battle with the tractor for many years, and is no longer found in large areas of southern California where once its soft call was heard regularly at sundown, coming from the fields. Intensive cultivation obliterates its burrows and leaves it homeless, as does the substitution of city lawns and paved streets for the sagebrush flats of the early days. In some parts of Los Angeles this owl still finds refuge, temporarily, in vacant lots, even when these are ringed by busy streets and solidly built-up districts. CASSIN KINGBIRD

Tyrannus vociferans

vociferans

Swainson

The Cassin kingbird is about the size of the western kingbird, but it is darker and has no white edge to the tail. It has a white chin that contrasts with the dark gray of throat and breast. According to Walter Fry (1934c), this was a "summer resident." However, the Cassin kingbird barely reaches the lowest, westernmost area of

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the park. It is not numerous; to be found it must be especially sought for. We have no definite recent record of its occurrence within the parks. HORNED

Eremophila

LARK

alpestris actia Oberholser

A brownish bird, slightly larger than a sparrow. It utters a shrill, plaintive "tee" when frightened into flight, and lives in flocks in bare fields and on open plains and prairies. It has distinctive, contrasting facial markings, the forehead being yellow, with a black stripe above that extends back round the sides of the head into two small and often inconspicuous black tufts, or "horns," that have given the bird its name. The rest of the upper parts are pinkish brown; the outer tail feathers are black, with an inconspicuous white edging. The throat is bright yellow, with a black bib below. A black stripe extends downward from below each eye. The rest of the under parts are white. It was listed by Walter Fry (1934c) as a "resident" at Ash Mountain Headquarters, but there are no recent records. Its requirement for wide open spaces normally would not permit it to more than just reach into the lowest, western edge of Sequoia National Park; therefore its occurrence should be considered as "accidental." ROUGH-WINGED

Stelgidopteryx

SWALLOW

ruficollis serripennis

(Audubon)

This swallow nests in colonies, using holes in steep banks bordering lowland rivers. It is dull grayish brown above and white below. Although described as a rare summer resident at Sequoia, by Walter Fry (1934c), the rough-winged swallow characteristically inhabits the lower rivers below the west boundary of the park. It has never been found in large numbers in the park and may now be absent. YELLOW-BILLED

MAGPIE

Pica nuttallii (Audubon) A large, long-tailed, conspicuously black-and-white bird, 16 to 18 inches in length, with a yellow bill. The greenish-blue wings show patches of white in flight, and there is a large white patch on the shoulder. The white belly contrasts sharply with the black breast.

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BIRDS AND MAMMALS

Formerly, this magpie was found in Sequoia National Park along the Middle Fork of the Kaweah River as far up as Potwisha, but according to Walter Fry (1934c) none has been seen in the park since about 1925. The species builds a nest 2 or 3 feet in diameter, of sticks, weaving them together into a structure, roofed over and with the entrance at the side, that protects the eggs and young from weather and enemies. The prominence of these nests and the conspicuousness of the birds themselves render the species vulnerable to persecution. LONG-BILLED M A R S H

Telmatodytes

WREN

palustris (Wilson)

A small wren that lives only in marshes and in dense thickets and tall grass in wet meadows. It has a conspicuous white line over the eye and a blackish patch in the middle of the back, usually with light streaks running lengthwise through this patch. The scolding note is an emphatic "tuk tuk." The bird builds a compact, globular nest, with the entrance hole on one side, and places it among reeds and marsh grasses. Typically an inhabitant of lowland marshes, the marsh wren occasionally but infrequently wanders to higher altitudes after the nesting season. In the parks it must be considered a rare visitor. Swarth (1916) observed a marsh wren in 1916 in a marshy meadow near Kanawyers, close enough for him to be certain of the species but too close for him to shoot it for a specimen without destroying it completely. YELLOW-THROAT

Geothlypis

trichas occidentalis Brewster

A small warbler that inhabits moist thickets. Its length is 4% inches. Upper parts are yellowish brown; throat and breast are bright yellow, paling to whitish on the belly. The male has a broad black mask over the eyes and forehead; the female lacks this mask. The short, vigorous song is made of three syllables: "Wee-chee-chee, wee-chee-chee, wee-chee-chee." Walter Fry (1934c) listed the species as rare at Elk Park (a few miles down the Kaweah River from Ash Mountain Headquarters) and as present in Sequoia during migration. We have been unable to find this bird in Sequoia, but Clarence Fry (1942a) reported a pair nesting at 6,000 feet elevation near Redwood Meadow in July, 1932.

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OF THE SIERRA NEVADA

YELLOW-HEADED

Xanthocephalus

BLACKBIRD

xanthocephalus

(Bonaparte)

A large, heavily built blackbird about 9 inches in length. In the male, the head, neck, and chest are rich yellow, sometimes deepening to orange; the rest of the plumage is black except for a large white patch on the wing. Females are an inconspicuous dark brown with a line over the eye; their throat and upper breast are somewhat yellowish; and they lack the white wing patch. This is still a moderately common inhabitant of lowland marshes, although cultivation is steadily reducing its original habitat. Walter Fry (1934c) listed it as present in adjacent lowlands; it has not been seen in either park for years. LAWRENCE

GOLDFINCH

Spintis lawrencei (Cassin) The male is distinguishable from other goldfinches by its black chin, which contrasts sharply with the light-colored bill; no other goldfinches in the region have a black chin. Both sexes are grayer than other goldfinches and have broad yellow wing bars instead of white bars as in the other species. Walter Fry (1934c) lists this bird as a summer resident in the vicinity. The Lawrence goldfinch is an inhabitant of the hot, lower foothills; it is seen rarely in the Sequoia area.

The Mammals

VIRGINIA

Didelphis

OPOSSUM

virginiana Kerr

Description.—A short-legged, gray animal about the size of a cat, witu a whitish, somewhat piglike face, small beady eyes, round, nearly naked ears, and a long, pointed nose. It curls its long, hairless, scaly tail around objects as an aid in climbing. Upper and under parts are clothed with long, coarse black hairs mixed with white hairs; this gives the animal a grizzled appearance. Total length is 31 inches; tail, 15 inches; weight, 5 % 0 pounds (Grinnell, Dixon, and Linsdale, 1937, pp. 47-49). The feet are black; the naked, handlike toes, white; the big toe of the hind foot is opposable like a thumb. Habits.—Under natural conditions, opossums occupy wooded areas from New York to Florida and west to the Great Lakes and Texas. Some of their relatives inhabit central and South America. The opossums could not cross the vast desert barriers to the west; hence they did not reach the otherwise suitable habitat of the Pacific Coast until they were transported there by man. The population trend of the species in California seems to have followed the same pattern as that of many other nonnative species after their initial liberations. Opossums apparently increased rapidly during the first few years and were noticeably destructive to nesting colonies of birds; subsequently, however, the rate of increase slowed down, and the population seems to have declined to some extent (Grinnell, Dixon, and Linsdale, 1937, p. 53). Probably this was because the native predators learned to prey on 276

BIRDS AND MAMMALS OF THE SIERRA NEVADA

277

the immigrant oppossums. Nevertheless, the tendency for the species to spread into new areas may continue for some time. The opossum is a relict from a prehistoric age. It is sluggish; it has a small brain; and it is primitive in its teeth and many other body structures. The group to which it belongs is known as the Marsupialia (from the Latin word for pouch), and members of the group, which includes the kangaroos and the other ancient mammals of Australia, are called marsupials. Young opossums, like many other marsupials, are born while they are still tiny, blind, embryo-like, and semitransparent. They grope their way into their mother's pouch, where they attach themselves to the minute teats and remain for more than two months. At birth no bigger than bumblebees, at two months they are no larger than mice. However, after that, they grow rapidly and become increasingly independent, so that at three months, though still quite small, they leave their mother to seek their own living (Cahalane, 1947, p. 104). Opossums make their dens in hollow logs and trees, in road culverts, or in the abandoned dens of other animals. They line these shelters with straw and leaves, which they carry in a loop of the prehensile tail. Since opossums are sluggish and not very bright, many of them are run over by cars; and they are more easily caught in traps than any other fur bearers except skunks—which themselves are not very alert. The high mortality resulting from this backwardness is balanced by the high birth rate. As many as twenty-one opossums are born in a litter. However, not all reach the pouch, and since the usual number of teats in the pouch is only thirteen and at least two of these are usually nonfunctional, many of the young starve soon after birth. The number of small young in the pouch averages a little more than seven. The opossum is as omnivorous as a hog, and, since it can climb trees, its menu is even more varied. It eats meat, both fresh and decayed, insects, worms, snails, birds and their eggs, lizards, fish, frogs, mice, wild and cultivated fruits, corn, mushrooms, and garbage. Opossums were introduced into California from Tennessee, Missouri, and probably other eastern states by persons whose yearning for the 'possum hunting of the Old South was unhampered by knowledge of the biological consequences. They were liberated along the San Joaquin River in the early 'seventies, near Los Angeles about 1880 and again about 1906, at San Jose in 1900 and 1910, at Lodi in 1912, near Visalia about 1918, near Porterville in 1924, and no doubt in other localities too. By 1922 they had

278

BIRDS AND

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spread over a large part of California. The species appears to find its best living conditions in the lower valleys and along streams below 2,000 feet elevation, but a few individuals wander above this altitude. In September, 1924, Walter Fry (19246) noted the first opossums in the Three Rivers area, and by December their tracks were visible along the river bottom within a mile of the park boundary. Not long after that, opossum tracks appeared at Ash Mountain Headquarters and at Potwisha (C. Fry, 1935). Their subsequent history up to 1930, as told by J. W. B. Rice, who lived near Lemon Cove, is summarized by Grinnell, Dixon, and Linsdale (1937, p. 53), as follows: The animals were numerous for the first two years after they moved up the [Kaweah] River. After that, they became less numerous near this place, until now (1930) they are infrequent. Only one was caught there this year (1930) in the first three weeks of the trapping season. The decrease is credited to overtrapping and to poisoning from eating squirrels that have been poisoned. Some individuals have been caught in the mountains of that region at elevations as high as 1,800 feet . . . Park status and records.—A nonnative species, common in the lowlands and slowly spreading up into the higher levels of the parks. In 1935, Clarence Fry saw tracks on two occasions in River Valley, Sequoia National Park, at 6,600 ft. elevation. Two opossums were seen at Ash Mtn. Hdqrs. by members of the park staff in September, 1939. An adult male became trapped in Superintendent Scoyen's garbage can at Ash Mtn. Hdqrs. in May, 1940. On Sept. 17, 1947, Sumner saw an opossum on the Generals Highway at Grant Grove, elevation 7,000 ft. In 1949, one was killed by an automobile at Buckeye Camp, elevation 2,600 ft. (Boyer, 1949c). One was seen at Hospital Rock, by Park Ranger Murphy, Jan. 19,1950 (Boyer, 1950a). MOLE

Scapanus latimanus occultus Grinnell and Swarth and Scapanus latimanus sericatus Jackson Description.—A small, blackish-brown or silvery gray, seemingly eyeless and earless animal with a short, cylindrical body. The snout is long and

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279

pointed; the front paws are like wide, flat hands, hairless, horny, and armed with long, heavy nails. The fur is short and plushlike. Total length is about 6% inches; tail, about IV2 inches; weight of males, approximately 2% ounces; weight of females, slightly less (Grinnell, Dixon, and Linsdale, 1930). The mole digs tunnels underground but close to the surface. The tunnel roof, pushed an inch or two above the general surface, forms a small, meandering ridge. Moles are seldom seen alive aboveground, but occasionally some killed by cats and dogs and left uneaten because of their unpleasant odor are seen lying on walkways and similar open places around dwellings. Park visitors have had difficulty in distinguishing between mole and pocket gopher mounds. There is a general similarity; but the gopher mound is formed by throwing out the dirt at a slight angle to the surface, from an underground tunnel, whereas in the molehill the mound is formed by forcing up the earth vertically, from near the center of the mound. Although both animals dig underground tunnels quite deep in the soil, the mole also commonly forms ridges on the surface of the ground by forcing the surface soil up slightly. These mole ridges usually show many cracks, as a result of pressure from below. They are made as the mole pushes through the soil with a swimming motion of its powerful hands while foraging away from its main deep burrow system. The animal has its nest and winter living quarters in the deep burrows. Habits.—Moles inhabit nearly all of North America from Canada to Mexico, where moist, fairly rich soil occurs. However, they cannot survive in ground subject to extensive flooding, or in far-northem regions where the ground remains frozen for long periods. The soil must not be so sandy that the roof of the burrow caves in, or so lacking in vegetation that there are no worms and insects, on which moles chiefly depend for food. However, within their chosen habitat moles appear to lead a decidedly safe existence. Apparently they have only one litter a year, averaging about four young, in contrast to many mice that must have three or four litters a year to supply the population with adequate replacements. The young moles remain secure in the deep tunnels and are rarely seen until they are nearly mature. The nest chamber is either lined with grass and leaves or unlined. The eyes of moles are not as functionless as they are commonly believed to be. S. B. Benson of the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology (in a communication to the writers) points out that, although the eyes are seemingly buried in the soft fur, they are surrounded by small, nearly bare areas. When in

280

BIRDS AND

MAMMALS

use, the eyes can be protruded; when drawn in, they are covered and protected by the lids and the surrounding fur. However, the senses of touch and smell tend to replace vision in the mole's subterranean life. Although both moles and pocket gophers have adopted an underground mode of life, their methods of obtaining a living are very different; competition between them therefore is slight. Pocket gophers are vegetarians; moles are chiefly insect-eaters. The surface burrows, or "runs," of moles, as distinct from the deeper underground tunnels, are usually made while the animals are searching for worms, insect larvae, ants, snails, beetles, sowbugs, centipedes, and other small animals that hide in the loose soil. The front teeth of gophers are chisel-like, for gnawing, and the back teeth are heavy and roughened, for grinding coarse, fibrous foods. The teeth of moles are fine and needle-sharp, for tearing and cutting up flesh and the horny coverings of insects. The basal metabolism of moles is unusually rapid even for a small mammal. Their daily food consumption ranges up to two-thirds of their own weight; captured individuals starve to death if deprived of food for a few hours. Sometimes moles vary their animal diet by eating bulbs and roots, and occasionally garden vegetables such as corn, peas, and carrots. Since they must dig every step of their way, except when traveling in the burrows of other animals, moles obviously are not given to extensive migrations. This fact, together with the discontinuous, scattered nature of their chosen habitat, has permitted the development of many local races in which the minor distinguishing features are not diluted by extensive intermingling with other races. The subspecies occultus is found west of the deserts in southern California; sericatus is known only from the Sierra between Yosemite and the Sequoia-Kings region. Specimens in the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology that were taken at Twin Lakes in the western part of the park have been identified by Grinnell (1933, p. 76) as occultus, whereas specimen no. 9063, trapped by Dixon at Upper Funston Meadow on Kern River in the eastern half, has been identified by Dr. Hartley H. T. Jackson as sericatus. These two moles, however, are so similar in habits and general appearance that the average park visitor cannot distinguish between them. Park status and records.—Rather scarce in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks because of the relative scarcity of the insectcontaining soil that moles require.

281

) reported fisher signs at intervals along the road between Grant Grove and Barton's Resort; tracks were seen at Kanawyers, Copper Creek, Charlotte Creek, and Junction Meadow. On Mar. 30, 1950, tracks of a fisher were photographed by Boyer at the Grant Grove incinerator; the animal had covered 7 to 9 ft. at a jump. In November, 1950, a fisher was seen crossing the road, with characteristic bounding gait, at Big Baldy Saddle. M O U N T A I N OR LONG-TABLED

Mustela frenata

nevadensis

WEASEL

Hall

Description.—About the same length as a ground squirrel but notably quicker in its movements and much more slender, being only about 1 to 1 % inch in diameter. Its small head, pointed nose, low, rounded ears, and short legs give it a streamlined, close-to-the-ground appearance. This, combined with an almost snakelike suppleness, is an ideal conformation for penetrating the burrows of mice and other small rodents, which are its principal food. In summer the mountain weasel is brown above and yellow or orange

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BIRDS A N D

MAMMALS

below. In winter its coat turns white all over except for the tip of the slender tail, which is always black. In the fur trade, the weasel, when in the white winter coat, is called ermine. As in many branches of the weasel family, adult males are larger than adult females in the ratio of 15% to 14 inches, and their weight is in much greater disproportion. The males weigh 10 ounces; the females, 4% ounces. The tail is 5 to 6 inches long—almost half the length of the body (Hall, 1946, p. 189). Habits.—Members of the weasel family—which includes the mink, wolverine, otter, and badger, as well as the animals already mentioned— are fighters. Often they appear to win over more powerful antagonists by sheer audacity and unrelenting determination. With the partial exception of one other less typical relative, the skunk, members of the family are among the most indomitable of living creatures. Long-tailed weasels occupy a great variety of habitats and altitudes, except extreme desert areas, from the Atlantic Coast to the Pacific and from southern Canada to South America. They prey on rats, mice, gophers, squirrels, snakes, and, less frequently, on small birds. Persons who denounce weasels as bloodthirsty little killers do not take into account their importance in keeping the rodent population under control, or their courage in habitually attacking without hesitation creatures many times their size. When escape is cut off, a weasel never surrenders but always fights to the end; it will even, in the face of certain death, seize the initiative and spring upon a 30-pound dog. How many dogs show equal courage, even when hunting in packs? If the average human being, to obtain his daily meat ration, had to kill a fighting bull with only the weapons and courage of a matador, he would be in a position comparable to that of the weasel. In Tokopah Valley, 1 mile above the Lodgepole Campground, a mountain weasel was seen in hot pursuit of a chipmunk on June 15,1933. It was traveling about as fast as a man could run. As is customary with weasels, the animal followed the chipmunk chiefly by scent instead of by sight. On August 24, 1933, at Crabtree Meadow, a mountain weasel attempted to capture a young golden-mantled ground squirrel, but the squirrel eluded the weasel by dashing behind a bushy lodgepole pine and then running 4 feet up into the dense growth. The weasel evidently missed the scent, for it continued straight ahead and ran down the squirrel's burrow, which was a few feet beyond the tree where the squirrel was hiding. Another observation, by Boyer (1943, p. 99), indicates that the weasel

OF THE SIERRA NEVADA

319

is not always successful when it hunts but, like other predators, must work hard for a living. On August 15, 1941, Boyer watched a mountain weasel chase a shrieking golden-mantled ground squirrel for more than 100 feet down the middle of an oiled road at Lodgepole. Four times the weasel caught hold of the squirrel by the back of the neck, and each time the squirrel threw it off. Finally, the squirrel rushed blindly into a pool of water, and "each animal seemed to forget the other in an attempt to reach shore." On August 6 , 1 9 3 3 , a mother mountain weasel and her four nearly grown young were seen hunting chipmunks in the late afternoon in a brush pile near the lower end of Round Meadow in Giant Forest. Three times the weasels climbed 2 % feet up an almost vertical dead limb that had been a favorite lookout station of a chipmunk. A buck deer that was grazing near by scented the weasels and came over several times to investigate, approaching to within 8 feet of the mother. She did not give ground, but stood defiantly eyeing the buck. This family of weasels was watched for several weeks while the youngsters played together and learned from their mother how to hunt meadow mice and chipmunks. By September 26, however, the weasels had so depleted the meadow mouse and chipmunk population in that vicinity that they had to move on to another hunting ground. Many campers had seen these weasels capture the fat, sluggish chipmunks that had congregated about the public campgrounds to be fed daily, and some demanded that the management shoot the weasels lest they exterminate the chipmunks. It was pointed out, however, that the weasels were Nature's instrument for keeping down the excess population of small rodents that, if left to breed unhindered, would soon overrun and devastate the area and would eventually prevent forest reproduction. If, however, the weasels were allowed to live, they would go elsewhere when the mouse and chipmunk population became so reduced that the weasels could no longer capture enough to eat, and the rodent population would soon rebuild to another population peak. This sequence of events was undoubtedly repeated many times between that season and our next study of the area. When Dixon revisited the locality, on September 14, 1940, the rodents were as numerous, or more so, than they had been in 1933. Again, a family of weasels moved in. One morning, sounds of scuffling and much frantic chirping of chipmunks came from a near-by woodpile. Within a few minutes, a chipmunk closely pursued by a mountain weasel raced into a

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burrow under a log. There were a few smothered squeaks, and soon the weasel came out alone. It stood with just its head protruding from the burrow, watching the observer silently, then turned to retrieve its prey. For nearly a week, the frantic cries of the chipmunks told of attacks by the weasel. Then things quieted down, and after a few days the remaining chipmunks cautiously came out into the open once more. The weasel had moved into a near-by meadow, where meadow mice were numerous, and there the biological cycle was repeated. Weasels sometimes run amuck when they find themselves in the midst of plenty, and slaughter more than they can actually eat. Fundamentally this acquisitive behavior is comparable to that shown by a mother bird when it stuffs its bill full of caterpillars before visiting the nest. To some people, however, the weasel's wanton killing is more spectacular and horrifying, particularly if the slaughter takes place where the prey is artificially concentrated, as in a chicken house. Park status and records.—In Sequoia, a regular resident, in small numbers, throughout the mountainous areas. Oberhansley (1942) reports that three long-tailed weasels were killed by cars within a period of a few days in Giant Forest in August, 1941; one had its nest in a woodpecker hole in giant sequoia bark 20 ft. above the ground. Boyer (1950a) saw one at Lodgepole, Aug. 2, 1950, and photographed tracks on the highway at Grant Grove, March 12. In the Kings, in 1916, Swarth and Dixon watched a long-tailed weasel come down to drink at Bullfrog Lake, 10,634 ft. elevation, at 5:30 P.M., Sept. 4; on Aug. 18, Dixon had taken a female (MVZ 24824) at 5,500 ft. elevation, near Hume, 4 mi. from the western boundary of the park. These are the highest and the lowest records of distribution known for this species in the Kings. ERMINE, OR SHORT-TAILED WEASEL

Mustela erminea lepta

(Merriam)

Description.—There are two kinds of small weasels which are so similar that even the experts used to have difficulty in identifying them. The small weasel of the High Sierra and other parts of California was formerly called the least weasel, but subsequent studies have shown that the true least weasels (the Mustela rixosa group) do not occur as far south as California. What was thought to be the least weasel in California proved to be the

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ermine, or short-tailed weasel, a slightly larger animal with a much longer tail. (The tail of the least weasel is less than l 1 /, inches long.) The ferocious little ermine carries out the same function in the mammal world that the elf owl does in the world of birds. Both are dwarf predators, adapted to live on creatures too small to sustain the large predators or too elusive for them to capture easily. In summer the ermine is chocolate brown above, like its larger cousins. It is white underneath, has a minute white spot on its nose, and like other weasels in cold climates turns white in winter. However, it is not as big as some of the larger chipmunks. Total length is 8% inches; tail, 2% inches; weight, 2 ounces (Grinnell and Storer, 1924, p. 89). Habits.—The ermine is essentially a northern animal, inhabiting the Boreal Life Zone of Canada, Alaska, the northern United States other than the treeless prairie country, and the high mountains of the West as far south as New Mexico and California. Along the cool northwest Pacific Coast it occurs at much lower altitudes. In the Sierra, ermines inhabit rock piles and thickets in the Canadian and Hudsonian life zones. Their dens are in tiny burrows under rocks or tree roots (Ingles, 1947, p. 58). Mice are apparently one of their principal foods; conies are also eaten. "A female weasel built her nest and reared six of her young in a building at Giant Forest during the summer season of 1919," according to Walter Fry (1922a). "This parent weasel, after the birth of her young, remained at the premises for . . . thirty-seven days . . ." In this period "the following numbers of mammal species fell victim to her: mice 78; gophers 27; moles 2; chipmunks 34; wood rats 3; ground squirrels 4. This is a total of 148 animals . . . This record shows, also, that rodents form their principal or almost their entire diet, as not a bird was captured during the period." Park status and record.—A sparse resident of the timber-line zone and even lower areas, to some extent. In the Kings, near East Lake at 9,000 ft. elevation, Dixon, from a distance of less than 20 ft., watched a mother and her three nearly grown young hunting meadow mice in a grassy spot at the edge of a willow thicket, Aug. 24, 1941. They hunted in a pack slightly spread out, with the parent in the rear, and covered about a square yard of grassy territory that included numerous meadow mouse runways. All were in the brown summer coat, but the young ermines were less richly colored than their parent.

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MINK

Mustela vison energúmenos

(Bangs)

Description.—An almost uniformly dark-brown aquatic weasel about the size of a common California ground squirrel; more stoutly built than most weasels. The tail is about half the length of the head and body. The under parts are only slightly paler than the upper parts; sometimes there are irregular white areas on chin and belly. Total length is about 22% inches; tail, 6 inches; weight of males, 2 pounds, 11 ounces; of females, 1 pound, 5 ounces (Grinnell, Dixon, and Linsdale, 1937, p. 236). The mink is closely restricted to lakes, streams, and their adjacent margins. Habits.—Minks, like most members of the weasel family, are hardy and adaptable. They inhabit the vicinity of streams, marshes, lakes, and occasionally the open seashore, from the Gulf of Mexico nearly to the Arctic Circle. In California they occur from sea level to 7,500 feet, along both forest and desert streams, and in all the life zones up to the Hudsonian. Although not conspicuously specialized for aquatic life like their cousins the otters, they can swim fast enough to catch trout, and they also forage actively on land. This versatility seems to be partly due to the boundless energy that characterizes nearly all members of the weasel family. The chief requirement for minks seems to be proximity to water, apparently because aquatic creatures make up the major part of their food. Minks eat dead fish and ducks stranded on shore or in the shallows; hence they are particularly attracted to waterfowl shooting grounds, where they capture innumerable cripples knocked down by hunters. They also eat crayfish, mussels, frogs, muskrats, rabbits, fish, including carp (an extremely undesirable introduced fish), ground squirrels, mice, small birds occasionally, and sometimes chickens—if someone neglects to shut the chicken-house door at night. Mink dens are hidden under tree roots or in hollow stumps, holes in banks, rock crevices, old muskrat nests or beaver houses, or in burrows dug by the mink itself. The young number two to eight, occasionally even ten. When the little minks are old enough to travel, the whole family goes out together on its hunting expeditions. When the young are well grown, the den no longer is a point of daily return. The group goes on a series of camping expeditions, in which it occupies each of various convenient burrows and natural shelters along the route, for a week or so, and then moves on.

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Toward fall the family ties dissolve, and each animal goes its solitary way, camping and traveling as before. Park status and record.—Rare. On Aug. 27, 1933, John Chapin told Dixon he had seen a mink near the head of Whitman Creek, which flows through Hockett Meadows, at 8,700 ft. elevation. He had often seen minks in the eastern states and had an unusually good view of this animal. Our field work in the Sequoia-Kings has not revealed the presence of any mink, and apparently no specimens have been taken in the park. It is hoped that park rangers, visitors, and other interested persons will keep a special watch and report any positive evidence of this species. WOLVERINE

Gulo luscus luteus Elliott Description.—At first glance the wolverine reminds one of a small, shortlegged, shaggy bear; but its tail is large and bushy, and it has two broad grayish-brown stripes, like the white stripes of a skunk, that extend backward from the shoulders and meet at the base of the tail. In the wolverine however, the stripes are more on the sides than on the back, as if its broad suspenders had slipped from its shoulders down onto its sides. There is a broad band of the same grayish or yellowish brown across the forehead, below the ears but above the small black eyes. Total length is 36 to 39 inches; tail, 8 inches; weight, about 29 pounds. The wolverine is found chiefly near and above timber line. Habits.—The wolverine is a chunky superweasel of the Far North. The bitter climate has molded it into a creature of great strength for battling deeply drifted snow. In the wolverine, speed and a slender figure have been sacrificed for power, but the tenacity and indomitable fighting qualities of the weasel have been retained and accentuated. The endurance and ability of the wolverine seem almost unlimited. And its growl has been described by various observers as surprisingly deep and "coarse" for so small an animal. In the United States the wolverine once ranged from the high mountains of California north to Canada, but now only a relatively few individuals are scattered along the crest of the southern Sierra Nevada, the northern Cascade Range of Oregon and Washington, and the wildest part of the Rockies in the northern United States. The wolverine is more common in

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the unsettled parts of Canada and Alaska, where it ranges to the Arctic Ocean, beyond the limit of trees. Northern Europe and Asia also have wolverines. Perhaps the thyroid glands of the weasel tribe are unusually active. W e have no proof of this, but none of these animals hibernate, no matter how far north they live, except the one that has grown fat and indolent—the skunk. The glands that secrete adrenalin, that powerful internal stimulant released in times of danger by all mammals including man, must be also especially active in the weasels. Whatever the physiological explanation may be, the tenacity, endurance, sheer strength, and dogged, fierce determination of the wolverine, an animal no longer than an Airedale and not so tall, are unequaled in any other animal of its size. It is probable that no dog, regardless of size, could overcome or even seriously harm a wolverine, nor could a pack of ordinary dogs do so. Wolf packs might attack a wolverine; at least wolverines appear to avoid wolves if possible (Murie, 1952). However, no one seems to have witnessed an actual encounter between a wolverine and wolves. Unless completely surrounded, the ferocious skunk-bear probably would seek refuge in some rock crevice or tangle of down logs; or it might escape by climbing a tree, which it can do rapidly if not gracefully. In Buck Canyon, Sequoia National Park, on July 30, 1906, Walter Fry saw two black bears retreat in haste when a wolverine came bristling up and took possession of their meal. They had been feeding on a dead cow, of which little remained but some of the larger bones that the bears had been unable to chew. The triumphant wolverine crushed these bones as if they were chalk, and swallowed them. At Grouse Flat, on October 1, 1907, Fry saw three coyotes quickly leave the carcass of a horse when a wolverine approached. And at Willow Meadows, on September 30, 1908, he watched two mountain lions reluctantly yield a deer carcass to a boldly advancing wolverine. (W. Fry, 1923fr, p. 131.) At another time a mountain lion was found on the verge of death, badly chewed and with one leg broken; tracks in the snow told of its encounter with a wolverine. At still another time, a trapped wolverine was seen trying repeatedly to rush its captor, grabbing at dry fir limbs two inches or more in diameter when they got in its way, and snapping them between its jaws with spine-chilling ferocity. Another trapped wolverine bit a chunk out of a gunstock, with one snap of its jaws (Grinnell, Dixon, and Linsdale, 1937, p. 263).

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Anyone molesting the young of a wolverine would be risking serious injury, just as he would be if he provoked a mother bear with cubs. Nevertheless, the wolverine does not seem to be at all aggressive toward man, and we have no record of its harming a human being. Numerous encounters on High Sierra trails have been recorded, and although in a few of them the man lost his nerve first and gave up the right of way, in every one in which the man refused to yield, the wolverine, after a pause and a long stare, departed reluctantly in a new direction. Wolverine dens sometimes are scantily lined with grass and pine boughs, and are situated in caves, under overhanging rocks, in rock piles, beneath dense, sheltering foliage, or at the base of trees hollowed out by fire. The number of young seems to vary from one to four. The wolverine has adapted itself to an extremely harsh environment where it has almost no competitors, and the climate is the principal foe. Although almost as strong as the black bear, and in true weasel style even more aggressive, the wolverine weighs about a tenth as much; hence, in some respects at least, it is a more efficient machine. True, it cannot subsist on berries and other vegetable food as a bear does; but under conditions of arctic life these are insufficient sources of energy. With equal endurance but much less weight than a bear, it can travel endlessly over deep snows in which a bear would wear itself out. With that animal's omnivorous taste but a smaller "motor" to provide with fuel, the wolverine can secure enough food to remain alive in vast, bitterly cold regions where a bear, or almost any other animal would freeze to death or starve. However, since most small rodents hibernate deep under the snow, and most of the birds are out of reach or far away in the south, the total food supply in the winter wilderness is exceedingly small. Even a wolverine must wander over a very large territory to find enough to eat. It has been called a grumpy, unsociable animal, and with good reason; but this surliness is essential for the defense of a large private territory against animals of its own or another species. If wolverines were amiable and gregarious, they would starve. The very strength required to plow through snow and to dig deep for small morsels has robbed the animal of the characteristic weasel speed. Hampered by the snow, in stalking prey, and unable to overtake most animals in open chase, the wolverine must eat anything, dead or alive, that falls its way. It has accordingly developed into so tough and dauntless a creature that it can eke out its hard living by robbing bears and lions of

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food that they have captured; and it has become accustomed to occasional feasts alternating with long fasts. Its feats of gorging when it breaks into a cabin or robs a trap line have earned it the name "Glutton." The wolverine not only digs out small animals and robs speedier predators of their prey, but under special circumstances it even attacks big game. In deep snow, it sometimes can corner a mountain sheep and will even leap upon an elk or moose and sever the creature's backbone with its powerful jaws. Wolverine fur is too shaggy to be very valuable except in the Far North, where the Arctic natives prize it for trimming parkas and other garments. The animal is not as difficult to trap as legend makes it appear, and trappers try to get rid of it because of its habit of preying on martens and other valuable fur animals caught in the traps. Its sparse populations are vulnerable to decimation by such trapping, with the result that the wolverine is nearly extinct in the United States. A few of the national parks serve as a last refuge for this mighty little animal, including Glacier, Yellowstone, and Yosemite; but at present only Mount McKinley in Alaska, and the SequoiaKings at the other end of the wolverine's range, appear to shelter it in normal numbers. Park status and records.—A sparse, retiring resident of the high country, seldom seen, but now less rare than formerly supposed. Never common even in primitive times, it has been trapped nearly to extinction outside the parks: only about one wolverine a year is now taken, although there are hundreds of licensed trappers in California. Tracks and other evidence of a few are found in the parks each year. With complete protection, a few wolverines may be saved for future generations. Positive records in Sequoia: In 1904, Clarence Fry reported (Downs, 1949) that a wolverine had broken into a cabin at Mineral King and chewed up a stack of deerskins stored there. He and a companion, while making a winter patrol, had found food supplies strewn about in one of the cabins, and tracks of what they thought was a mountain lion. Later, they saw a wolverine run by, chased by a dog. Soon the dog came back, chased by the wolverine. The animals chased each other back and forth until the dog finally treed the short-legged wolverine. Fry shot the animal. It weighed about 40 lbs.

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Walter Fry (1923a) records that three wolverines were killed at Mineral King in the winter of 1921-22, but that this practically wiped out the species in the Mineral King district; after that, tracks of only one animal had been observed. Richard M. Bond (Biologist, Soil Conservation Service) told Sumner that he had seen a wolverine among the boulders near the park boundary line at Army Pass in June or July, 1923. In May, 1930, Clarence Fry (1930) reported one at Hamilton Lakes. On Aug. 29,1933, Ranger George Brooks told Dixon that in the previous winter he had seen fresh wolverine tracks in the snow below Hockett Ranger Station. On Oct. 7, 1935, Dixon followed fresh tracks of a wolverine up the east face of Army Pass and over the crest into Sequoia National Park. Ranger Claude A. Wagner reported a wolverine in 1936: "On June 21 a wolverine was seen at an elevation of 10,000 feet near the headwaters of Cliff Creek and just below Black Rock Pass. It was approximately 300 yards away from and below us when first seen and we . . . [observed] it through binoculars for approximately ten minutes. It did not seem especially alarmed at our presence, although it was retreating at the time we first noticed it. The retreat was slow and it often climbed to vantage points on large rocks to try and locate us. It was a dark, lustrous chestnut individual, with a cream-colored throat and grizzled muzzle. No tracks were available for measurement as it retreated across an area of broken rock. The bushy tail, its heavy build, and lumbering walk, along with color, etc., made us certain that we were lucky enough to actually encounter a wolverine." Another, or perhaps the same individual, was seen by a Sierra Club packer near Big Five Lakes at an elevation of about 11,000 ft., July 7, 1936. Supplies cached earlier by the packer had been broken into and destroyed. That same month an old-time cattleman named Johnson reported seeing a wolverine at Siberian Outpost, elevation 11,000 ft. In August, Wallace Teague, a local mountain man, reported seeing one near Black Rock Pass, at approximately the same elevation. Assistant Forester Edwin W. Booth reported one (memorandum of May 12,1938, to the Park Superintendent): "On Tuesday, May 3,1938,1 saw a wolverine on the Black Oak Trail, at 5,192 feet elevation. . . . Engineering Foreman H. S. Paul and Enrollee Raymond C. Hurst . . . also saw the animal. We were walking

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down toward Crystal Cave approaching the first small stream crossing the trail . . . "Description . . . from about 100 feet away is as follows: The color was generally brown, being much lighter across the shoulders and down the sides. This light brown was the shade of a light brown, sunbleached bear. The head was a rich brown, with heavy muzzle, short ears, and small eyes. The legs were very short and thick, with feet much like a bear cub's. The carriage of the animal was a rolling motion, much like that of a badger. The total length was about 4 % feet, including about a 12-inch tail, which was covered with coarse, dark brown or black hair. The tail could almost be called bushy, and was carried low or trailing. The height at the shoulders was about 14 inches. ". . . As far as I know, the wolverine I saw last Tuesday was the farthest west, and at the lowest elevation a wolverine has been seen in many years." On Sept. 24, 1939, District Ranger Shellenberger of Inyo National Forest told Augustine (1939) that five wolverines had been trapped at Tunnel Meadow, 6 mi. southeast of Sequoia, in 1921 and 1922; two were seen there in 1930; one, in 1935; and one at Red Rock Meadows, about 18 mi. southeast of the park, in 1939. He said that wolverines had become very rare in the Tunnel Meadow area. In June, 1940, Sierra Club members reported seeing three: one on Glacier Pass, June 17, one at the outlet of the upper Mosquito Lake, and one within 20 ft. of the falls of the second lake. The men had given this last animal right of way on the trail, because it would not budge. On June 26 and 27, Superintendent Scoyen, Oberhansley, and Clarence Fry found tracks near the outlet of the first lake, and one track and digging y2 mi. west of the second lake. Augustine's (1941&) summary of eight track observations by competent park observers in 1940 and 1941: August, 1940, Timber Gap; Nov. 21, near Garfield Gap; January, 1941, Hockett Meadows region; February, near Hamilton Lakes, also on Cliff Creek; March, Twin Lakes; October, Windy Gap. Elevations were between 6,800 and 9,700 ft. The lowest altitude at which the wolverine has been seen in the parks was 3,100 ft., on the cut-bank side of the Generals Highway, % mi. above Hospital Rock, recorded by Oberhansley, Nov. 26, 1942. The Fresno Bee, reported, March 6, 1949:

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"At first glance it was mistaken for a bear, but as the car stopped abreast of and within 15 feet of the supposed bear, and a flash light used as the animal struggled spread eagle fashion up the almost sheer rock bank, the tail and other characteristics made identification positive. It was observed for two minutes at 15 feet. ". . . the wolverine was followed and kept in view for about 100 yards as it loped up the hill through the oak and grass cover. It weighed about 50 pounds. As the animal fled up the hill, it made three brief stops and faced the light for a few seconds before finally disappearing, but showed no other emotion than fright." Tracks were seen near Panther Gap, and at 8,000 ft. elevation on the Alta Peak Trail, in the winter of 1946, by Oberhansley and Pusateri (Carlson, 1947); tracks were photographed by Boyer (1948a), Mar. 19, 1948, near Wolverton Creek. In October, Boyer reported: "Two wolverines were seen this year, in addition to several sets of sign in close proximity to the residences in the Lodgepole area over the winter, showing that this rarest of all Sierra mammals is holding its own, if not increasing slightly." In January, 1949, Boyer (1949a) reported three sets of wolverine tracks: one near the Little Baldy emergency telephone, one in the Red Fir Blister Rust Camp area, and one near Little Willow Meadow. "A good characteristic of the animal is the habit of more or less 'bulling through' the woods, not seeming to follow topographic features such as slopes, nor bothering to go around deadfalls or blowdowns, but instead taking the shortest distance between two points." On Sept. 17, Boyer reported another set of tracks near Halstead Meadow, on the Generals Highway. They were outlined by a powdery dust used to build out the berm on the road edge. "The dust . . . was 4 to 6 inches deep, and the animal in walking up the steep side slope gathered a good deal of this material on the feet and between its toes. The tracks, a characteristic offset two-by-two wolverine walking sign, were 3% inches wide, with the toes being outlined most prominently; no heel pads or foot pads showed. There were no nail marks. The sign was evidently made just a few minutes before, as they were blown away 15 minutes after being seen by the first passing auto. The groups of two offset prints were 12 to 14 inches apart. The animal came up over the bank, crossed half of the road, up to the newly painted white center line, ambled on for 40 feet, then made an

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abrupt about face and retraced its steps to disappear over the bank at the point where it had stepped onto the highway." In the Kings, the comparative scarcity of wolverine records may be due partly to the restricted accessibility of that area in winter, and partly to scarcity of the animal itself, caused by commercial trapping before the creation of the park in 1940. In 1916, Swarth and Dixon found tracks of one wolverine on the trail between Charlotte Lake and Bullfrog Lake. The late M. H. Jones, a retired U. S. Forest Service ranger, told Sumner that in 1916 William Clingan, of Dunlap, had come upon a wolverine with young in the vicinity of East Lake. The adult wolverine chased him up a large rock, and Clingan killed it with a hand ax. This story was subsequently corroborated by old-time resident Poly Kanawyer (who lived at "Kanawyers," the site of a resort built by his father). Fred Jones (1950a) reports that, in the winter of 1927, Sam Griggs, a resident of Independence, followed tracks of a wolverine for eight days, between Colby Meadow and Evolution Lake; Orland Bartholomew of the U. S. Forest Service followed tracks in the snow for five days, Feb. 11-15,1929, between Glen Pass and Woods Creek; Norman Clyde saw a wolverine near Paradise Valley "about 1933"; Jack Collins, a packer, saw one at Rae Lake in the summer of 1946; Jones himself saw tracks of one, % mi. east of Dragon Lake in the summer of 1948. On the Monarch Divide near the head of Comb Creek, May 20,1942, Dixon saw fresh tracks in the snow, which was 4 ft. deep on the level and 12 to 20 ft. deep in drifts. Tracks were noted in Darwin Canyon near the lowest Darwin Lake, July 28. On Mar. 27,1949, between Barton's Resort and Grant Grove, Boyer saw fresh wolverine tracks crossing and recrossing the highway, and the "scooping-out" mark of the hind end in the steep snowbanks as the animal descended the slopes (Boyer, 1949a). On March 12, 1950, Boyer (1950a) reported: "A wolverine had crossed the Generals Highway five times in the course of the evening's rambles. . . . The animal took advantage of every high spot in his path, climbing upon and traveling up fallen logs and rocks, and, in general, going over instead of around any obstacle in his path. "His track pattern was interesting, in that it did not generally follow that of the smaller weasels, the fisher, and marten, but was more like

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that of the coyote in that the footprints are kept in groups of four with about a foot interval between groups. The only time there was the slightest resemblance to the offset two-by-two of the fisher was when he had crossed the highway and had to take several strides up a steep bank. The sets of prints were fairly close to looking like fisher tracks, but the large size and other characteristics precluded that opinion. " . . . A coyote, working his way down the slope in a diagonal direction, came onto the wolverine sign and immediately swung wide of the track as if he were looking around for the mustelid. Several strides later he returned to his original direction and nosed into several of the tracks, then jumped stiff-legged for three or four strides away from the immediate vicinity of the track. "The wolverine first crossed the highway near the Woodward Creek telephone, then walked up on Big Baldy Ridge, coming west and crossing the road north of the saddle, then traveling west and north along the Baldy Ridge, north along the east side of Redwood Mountain, and finally crossing the highway again 2 miles south of Grant Grove while working his way north in the direction of Park Ridge and higher and more remote territory." STRIPED

SKUNK

Mephitis occidentalis occidentalis Baird Description.—Skunks in the Sierra come in two sizes and color patterns: the common big, fat fellow with two broad white stripes extending down the length of the back, known to nearly everyone, and a more slender little animal with several narrow, parallel stripes and white spots, called the spotted skunk. Habits.—The striped skunk inhabits open, brushy land or wood lots, as distinct from dense, virgin forests, throughout most of North America from southern Canada to northern Mexico; it is found in all the life zones from the Lower Sonoran to the Canadian. It is seen rarely above 6,000 feet, and it is not common even that high. Practically all members of the weasel family have a pair of musk glands in the anal region, each species giving forth its own characteristic, strong scent, particularly when frightened or enraged. The weasel, mink, and marten emit particularly acrid and unpleasant scents; the fisher, in contrast, is much less offensive (Cahalane, 1947). The scent glands are used as minor

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weapons, and as mediums of communication between animals traveling the same highway (as in the dog family). The skunk, however, has developed the glands into a major weapon of defense. The weapon works fairly well, but by no means confers the absolute protection implied in many popular writings. Dogs are supposed to slink away when blasted by the skunk's spray gun; but many farm dogs kill skunks repeatedly, sometimes making direct frontal attacks if sufficiently excited and egged on. Mountain lions, fishers, badgers, coyotes, bobcats, and even foxes have been known to eat skunks (Cahalane, 1947, p. 215). Homed owls and other large predatory birds not handicapped by a well-developed sense of smell eat skunks fairly often. Most animals, however, tend to let skunks alone. Five bears were seen to retire reluctantly from a feeding platform in Yosemite Valley at the advance of one small skunk (Presnall, 1930, p. 71). Boyer (1949a) wrote of an incident in Giant Forest: April [1949]: . . . Three black bears, in the habit of making a nightly foray on the garbage stored loosely in large cans behind the Coffee Shop, were greatly surprised and very effectively "odorized" by a small spotted skunk claiming prior rights to the particular can abruptly knocked over by one of the bears. There was an immediate and extremely disorderly retreat, accompanied by much snorting and "whooshing" on the part of the intruders as they moved to a safe distance. The odor remained in the snow-covered area for several days. It may be that, when a large predator does successfully kill or drive away a skunk, the clinging, long-lasting odor fixes in the aggressor's mind a permanent, unpleasant association with the animal, and this makes the predator reluctant to repeat the experience. The life of the next skunk, at least, is apt to be spared. Skunks usually seek protection in brush tangles, rock crevices, and holes, when determinedly pursued. In such confined quarters they can spray their enemies thoroughly enough to discourage further pursuit before the enemies can push or dig their way close enough to make a kill. In comparison with most wild animals, skunks are noticeably fearless and at ease; they do not use their weapon aggressively, however, but usually as a last resort. The gun is only good for five or six shots before it needs recharging, which requires at least several hours. The animals are notorious bluffers; although they are quick to stamp a warning with their little front

Fisher

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feet, and simultaneously erect their conspicuous black-and-white tails as a danger signal, they usually waddle away in slow, awkward retreat rather than fight. Oberhansley (1942) has observed that at Hospital Rock and Ash Mountain Headquarters where the animals sometimes are fed, coons generally pay little attention to skunks, but the gray foxes usually give the skunks a wide berth. Coons are seldom sprayed even when they actually touch the skunks while feeding; this cannot be said of the foxes. However, Ingles (1947, p. 71) observed a gray fox that refused to be bluffed. Although the skunk stamped its foot and erected its tail in a threatening manner, the fox continued to approach. In the end, the animals shared the food put out for them. Talents not exercised become rusty. Likewise, organs or physical functions not used by a species slowly deteriorate with succeeding generations. This retrogressive evolution accounts for the deterioration of eyesight in bats and moles, the loss of wings in ostriches and other birds that are reluctant to fly, and the deterioration of the sense of smell in man. Similarly, the skunk, in developing its potent musk glands, has lost the hair-trigger alertness of the weasel family; it may even have lost some of its original intelligence. At least it can be trapped more easily than most animals. Individuals caught once may blunder into another trap a few hours later, even though they lost a foot in the first experience. Skunks also do not seem to know enough to keep out of the way of automobiles, and many of them are run over. This is also true of opossums, but other members of the weasel family and sagacious animals such as foxes and coyotes rarely are hit. Skunks will eat almost anything, including carrion; but in summer, insects make up a good part of their food. Mice are a principal food at all times. Besides these, skunks eat wild and domestic fruits, snakes, fish, roots, ground-dwelling birds and their nests and—if a chicken-house door is left open at night—poultry. The striped skunk sometimes digs its own den, sometimes it enlarges the burrow of a ground squirrel or other small animal, and sometimes it moves into the abandoned den of a badger or coyote. Hollow logs, rock crevices, and the space underneath floors of buildings also are used. Cold weather brings on a drowsiness which causes skunks, as well as various unrelated animals, to retire to their dens for a few days or weeks, depending on the severity of the climate. Females and young animals sleep

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the most; adult males are more restless and sally forth during mild spells. From two to nine young striped skunks are born at a time, the average being five. This is an infallible indication that the normal mortality rate is high, in spite of the animal's scent-gun protection. Litters of animals that have fewer enemies—such as the bears, the fisher, and the wolverine— are smaller. The striped skunk has to some extent profited by the spread of civilization. Its favorite environment contains such varied habitat as open, weedy or brushy areas in forest clearings, meadows and pastureland interspersed with wooded stream courses, the margins of swamps, and thickets along lake shores and ocean beaches. The destruction of the great primeval forests of this continent has increased the habitat available for skunks, as it has for deer, quail, and a number of other wild creatures. Park status.—In Sequoia, common at certain localities, notably Ash Mtn. Hdqrs., Potwisha, Hospital Rock, Clough Cave, and along the lowest, western margin of the park. It avoids the deep forest and usually lives below the main pine belt, at altitudes of 3,000 ft. or less. In the Kings, the striped skunk is an uncommon resident along the extreme lower western boundary of the park. According to Bryant (1940), bodies of striped skunks run over by automobiles at night are sometimes seen along the highway; however, there have been no recent records of the species in the Kings. SPOTTED

SKUNK

Spilogale phenax phenax Merriam Description.—A small, slender skunk, about the size of an adult ground squirrel, with numerous parallel, broken, white stripes that give the animal a spotted appearance. Its movements are quicker and more agile than those of the striped skunk. Total length is about 18 inches; tail, 5 to 6 inches; weight, 10 to 21 ounces. This skunk is often called "civet cat" by California trappers; but this popular name is applied also to the ring-tailed cat. Habits.—The spotted skunk is more southerly in its distribution than the striped skunk, inhabiting North America from Guatemala through most of the United States. In the mild climate of the Pacific Coast it ranges as far north as extreme southwestern British Columbia, but its

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distribution stops short of the northeastern and north central states and the Atlantic Coast. In California it lives in dry, rocky or brushy situations and usually ranges from sea level to not more than 4,100 feet elevation; occasionally, however, it occurs up to 6,200 feet in the southern Sierra (Grinnell, Dixon, and Linsdale, 1937, p. 298; see Grant Grove records, below). In California as a whole this species is much less common than the striped skunk. Spotted skunks are much more alert and appear less stupid than their larger relatives, the striped skunks. The latter are too heavy-bodied and clumsy to climb trees, but spotted skunks climb quite easily. Oberhansley (1942) reports that, at Pumpkin Hollow, two miles below the park entrance, they were numerous in 1941 and on several occasions were observed to climb to the topmost branches of oak trees when frightened by dogs. In smell-producing ability, the two kinds of skunks are about equal, but there is a characteristic difference in their methods of warning potential enemies and in aiming the "gun." The striped skunk faces the enemy, stamps its front feet, and simultaneously bends its body into a U shape, with tail upraised, so that the anal musk glands are directed at the foe; the hind feet remain on the ground. The more agile spotted skunk likewise stamps its feet and erects its conspicuous tail into a spreading black-andwhite plume; but it raises the posterior part of the body straight up, with the hind feet high in the air, in a sort of acrobatic "handstand," and balances on its front feet as it aims its gun at the enemy. Spotted skunks usually do not venture forth on their nightly rambles until dark; the striped skunks often come out before twilight and sometimes remain abroad until well after sunrise. Spotted skunks tend to congregate at low altitudes about old cabins and sites where mice have been attracted by food. They are excellent mousers and, if left to go about their business in their own way, rarely cause trouble. Around residences they may come out in the evening and forage about under one's chair without making the slightest odor, as long as the observer remains quiet or moves slowly so as not to frighten them. They are trustful and unaggressive and sometimes learn to run in and out through the backdoor, exploring for tidbits in the kitchen while the family meals are being prepared. For dens, the spotted skunk, like the striped skunk, uses abandoned burrows of other animals, such as ground squirrels, or rock piles, or crevices in piles of old brush. There are three or four young in a litter.

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Park status and records.—An uncommon resident, chiefly at low elevations. In Sequoia, Augustine reported (1939a) that it was observed occasionally at low elevations in the blue oak belt. In 1942, Oberhansley (1942) stated that only three spotted skunks had been seen inside the park within the previous three years, all near Ash Mtn. Hdqrs. In 1943, one was found dead on the Generals Highway near Potwisha, elevation 2,000 ft. (C. Fry, 1943fe). On Nov. 19,1949, Ranger Erskine released one from a large garbage can at Amphitheater Point, 4,450 ft. elevation (Boyer, 1949b). The Grant Grove government residential area, elevation 6,600 ft., usually has at least four spotted skunks in the winter. The animals take refuge in attics, garages, and under the houses when heavy snows are on the ground, and usually cause unpleasant disturbances when accidentally aroused (Boyer, 1950b). Tracks are seen occasionally along the west boundary of the Grove. On Dec. 16,1949, "Spotted Skunk and feral shepard dog had an altercation over garbage cans at the Grant Grove Coffee Shop. Odor of the victor permeated the atmosphere, including the air inside the Coffee Shop for the entire day." (Boyer, 1949b.) In the Kings, the species is present at the lowest elevations along canyon bottoms near the western margin of the park. Swarth and Dixon trapped a spotted skunk in Kings Canyon at Kanawyers, elevation 5,000 ft., Sept. 14,1916. Bryant (1940) reported this species at the same locality in 1940. Boyer (1950b) states that at Cedar Grove an occasional animal is killed by cars. BADGER

Taxidea taxus neglecta

Mearns

Description.—A grizzled, yellowish-brown, short-legged, powerful member of the weasel family, about twice the size of a house cat. Its body is broad, flat, and close to the ground. The coarse, shaggy hair of the upper parts is particularly long on the flanks toward the rear; this accentuates the sofa-cushion or turtle-like aspect of the animal. A conspicuous white stripe runs from the nose over the top of the brownish-black head to the neck. The sides of the face below the eye and in front of the ear are white, contrasting with brownish-black cheek patches. The tail is short; the ears are short and rounded; the black feet are armed with long, straight, powerful

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claws for digging. Total length is 28 inches; tail, 5% inches; weight, 10 to 17 pounds. The species occurs characteristically in nearly level, open plains, valleys, and mountain flats. Habits.—Badgers inhabit open country from the Canadian prairies and the north central states south into Mexico. They are weasels that have become specialized for digging out burrowing rodents. There are no badgers in the heavily forested regions of British Columbia and the northwest coast, where populations of such rodents are scarce. The badger's strength and courage is well known to nearly everyone. The heavy muscles, tough hide, and long hair enable this animal to withstand blows that would quickly kill less hardy creatures. Like all weasels, the badger seems to know no fear when cornered and will spring at any enemy, no matter how large, that attempts to close in. Although not as mighty a warrior as its cousin the wolverine, the badger can hold off a pack of dogs long enough to make its escape. Where the wolverine would climb a tree, after tearing to pieces any of its attackers foolish enough to close in, the badger would get away by burrowing into the ground amid a shower of dirt and stones. When not molested, however, badgers seem to be not so ferocious as most of the weasel tribe; if captured young, they make affectionate pets (Cahalane, 1947, p. 226). Walter Fry (1926a) writes: On September 2,1912, while at Mitchell Meadow, Sequoia National Park, elevation 8,500 feet, we came suddenly upon a large badger some 100 yards from his den. We shut off his return to his burrow and chased him for a few moments on horseback. No sooner did we stop our chase than the badger dug into the ground and did the fastest job of digging of any animal I have ever seen. Although the ground was hard and somewhat crusted with sod, the badger dug himself completely from our sight and plugged the hole behind him with dirt in less than one and one-half minutes. In excavating, his whole being was brought into action; he used all four of his feet, as well as his mouth, with great skill and determination. The dens of badgers are deep in the ground and are sometimes but not always lined with grass. The number of young varies from one to four, although occasionally there are more. Badgers apparently do not hibernate as skunks, coons, and many other fur bearers do; but spells of cold weather make them drowsy for a few days. Particularly in the northern part of their

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range and in the higher mountains, they are likely to den up during severe storms. The large burrows of badgers are conspicuous and characteristic; but, for every hole actually used as a den, there are scores that represent merely the excavation of rodent burrows and the successful capture of their inhabitants. Badgers, like wolverines, are not swift or clever at stalking; they must win their food mainly by strength and persistence. They eat mice, moles, ground squirrels, chipmunks, pocket gophers, prairie dogs, rats, snakes, and almost any other animal that they can dig out of the ground. They eat insects also, including bumblebees in their underground nests, and occasionally a rabbit, if the badger can surprise one sleeping. Since many rabbits are active by day and sleep in their burrows at night, the badger necessarily digs most actively in the late afternoon and evening when its quarry is most likely to be at home. Walter Fry (1926a) writes: One evening, on June 22, 1912, I came upon a mother badger and her two young in Willow Meadow, Sequoia National Park, elevation 7,500 feet, where they lived in seclusion and thrived on small rodents which the mother caught in the meadow. The young were about the size of a full grown Fisher ground squirrel, and to all appearance about three weeks old. When first I saw them, they were off a few feet from their burrow, the mother lying on the ground with her young rolling over in play in front of her. They did not see me, so I crawled up on their leeward side behind some willow bushes that shielded me and were within about 30 feet of them. In a few moments the two young badgers returned to their home underground, and the mother strolled from my sight across the meadow for her evening hunt. I . . . was moving on, when . . . both the baby badgers toddled from the burrow and resumed their play. I watched their frolic for a few moments, then ran quickly to the burrow, jumped on it with both feet and sat down flat over the entrance before the young badgers realized what was happening. Never have I seen young wild animals more mystified than were these baby badgers by my presence. Instead of dashing away in any direction that was open, as do most young wild animals under similar circumstances, they first fell flat upon the ground for a few seconds, then came direct to me, calmly looking at me, wonderingly and inquir-

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ingly but with practically no signs of fear; then straightway, true to their kind, they began to dig under me in an effort to regain entrance to their subterranean home. On several occasions I took the badgers in my hands and tossed them out into the grass a few feet from me, but . . . they would quickly return uttering soft, wheezy grunting sounds and making frantic efforts to reenter their burrow. They were not strong enough to do me any damage, but they gave a marvelous display of frantic motions of every kind, and showed excellent skill with their claws in both scratching and digging . . . In the early days before extensive settlement, badgers were quite common on the western plains and in mountain meadows, but civilization has exterminated them from a major part of their ancestral range. They cannot live where there is extensive cultivation, for this removes the rodents on which they depend. Wholesale poisoning of rodents on the western ranges has wiped out the badgers: many died from eating poisoned carcasses; others starved in consequence of the removal of their food supplies. Before the white man came, the badger had scarcely an enemy; hence its natural rate of reproduction was low. Now, because of its low rate of reproduction, the species is unable to maintain itself in the face of persecution. In general, the distribution of the badger is closely linked up with that of burrowing rodents, particularly ground squirrels. But the natural center of abundance of such rodents lies in the lowlands, where today the badger is most severely persecuted. By contrast, alpine areas such as the national parks, which are buried deep in snow during the long winter months, have fewer rodents. The protection afforded small rodents by the great talus slides, through which even a badger cannot dig, adds to the badger's difficulties in obtaining a living at high altitudes. Park status and records.—An extremely rare resident, occurring from the lower foothills at 2,000 ft. elevation up to 10,000 ft., as at Twin Lakes (W. Fry, 1926a), in the high mountain meadows. In Sequoia, Augustine reported badger workings at Whitney Meadows, Kern Canyon, Hockett Meadows, and at Windy Gap in 1939. Clarence Fry had told him that since about 1930, when seven badgers were seen in the Hockett Meadows region, only a few had been seen in the park (Augustine, 1939a). They were apparently as scarce as the wol-

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verine, in Sequoia in 1942 (Oberhansley, 1942), though one was seen at Hockett Meadows in June and July, by Ranger George Brooks (C. Fry, 1942b). Diggings were reported on Chagoopa Plateau, at 10,000 ft. elevation, in 1943, by Brooks, and again in 1944; in Rattlesnake Canyon in 1945; and again on Chagoopa Plateau in 1946 (C. Fry, 1943b, 1944b, 1945, 1946). On May 23, 1949, a badger was seen by Rangers Packard and Anderson % mi. from the government corrals at Mineral King. In 1950, Boyer (1950b) wrote: "Decreasing. Fewer reports are received each year of activities of this animal. Badger diggings are reported from Hockett Meadow and in the Kern District. No reports have been received from the Kings country this year, although sign has been reported in recent years." A family of badgers settled at Grant Grove in 1936, according to Bryant (1940). Phil Davis, Manager of the Grant Grove Coffee Shop, reported to Boyer (1950a) that in the summer of 1947 he had watched a badger dig out golden-mantled ground squirrels in Little Cedar Meadow, at Wilsonia (Grant Grove). It rapidly dug itself out of sight in the soft meadow earth, when human watchers approached. In the Kings, badgers have been observed in the past at widely scattered localities. Characteristic diggings of badgers in pursuit of ground squirrels were found by Swarth and Dixon at Bullfrog Lake and near Charlotte Lake in 1916. On July 27,1942, at 9,800 ft. elevation in McClure Meadow, Evolution Valley, a badger dug out a Belding ground squirrel. All badger diggings we have observed have been in open meadows and were made by badgers in quest of pocket gophers and ground squirrels. RED

FOX

Vulpes fulva necator

Merriam

Description.—The red fox is somewhat smaller than a coyote and weighs less than half as much; however, its shorter legs give it a comparatively heavy-set appearance. It is much larger and darker than the more common gray fox of the lowlands; and it has black feet, black tips to the ears, and a white tip to the cylindrical, bushy tail, in contrast to the reddish feet and ears and the black tip of the more slender and triangular tail of the gray fox. Total length of the red fox is 26 inches; tail, about 16 inches:

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weight,7% to9/4 pounds (Grinnell, Dixon, and Linsdale, 1937, p. 380). Although there are four principal color phases, as described below, the usual color of the red fox is pale reddish, the back being rusty red and the belly and throat white. Habits.—Red foxes are in greatest abundance in the North and in the high mountains farther south that have a cool climate; however, they are by no means confined to such regions. They inhabit the Boreal Life Zone of Alaska, Canada, the northern United States, and mountains farther south, including the High Sierra and some of the highest of Nevada's scattered mountain ranges. They also occur in portions of Georgia, Alabama, Texas, and adjacent states that are neither high nor particularly cool. The existence of a small colony of red foxes on the floor of the Sacramento Valley near Colusa has puzzled naturalists for many years because the animals there are completely outside their normal habitat and climatic range. That they are transplanted eastern foxes never has been either proved or disproved. It is believed that in the High Sierra the red fox does not dig a den but rears its young in cavities and passages of the rockslides which are one of the most characteristic features of its environment. One advantage of such retreats is that the young cannot readily be dug out by coyotes, bears, or other natural enemies of foxes; another is that they are concentration points for rodents, on which the red fox largely depends for food. Young red foxes average six to a litter and, like bears, may come in more than one color within the same family. Four principal color phases—red, cross, black, and silver—are recognized, but many stages of intergradation occur. The bright-red phase apparently is less common than the cross phase, which is characterized by an over-all yellowish-red color with a band of darker fur running down the back and another over the shoulders, forming a cross. About one fox in seventy-five is either black or silver. A silver fox has long, lustrous, white-tipped hairs scattered through the otherwise black coat. In all color phases the tail tip remains white. Since members of the dog family do not hibernate, the red fox has difficulty in finding food if deep snows continue for any length of time. The animal is necessarily omnivorous and adaptable. It ranges to timber line and above in summer, but sometimes descends as low as 5,000 feet elevation in winter. It eats meadow mice, rabbits, chipmunks, ground squirrels, ground-nesting birds, tadpoles, frogs, water insects, earthworms, grasshoppers, and wild fruits and berries. Although red foxes may never become common, the outlook for their

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survival in California's high mountains is good. At one time, poison placed by sheep growers in domestic sheep carcasses killed many red foxes; overgrazing by sheep, which, by destroying the forage, eliminated ground squirrels, meadow mice, and other small rodents on which the foxes chiefly depend, caused a further reduction in numbers. In recent years, however, sheep have become less numerous and consequently less destructive in the high mountains; in many parts of the High Sierra there are now none at all. Park status and records.—A rare resident at the higher altitudes, usually at or near timber line. At Wallace Lake, Sequoia National Park, at 11,200 ft. elevation, June 9, 1934, Dixon found fresh trails of two red foxes that had followed a white-tailed jack rabbit in the snow. The stride, or distance between tracks, was much shorter than that of the mountain coyote, and the foot pad was decidedly smaller. Near Lake South America at the extreme head of Kern River, June 11,1934, fresh tracks in the snow showed that a pair of red foxes had sneaked up and had captured a white-tailed jack. One fox had rushed the jack rabbit while the other fox circled round and got ahead of it. The crisscross tracks of both foxes and the jack went round and round a boulder. A patch where the snow had been violently disturbed showed that there had been a scuffle, in which the rabbit was captured. Both foxes had then rested awhile. After that, they went up the hill and over the ridge and across another cirque at 12,000 ft. elevation, carrying the captured jack rabbit, perhaps taking it to feed to their young. The fox tracks in the soft snow were 2 in. wide and 21/» in. long; the distance between tracks, or stride, was 6 to 8 in. Field investigations by Park Naturalist Oberhansley (1942) and various rangers in 1939-1940 indicated that the red fox was extremely rare in Sequoia at that time. Clarence Fry (19412?) wrote about it in 1941: "I believe this mammal is not extinct. Ranger Shellenberger [U. S. Forest Service], located at the Mount Whitney Ranger Station during the summer, reports tracks found inside the south boundary as far as Crabtree Meadow, a distance of approximately 12 miles. . . . as late as last November he trapped a fine specimen within two miles south of the south boundary. Ranger Shellenberger has spent many years in the locality, is an experienced trapper and would recognize red fox tracks . . .

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In the Kings, old-time resident Poly Kanawyer stated in 1940 that the species was present, though rare. On July 22, 1942, at Florence Lake, Orland Bartholomew of the U. S. Forest Service, who had wintered there for a number of years, showed Dixon a prime pelt of the pale cross phase, trapped near the lake in the previous winter. He stated that red foxes are present but very rare in the park. GRAY FOX

Urocyon cinereoagenteus

townsendi

(Merriam)

Description.—A slender, medium-sized fox, iron gray above; yellowish brown on the sides and breast, becoming white on chin and belly. It is much more common than the red fox. It is a characteristic inhabitant of lowland chaparral and does not occur at high altitudes. A black stripe extends down the middle of the back and along the tail to the tip. Total length of fox is 36 to 38 inches; tail, 13 to 16 inches; weight, 7% to 8% pounds (Grinnell, Dixon, and Linsdale, 1937, pp. 424-426). Habits.—In contrast to the red fox, the gray fox usually inhabits warm climates and low elevations. Thus, the two species afford one more illustration of the manner in which, among both birds and mammals, relatives with roughly similar habits avoid competition by occupying different habitats. Gray foxes range from northern South America, through the southern United States to New England and the Great Lakes region. Although they are absent from Canada and the north central United States, they occur in the mild Pacific Coast region as far north as southwest Washington. In California the gray fox inhabits the Upper Sonoran and Transition life zones of the foothills and lower mountains, seldom occurring above 5,000 feet elevation. A typical den, occupied during the spring of 1934, was hidden in a crevice under a pile of boulders along the bank of a creek. The three young foxes in the litter were born in March, and all three grew up. When the youngsters were six months old, the parents began to drive them away from home, but two of the pups tried to return to the den later that season. When they approached, the mother arched her back, fluffed out her tail, and bared her teeth. Uttering a snarl, she drove them away. Sometimes the gray fox is known locally as the "tree fox" because of its ability—shared by few members of the dog family—to climb trees. Its lightness and agility rather than a catlike or squirrel-like use of claws en-

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able it to run up slanting tree trunks and out on large sloping branches, to which its activities are chiefly confined. Sometimes it uses this ability to protect itself from large enemies such as the coyote. Occasionally, gray foxes make their dens above ground in tree cavities. They have also been observed taking naps in old hawk and magpie nests. One gray fox was seen climbing trees in a peach orchard and shaking the fruit to the ground. At Ash Mountain Headquarters, and also at Hospital Rock, gray foxes habitually come out during the evening to hunt for scraps of food left by visitors. Frequently they forage in this manner in broad daylight as well. At the Ash Mountain checking station it is not uncommon to see a pair of gray foxes come out of the blue oak and manzanita timber and walk across the highway in the evening, coming up to within 10 feet of the observer without showing the least alarm. Gray foxes have been numerous at Ash Mountain from 1935, or earlier, to 1950, at all seasons. They are less afraid of a steady, bright light than they are of a sudden flash. On December 29, 1936, four different foxes—two males and two females—were in sight at once. They filled their mouths with food, then carried it away to an old woodpile to eat it. A good deal of coughlike barking, when the foxes were in this woodpile, indicated squabbles over food, or possibly over territory. As they continue to lose their fear of man, foxes may become increasingly vulnerable to traffic accidents. Boyer (1949a) reported one killed by a car near Tunnel Rock, on January 2,1949. In the spring of 1937 a mother gray fox at Ash Mountain Headquarters was accidentally killed, leaving three small pups about the size of ground squirrels. Two of these were rescued from starvation and were raised by hand. As they grew up, they were given complete freedom. One of them, a female, returned each evening when called by a certain whistle that she had learned to associate with food. She was shy with strangers, however, and the clicking of a motion-picture camera sent her flying to the nearest patch of brush. A favorite source of food of the gray fox is the pocket gopher. The fox captures the gopher by stealthily approaching its runway and seizing the animal when it comes out. A fox was watched as it stood motionless until the gopher came to the entrance of its burrow to push out a load of dirt, then with a quick motion it seized the gopher and quickly dispatched it. Ground squirrels are another important food. On May 15, 1940, Ranger

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Wes Loverin told Augustine (1940a) that he had seen a fox kill a squirrel on the Mineral King road; it was shaking the squirrel the way a dog would, when he arrived at the spot. On the evening of August 14, 1939, Oberhansley (1942) saw a fox carrying a ground squirrel across the road just above Hospital Rock. Oberhansley and Assistant Superintendent Tobin told Augustine (1940) that on May 27 and 28,1940, both times late at night, they saw a fox carrying off a squirrel. Gray foxes also are fond of pursuing and eating sparrows, brown towhees, and other small birds. In addition, they eat mice, rabbits, wood rats, chipmunks, lizards, insects, and wild and domestic fruits and berries. The gray fox is one of the more numerous and adaptable of California's native fur bearers. Its brushy habitat, although it has shrunk somewhat since the early days of settlement, still is extensive and contains an almost inexhaustible food supply. For these reasons the future of the species seems relatively secure. Park status and records.—In Sequoia, a common resident in the scrub oak, greasewood, and chaparral belt of the western part of the park below 5,000 ft. elevation. Numerous at Ash Mtn. Hdqrs., where it has been protected for fifteen years or more and has fed on table scraps that have been thrown out; also at Potwisha and Hospital Rock. In 1944, apparently because of the operations of a State trapper just outside the park boundary (see White, 1946), its numbers declined at Ash Mtn. Hdqrs. (C. Fry, 1944). Ranger Hennessey reported four gray foxes near the stone revetments at Amphitheater Point and Deer Ridge, May 3, 1950; Ranger Anderson saw five along the Generals Highway between Hospital Rock and Amphitheater Point, Aug. 1 (Boyer, 1950a). The species is a resident in the chaparral belt along the lower Kings Canyon. On May 9,1942, above Lewis Creek, fresh tracks were found near a wood rat nest; Fox tracks were also found near this nest on May 16. On May 20, 1942, tracks of two gray foxes, made the night before, led up the dusty trail that parallels Hotel Creek.

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COYOTE

Canis latrans testes Merriam and

Canis latrans ochropus Eschscholtz Description.—Beyond the dimming embers of your campfire, the mountain meadow fades away in the starlight, merging into the dark fringe of the surrounding forest. In the peaceful evening there is no sound but the occasional thin chitter of a wandering bat and the gentle sigh and murmur of some distant stream. Suddenly, a long, high cry bursts from across the meadow, momentarily quickening the pulse of even the veteran mountain traveler. Wild and sad it rises, then starts to sink, and abruptly it is interrupted by a medley of frenzied yappings remindful of a kennel full of excited puppies. The yappings quickly increase in tempo, some highpitched and others low, then become a lively jumble of ecstatic barks and shrill whining sounds. All at once the commotion stops as suddenly as it began, and the tranquil mountain silence resumes. "A coyote," you say to yourself as you roll over in your blankets and doze off, not regretting this experience—unless you happen to be a professional sheepherder. The coyote of the mountain or Great Basin race (lestes) is larger than most coyotes and has a heavy, woolly gray coat; hence it frequently has been mistaken for a wolf. There should be no such confusion in the SequoiaKings area, however, for wolves apparently became extinct there before 1922. The feet of the coyote are much smaller than those of even a halfgrown wolf, the legs are proportionately shorter, and the ears are more pointed than the somewhat rounded and stubby ears of a wolf. The voice of the coyote is a high-pitched, yapping bark, often interspersed with a wild, sad wailing; whereas the voice of the wolf is much deeper and more nearly resembles that of a "big old hound" (Grinnell, Dixon, and Linsdale, 1937, p. 530). Total length is 45 to 48 inches; tail, 13 inches; weight, 25 to 30 pounds. (The wolf weighs 85 to 100 pounds and sometimes more.) The coyote's tail is bushy, usually 4 inches or more in diameter, with a distinct black tip. The tracks are distinctly doglike. Their average width is 2% inches; average length, 2% inches. In many tracks the claw marks do not show. At rare intervals a valley coyote (ochropus) of the San Joaquin Valley

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may range as high as the lower western boundary of the parks, but all coyotes that have been positively identified within the parks have been the larger, mountain form. Cattlemen have reported timber wolves also in the Kings in the past. No doubt some were present there in the early days; but so far as we know, from the Kings River drainage, no pelt, skull, or other concrete evidence of a true wolf has been preserved, and we believe that most or all present "wolves" reported as having been seen there were actually mountain coyotes. Habits.—Coyotes are exceedingly adaptable and prolific, hence they are widely distributed. They inhabit western and central North America from Alaska, western Canada, the United States west of the Great Lakes region, and Texas, south through Mexico to Costa Rica. Wandering individuals have been recorded in every one of the eastern states and in Quebec. On May 25,1934, at 1:30 P.M., Dixon surprised a female mountain coyote that was trying to catch a chipmunk in Kern Canyon near the mouth of the Big Arroyo. She was so interested in the chipmunk that she did not hear him until he was within 30 yards of her, whereupon she started off on a dead run. Dixon killed her for a specimen and found that her stomach contained two large garter snakes, which she had bitten into short sections and swallowed with little further chewing; the rest of her meal had consisted of a western fence lizard. Her weight was 21 pounds. Dixon made a thorough search for the coyote's den. He detected a slight movement at the edge of the canyon wall where several large granite boulders had fallen out of the face of the cliff and had rolled well out into the flat amid the manzanita thickets. Here, beside a boulder, he found a coyote pup about two weeks old. Three other pups soon rushed out of the manzanita brush and disappeared under the boulder. The den, which had been dug in the soft earth under the boulder, was 6 feet long, 2 feet wide, and about 10 inches in diameter. About ten minutes after Dixon retired to a distance of 50 feet, the two pups came to the entrance and peered out. They kept their ears pricked forward, repeatedly raising their noses and sniffing in every direction. Even the slightest noise sent them scurrying back under the boulder. Returning later, Dixon found the largest of the coyote pups sprawled under a manzanita bush taking a nap; but when it heard the approaching footsteps it rushed into the den. Dixon then spied two other furry balls about the size of cottontail rabbits, curled up under a manzanita limb. He pressed the limb down gently with his foot, so that it held them, and picked them up. The male pup crouched in Dixon's lap

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and did not whimper when petted, but the female scratched and bit like a little demon. Later, he released the two pups near the entrance of the den, where undoubtedly they were subsequently cared for by the father, for the male parent customarily shares in the upbringing of the young. Near Hospital Rock, on May 12, 1935, some CCC enrollees heard something whining below the road embankment and found a lost coyote pup that had fallen out of its den in an abandoned wooden culvert. The inside of this culvert was 12 inches wide and about the same height; it was alive with fleas. The seven coyote pups in this litter lived in the back end of the culvert, which had become plugged with earth. They were about the size of brush rabbits. Soon after the men discovered this den, the mother coyote moved her pups to another location. On May 18, 1935, near Potwisha, a coyote (probably of the race ochropus) jumped into the road ahead of a car and ran 300 yards up the highway. When the car accelerated to 28 miles an hour, the hard-pressed animal left the road and disappeared into the brush. Coyotes, like other members of the dog family, may remain curled up in some sheltered place during winter storms, but they are unable to hibernate. Mountain coyotes (lestes) wander down from the higher altitudes in bad weather, though usually not below 4,500 feet elevation in California (Grinnell, Dixon, and Linsdale, 1937, pp. 479-480). As soon as the weather improves, if only for a few days, they drift back up again. On August 24, 1933, near the Tyndall Creek Patrol Station on the John Muir Trail, Dixon watched a coyote trying to catch a golden-mantled ground squirrel. In stalking the squirrel, the coyote kept its body depressed so that its belly touched the ground. It slipped slowly forward facing the squirrel, moving up when the squirrel was not looking. At Tokopah Valley, on October 14, 1933, another coyote was watched at close range while it was stalking ground squirrels; later it was seen carrying off a goldenmantled ground squirrel. On March 5, 1942, Oberhansley (1942) autopsied a coyote killed by a car at Deer Ridge. Its last meal had been 100 per cent porcupine; no injury from quills was apparent. This coyote was an old dog with a deformed "trap" leg, one carnassial tooth missing, and the canines and others badly worn and broken, but it was otherwise in good condition. Its weight was 22 pounds; total length, 42 to 48 inches; tail, 14% inches; ear, 4V> inches. About half the diet of the average coyote consists of small rodents and

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rabbits; about a fourth is carrion. Depending on what is available in the particular locality, the remaining fourth may be composed of various amounts and combinations of insects, tadpoles, and fish that are stranded by the drying up of water courses, frogs, small birds, garbage, odds and ends of harness straps and shoe leather, snakes, crayfish, waterfowl eggs, ducks wounded on public shooting grounds, cherries, mesquite beans, apples and other cultivated fruits, and manzanita, juniper, and other wild berries. Many of the larger animals reported in scientific food-habits studies based on stomach examinations, such as "horse," "bear," and "cow," obviously were carrion. As related in the section on the Black Bear, two coyotes did kill a yearling black bear at Giant Forest on May 20, 1948 (Boyer, 1949). This, however, does not prove that the coyote is an important enemy of the bear. Deer hair found in coyote stomachs may or may not be carrion. The killing of deer by coyotes depends not so much on the hunting prowess of the coyote as upon weather and forage conditions on the deer range. Healthy, well-fed adult deer usually seem able to hold their own against a single coyote, and the coyote knows it. Tracks observed in Mariposa County in 1922 indicated that two coyotes had tried to drive a deer into deep snow where it would flounder helplessly, but the deer had refused to be maneuvered into this predicament (Grinnell, Dixon, and Linsdale, 1937, p. 494). At times, coyotes working in groups do get a full-grown deer, though this seems to happen comparatively rarely. (See section on Deer for firsthand Sequoia accounts.) The accusation that coyotes kill fawns is made continually, with the implication that they have caused serious losses to deer herds. Coyotes do, at times, find and kill unguarded fawns. Augustine (1941a) reported that in June, 1941, Ranger Naturalist McCallum saw a coyote carrying off a fawn that was still alive and kicking. Yet numerous observers have seen enraged does successfully chase away coyotes that attempted to molest their fawns (Grinnell, Dixon, and Linsdale, 1937, pp. 490-491; Cahalane, 1947, p. 252; Hall, 1927, p. 255). At Mount Rainier, Park Naturalist Russell Grater told Sumner of seeing a doe rush at a coyote and jump on it before it could get away. Her first blow apparently stunned it or knocked its breath out, and before it could recover she stamped it into a lifeless mass of shattered bones. When deer are starving on an overbrowsed range, many may become too weak to escape from their enemies or effectively resist them. The coyote,

350

BIRDS AND M A M M A L S

by thinning out the weaklings and sick individuals from the overabundant population, may be definitely beneficial, for the surviving deer will have more to eat, and the spread of disease and the destruction of forest reproduction will be slowed or completely checked. If overstocking conditions are severe, many fawns and adult deer die of malnutrition and disease before they are captured by the predators. In a survey of serious deeroverpopulation problems throughout the United States, Leopold, Sowls, and Spencer found strong evidence that wolves and mountain lions, when in normal numbers, prevented deer overpopulation, but that coyotes did not. They concluded (1947, p. 176): "The coyote may thus be ruled out as [an] effective deer predator." Sheepmen hate coyotes. The domestic sheep have lost the agility and common sense of wild bighorn and deer and, if left to roam the hills unguarded by the herder, are ridiculously easy prey. Cattlemen suffer negligible losses from coyotes and frequently regard these animals as an asset because they destroy ground squirrels, which in some areas compete seriously with the cattle for range forage. Sumner raised cattle in the California Coast Range for eleven years, where coyotes were common, yet not one of his calves was killed by a coyote. However, coyotes came nightly to the carcasses of various horses and cows that had been killed in accidents or had died from disease. If Sumner had not seen the undisturbed carcasses of several stillborn and drowned calves a few days before they were eaten by coyotes, he might have jumped to the conclusion that coyotes had killed the calves. Repeated inquiries of other cattlemen in that region failed to produce evidence of molestation of range calves by coyotes, and there was general agreement that, if a coyote were rash enough to molest a calf, the mother, if within hearing distance, would come running to the defense of her offspring. In various parts of California, coyotes and calves and their mothers have been seen foraging close together without friction. In the Sierra, one calf even went up several times to a coyote that was searching for mice, and sniffed at it, but the coyote only snapped irritably at the calf and continued its hunting, while the old cow watched near by, undisturbed (Grinnell, Dixon, and Linsdale, 1937, p. 489). Like people, coyotes vary; not all people rob banks, not all coyotes eat livestock. A letter of February 20,1933, to Park Naturalist Frank Been from Mrs. A. T. Lofberg, who fed several coyotes all one winter at the Lofbergs' Florence Lake cabin, contains this statement:

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. . . we had chickens when the [coyotes] first came to us . . . But our "pups" never offered to catch a hen even though the chickens were picking up crumbs on the coyotes' own feeding ground. W e watched them time and again, all together. Neither do the coyotes bother our birds. An American [black-billed] Magpie, a very unusual guest that has been with us all winter, Nutcrackers and Juncoes dine with the coyotes. Sometimes they are within six inches of the nose of one of the pups. But not once has a coyote shown any inclination to kill them. T h e wide distribution of the coyote and the ability of the animal to survive in the face of relentless persecution by sheepmen, sportsmen's organizations, and government predator-control organizations are to a large extent due to the willingness of the coyote to eat almost anything available. B y contrast, the wolf, though equally hardy and omnivorous, is penalized biologically by its greater size and relative inability to survive on a diversified diet of small animals. The greater size makes the wolf dependent on a larger volume of food. T h e wolf therefore preys on larger game animals and kills a greater proportion of livestock, with the result that it calls down upon its head the concentrated wrath and fear of nearly all economic groups. Biologically, the development of bigness has been tried out by countless unrelated animals to secure a competitive advantage, but it has had its risks. Herbivorous animals produced certain large species, such as elk, buffaloes, horses, and giraffes, as a safety measure against predators, or to get at food supplies above the reach of their smaller relatives. But the larger herbivores suffered from the disadvantage of requiring more food, and could only survive under primitive conditions of natural forage abundance. As man has destroyed this abundance, the large forms have vanished. T h e development of greater size in some herbivores eventually opened up fruitful opportunities for the development of predators large enough to prey upon them. Thus, wolves and lions came into the contest. But these could find food enough for survival only so long as the supply of large herbivores remained adequate. When this supply was reduced, animals like the wolf were doomed; smaller relatives, including the coyote, with their more modest, less specialized food demands, once again secured the advantage. They have even increased and spread into new areas. The old "Wild W e s t " of song and story is shrinking steadily; its flavor is fading as the human populations and agricultural projects multiply and

352

BIRDS AND MAMMALS

fill the open spaces. Bullets and settlement have driven the buffalo and the grizzly to a few last sanctuaries. Traps and poison have silenced the coyote's howl over vast areas where once its nightly serenade seemed as much a part of the West as the smell of sagebrush and the limitless unfenced vistas. Can anyone, however devoted to hastening the "economic maturity" of the West, watch this scene vanish without some regret? Or truly believe that the nation cannot afford to preserve a remnant of it within a national park system comprising only one-half of one per cent of the country's total area? Inside the national parks of the High Sierra, the coyote harms no one's economic interest. From time to time, sheepmen and a few hunters have insistently asserted that park coyotes have spread out from park sanctuaries and inflicted serious damage upon sheep and deer in adjacent territory. The National Park Service has investigated many of these charges, but none has been substantiated by evidence. Coyotes that go outside the park do not live long. If reasonable evidence is ever presented that park coyotes cause damage outside the park, the Service will exercise appropriate and effective control. As we have indicated previously, the coyote has a neutral effect on game animals in normal times, and a beneficial, disease-preventing function in bad times when the game ranges are overpopulated. In addition, within these sanctuaries it still lifts to the stars its wonderful, wild voice and thereby brings back to thousands of lucky visitors the spell of old times, old songs, and old stories, in a way that few ever will forget. Park status and records.—Common from about 5,000 ft. elevation up to 13,500 ft. and rarely to 14,000 ft. In Sequoia, it is seen in Giant Forest at all seasons; tracks and sight records there and elsewhere in the parks are too numerous to list. Dixon's specimen no. 9068 from Kem Hot Springs, obtained May 25, 1934, and MVZ specimens from Big Kern Flat and Jordan Hot Springs are mountain coyotes of the subspecies lestes. The closely related valley coyote (ochropus) is reported to come from the San Joaquin Valley into lower parts of the park. Augustine records (1939a) that a halftame female coyote, probably ochropus, hung around Ash Mtn. Hdqrs. from May 5 to June 6, 1939, and was then shot because some persons thought it might be a wolf, which might injure small children. Its weight was 26% lbs.; its ear was 5 in. long. At Grant Grove, mountain coyotes driven temporarily to lower elevations were observed by Boyer (1950a):

353

OF THE SIERRA NEVADA

"January 9: Heavy snow in the form of 17" fell this day, and as a result the only animal tracks present are coyote and chickaree. "January 11: Snow recorded down to 2,000 feet. Again the coyote and chickaree sign were the only ones present. Coyote tracks were seen in 15" of new snow. The animal had a difficult time traveling. "January 12: No coyote tracks present above 5,500 feet, although before the heavy, soft snow they were common. The storm, with 20" of new snow, forced them down." In the Kings, tracks of coyotes were found by Swarth and Dixon in 1916, from Horse Corral Meadow to Kearsarge Pass. In 1940, tracks and droppings composed mostly of manzanita berries were noted on the Sphinx Creek trail, Sept. 25. At 8,500 ft. elevation on the West Fork of Hotel Creek, May 20,1942, a mountain coyote trotted to within 50 ft. of Dixon; then a sudden gust of wind carried the man's scent to the animal, and the coyote quickly left. On March 21, 1949, Boyer reported: "At Sphinx Creek, mousekilling sign was seen in the snow. The Microtus and Peromyscus runways a few inches under the fresh snow were broken into at intervals and the mice seized. The coyote would suddenly jump with bunched feet onto an area of snow and thrust its muzzle down, grasping the victim. A step later revealed a fresh blood spot about 2 " in diameter on the snow as the predatory teeth did the job. At this same point a coyote walking in the deep snow with a Grey Squirrel or hare in its jaws left drag marks on either side of its head."

M O U N T A I N L I O N , OR COUGAR

Felis concolor

californica

May

Description.—A large, long-tailed cat with a total length of 6 to 8 feet. The tail is 2 to 2% feet, with a black tip; the ears are without tufts like those of the lynx group. Weights of 14 males averaged 140 pounds, extremes 100 and 165 pounds; average weight of 20 adult females was 88 pounds, extremes, 65 and 105 pounds (Grinnell, Dixon, and Linsdale, 1937, p. 538). Larger animals have been reported, but their size was determined chiefly on the basis of measurements of the skins, which are misleading. For example, a large male lion that in the flesh measured 7 feet, 3 inches, from nose to tip of tail, yielded a skin that measured 9 feet, 3 inches, the stretched skin being 2 feet longer than the living animal had been.

354

BIRDS A N D

MAMMALS

There are two color phases in the mountain lion. The red phase is a rich, reddish brown above; chin, throat, and belly are white; nose, feet, and end of tail, blackish. In the gray phase, the body color is uniformly tawny or grayish brown; the tail, the same color, tipped with blackish. State Lion Hunter Jay Bruce has found both color types in the same litter (Augustine, 1939(f). Habits.—The mountain lion originally inhabited most of the forest lands of southern Canada and the United States and some parts of Mexico and South America. However, it has been exterminated from the eastern United States, except for a few isolated areas in Florida. In the West, it inhabits forests and brushlands wherever deer are abundant, from sea level to altitudes above 11,000 feet. lis center of distribution, however, is in the Transition Life Zone, at altitudes between 2,000 and 5,000 feet; this coincides with the areas of greatest abundance of the deer populations. Some individuals wander to high elevations in late summer and fall in pursuit of the old bucks that also seek these levels; most lions, however, remain at about the same elevation throughout the year. Like all cats, they do not hibernate, and have a rather definite if frequently extensive home range; hence they are restricted to areas from which they can obtain a living the year round. In contrast to the majority of Old World lions, tigers, and their relatives, the North American mountain lion is extremely elusive and apparently fears mankind. Even professional lion hunters seldom see a mountain lion until it is treed by the dogs. However, in recent years, in Sequoia National Park lions have been glimpsed with increasing frequency, apparently because in that sanctuary they have begun to learn that man is not a mortal enemy. Dens of mountain lions are in caves in cliffs and rockslides. The base of a pine or giant sequoia, if hollowed out by fire, may also be used for temporary sleeping quarters. Although mountain lion kittens have been found in every month of the year, more young are born in April than in any other month. Evidence of mating among mountain lions has been observed on November 12, December 15, and December 17. The average number of young in a litter is two, with one and four as extremes. Deer are the natural food of the mountain lion, just as a mouse is the natural food for a house cat. The lion, like the house cat, hunts primarily by sight and by use of ambush rather than by scent. The interrelation between deer and mountain lions is one that has existed for thousands of

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years. The struggle of the deer, on the one hand, to survive through alertness and speed, and of the lion, on the other, to develop greater stealth and striking power, has' been by no means one-sided. The long weathercocking ears of the deer, switching daintily in this direction and that, and its moist black nose, which delicately tests each breeze, were developed to warn of the slinking approach of the big cat. So too, the hair-trigger leap at the crackle of a twig, and the great arching bounds with which a frightened deer quickly darts through the forest, surmounting all obstructions, were developed for escape from the enemy. Contrast the alert eye and sweeping gaze of a deer with the earthward-directed stare of the vacant-minded, domestic sheep, which for centuries has depended upon someone else for its looking and thinking. Deer are so quick and alert that, according to Jay Bruce, who is probably the greatest mountain lion expert of all time, two out of three escape when lions attempt to capture them. The mountain lion must use utmost care in stalking, plus great speed and power in the final leap, if it is to catch enough deer to feed itself and its family. As it slowly approaches the deer, it must not let a twig crackle. Countless times it is frustrated, for the deer has a habit of snatching a few bites of food and moving hastily on. If the lion gets near enough to the quarry to risk the final rush, its success hinges on whether it can knock down the deer at once; for the lion, like other cats, is short-winded and cannot, like the coyote and wolf, run down its prey in open chase. Jay Bruce has stated (Augustine 1939d) that the "usual charge is 100 yards, the longest charge witnessed by myself, 300 yards." No doubt by the time a mountain lion reaches adulthood it has learned how to catch deer, but the reports of several observers indicate that young lions go through a slow, difficult period of learning. Young animals must get along as best they can by stalking rodents and occasionally an unwary family of coons, in the capture of which the lions' large size and comparative clumsiness are disadvantages. They have also been known to eat skunks, bobcats, and even porcupines, when they could not capture other food (Grinnell, Dixon, and Linsdale, 1937, p. 574). It has been estimated that under normal hunting conditions a lion kills in a year probably only about thirty-six deer and not more than fifty-two. When deer are wary or scarce, the lion may try for two or three weeks before it catches one (Grinnell, Dixon, and Linsdale, 1937, p. 578). The mountain lion's hunting territory—the area that can furnish an adequate food supply more or less indefinitely—is large. A lion has been known to

356

BIRDS AND MAMMALS

cover 100 square miles, although the average is about 36 square miles, which requires about a week for the lion to patrol completely. Because some have killed cattle, sheep, and occasionally horses, particularly in the early days of settlement of the country, mountain lions have been exterminated from a large part of their original range. However, of the hundreds killed by Jay Bruce in all parts of the country, less than 15 per cent had the remains of livestock in their stomachs. Apparently, certain individual lions acquire the habit of eating livestock, but the great majority never do so. In wilderness areas the mountain lion acts as a natural ally of the forest by preventing an overpopulation of deer that, if unchecked, ultimately would destroy nearly all young trees and seedlings. The action of this relationship in reverse has been demonstrated in countless areas where mountain lions have been exterminated and the uncontrolled deer populations have increased enormously. In Zion Canyon, deer became so numerous that they destroyed most of the browse, and on the Kaibab Plateau in Arizona, 60 per cent of the deer eventually died of starvation. These are two out of many examples that could be cited. Leopold, Sowls, and Spencer (1947), in surveying these and other serious outbreaks or "irruptions" of deer populations throughout the United States, emphasize that: All western irruptions, beginning with the Kaibab, have followed, and none preceded, the initiation of federal predator control on the public lands about 1910 . . . Irruptions are unknown in Mexico . . . Since irruptions coincide both in time and space with greatly reduced predation by wolves or cougars [mountain lions] and since they are not known to have occurred in the presence of these predators, there is strong presumption that over-control of these predators is the predisposing cause. (See also a popular article on this subject, "Don't Monkey with the Platypus," by Bergen Evans, in the December, 1946, issue of Harper's.) An idea of the number of mountain lions regularly killed in California can be gained from the Fortieth Biennial Report of the Division of Fish and Game for the Years 1946-1948, which states (p. 67) that 414 mountain lions were killed in this period. In addition, 8,574 coyotes, 2,653 bobcats, and "4,943 other lesser predators were taken during the same period" by the Division's predatory-animal hunters and trappers. This is a grand total of 16,584 "predators." This report also shows (Appendix, p. 117) that

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357

bounties have been paid on 9,923 mountain lions killed by private individuals from 1907 to 1947, inclusive; these killings were in addition to those by state hunters. In the Giant Forest area of Sequoia, the presence of large numbers of people in recent years has given the deer added protection from mountain lions, for the lions have little tolerance for jazz, radio, and related human noise. The increase of deer there has consequently been abnormal. (See section on California Mule Deer.) A camper need have no fear of being attacked by a mountain lion. Thousands of people lay their bedrolls down in the heart of lion country every night of the summer camping season, yet there have been only two or three authenticated attacks on human beings in North America since the coming of the white man. A person is hardly more likely to be attacked by a mountain lion than he is of being hit, while sleeping in the woods, by a meteor or a falling airplane. The "scream of the mountain lion" is usually something else—perhaps most often it is the scream of a bobcat, or sometimes the screech of a young horned owl (see section on Horned Owl)—for the lion is an exceptionally silent animal. Some authorities have publicly doubted that the mountain lion ever screams, but solid evidence has gradually accumulated to show that on rare occasions it "definitely screams or . . . may even be said to roar" (McCabe, 1949). Assistant Superintendent (Olympic National Park) Thomas J. Williams told Sumner that sometime between April and June, in 1928 or 1929, while he and Park Ranger George Brooks were repairing a telephone line in the Clough Cave region of Sequoia National Park, they became conscious of a noise, halfway between a roar and a scream, originating from across the canyon at a distance of about a quarter of a mile. The noise was rather hoarse. At first they thought it was being made by a bear, although it was higher pitched than the noise bears usually make. They continued to hear it at intervals of approximately thirty seconds, and presently they saw the animal emerge from the hillside cover of oaks and manzanita, still "roaring." It was moving rather deliberately, and when it uttered the sounds it appeared to slow up still more. At length, while crossing some nearly bare rock, the animal became clearly identifiable as a mountain lion. Because of the distance and the density of the cover, this lion very probably was unaware of the human observers. In an undated letter in the Sequoia National Park 1939 files, addressed

358

BIRDS AND MAMMALS

to Wildlife Ranger Augustine, Fireguard Joe Elliott describes the sounds made by a mountain lion, as follows: As I sat in the house reading around 9:30 P.M. of June 5, 1939, at Lookout Point [on the East Fork of the Kaweah River] I began to notice a sound that I thought was being made by the wind blowing through the screen of the window. But as it continued I . . . began to investigate and found that it was not being made by the wind, but by an animal of the cat family. . . . Judging from the direction from which the sound came I would place the cat at % mile from the house. I listened and studied the . . . growling and deep voiced sounds for at least 20 minutes or better. Then Mrs. Blanks the District Ranger's wife of Atwell Mill Station and Mrs. Murdock, Ranger Murdock's wife of Hockett Meadows Station stopped by . . . While I was telling them about what I had been listening to the cat began anew his growling and snarling, this time much louder and more distinct. They also . . . listened to it and it was enough to make anyone feel rather creepy. After Mrs. Blanks and Mrs. Murdock left and had passed on by the place from where the sounds came, it began snarling and growling its defiance to the world again and seemed to move down close to the house. It had a deep voiced sound, neither a scream nor the sound that our domestic house cat makes, as the meow. I went up this A.M., June 6, 1939, and looked for tracks as it would have been useless last night to have looked for either tracks or animal. For it was the dark of the moon and a flashlight would have been of little use. I did not find the tracks I sought. Later in the morning, the District Ranger Mr. Blanks . . . and I went up to look for tracks again. Finally . . . we did find the track of a mountain lion in one place where the ground was loose and soft enough to leave a good imprint. So after finding the track of a lion in the vicinity from which the sounds came, and after telling different people about the sound I heard and [hearing] their description of what they said were the sounds coming from a lion—one man in particular, Ray Stemens of the Forest Service, at Porterville, has raised a lion cub until it was full grown—I would presume the sound came from a mountain lion. June 7, 1939, time 9:00 A.M., a recommencement of the identical sound I heard the night of the 5th occurred in the same vicinity. But this time I investigated in real interest. I found and watched a mountain lion, also listened to it make its weird sounds. It never made the

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359

same sounds all the time. Sometimes it was low, other times high pitched, but almost always it would end up in a fit of growls and deep throated sounds. It reminded me of two alley cats as one would sit and squall at the other although the sounds I listened to never at any time had the distinction of the M-E-O-W of the domestic cats, but still it was somewhat near to it. I have seen a number of mountain lions, both dead and alive. Only last summer I saw three, two of which I was within fifty yards of; the third I saw . . . one evening . . . when it was just light enough to see good within thirty yards of the trail. I was going back to camp at Upper Funston Meadows in Big Kern Canyon. Two of the cats was seen at this place. The other one I saw on the rim of the Big Arroyo Canyon going along the trail to Little Five Lakes. But . . . the one I have been describing is the only one I have ever seen and heard make any noise at all. I think that if I had not . . . been a good ways from this one watching it through a pair of Bausch and Lomb ten power binoculars . . . I would never [have] been able to . . . watch this one in the very act of making its weird sounds, roaming around up on the side of the mountain over barren rocks, ground and through scrub oaks, with no other living animals or human around any place that I could see . . . It was no different from any of the rest I have ever seen, brown, dusty in color, with whitish flanks, one to two and one-half feet high, and about a four foot body not including its long slender tail. Its ears short and erect . . . Mountain lions playing, without making sounds, have been observed by more than one naturalist. On several occasions in 1950, a young male house cat at the Sumner residence was observed wandering aimlessly through the grass, climbing prostrate logs and leaping down again, while uttering throaty growls and plaintive sounds. No other cat was around. This one's restless, somewhat playful behavior was interpreted as an indication that the animal craved the company of a member of the opposite sex. Our guess is that the aimless-appearing "play" reactions, with or without sounds, observed in mountain lions may have a similar underlying cause. Park status and records.—In Sequoia, a rather common resident in the ponderosa pine belt along the western foothills; much less common in the Kern River drainage. Before adequate biological information

360

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MAMMALS

had been acquired and National Park Service wildlife policies developed, many native predators were persecuted in the parks. The accompanying table shows the number of mountain lions killed in Sequoia during this period, as tabulated by Clarence Fry, Jan. 1, 1936; since 1931 no lions have been killed there. M O U N T A I N L I O N S K I L L E D OR C A P T U R E D IN O R A D J A C E N T T O S E Q U O I A N A T I O N A L

1894

TO

1931

Year killed or captured

By whom taken

Location

1 2 3

1894 1895 1902

J. W. Griffes J. VV. Griffes G. W. Scoggins and party

4,850 4,902 11,100

4

1905

5,100

1

5 6 7 8 9 10

1908 1910 1911 1912 1913 1913

Rangers C. W. Blossom and Walter Fry Stanley Brown Joseph Ewing Joseph Ewing Ranger C. W. Blossom Ranger L. L. Davis Ray Martin

Griffes Ranch Griffes Ranch Near Moose Lake Colony Road

4,850 4,850 4,850 4,460 3,600 1,600

1 1 1 1 1 1

11

1917

12

1917

Griffes Ranch Griffes Ranch Griffes Ranch Putnam Canyon Clough Cave Near Shepherd Cove Cedar Creek Hospital Rock Black Oaks

3,100 2,600 5,000

1 1 1

13

1918

Panther Creek

3,000

1

14 15

1918 1920

5,000 5,500

1 2

16 17*

1922 1924

1,700 5,300

2 3

18 t

1924

East Fork Near Crystal Cave Ash Mountain Marble Fork (near Bridge) Clough Cave

3,600

5

19

1924

5,000

1

20

21 t

1925 1931

Dennison Mountain Watson Spring Mehrten Creek

2,500 4,000

1 3

22 t

1931

East Fork near Lookout Point

3,500

3

Record No.

Rangers Carl Keller and John Grunigen Ord Loverin and L. L. Davis Mather party with Jay Bruce Ord Loverin Jay Bruce and Ord Loverin Ranger Clarence Fry Jay Bruce and Ranger George M. Brooks Jay Bruce and Ranger Guy Hopping Jay Bruce, Ranger Frank Dorr, and Ord Loverin Ord Loverin Jay Bruce and Ranger Clarence Fry Jay Bruce and Ben Hardin

• One (male) found dead. t Two captured alive; one died later from wounds, t Two cubs captured alive.

Altitude (in feet)

PARE,

Number killed or taken 1 1 2(cubs)

36

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361

With respect to Record No. 3, Clarence Fry comments: "That the cubs were bom where found there is small doubt, since much deer and marmot hair was in evidence about the den suggesting occupancy for some time. The elevation, 11,100 feet approx. seems to me quite unusual for lion cubs to be born. "Referring to No. 17, Jay Bruce, accompanied by Ranger Brooks, shot a prime male lion. Examination disclosed evidence of a fierce combat. One toe on a fore-paw was entirely severed with many cuts, scratches and punctures about the head. Enroute to camp, at a distance of approx. 2 miles, they were led by the dogs to an old male lion. . . . He was quite bloody and badly bitten about the head and fore-legs, probably dying from loss of blood as a result of the struggle. At this place a lioness track was taken and [the lioness] soon treed and shot. Mr. Joseph Dixon . . . took photos, measurements, and data . . (See Grinnell, Dixon, and Linsdale, 1937, pp. 557-559 for Dixon's account. ) By 1933, lions had begun to show themselves occasionally. Near Colony Mill on Yucca Creek, in April, a lion was seen in broad daylight by a member of a trail crew; fresh tracks of a mother and her halfgrown kitten, made the previous night, were seen on the trail there, Apr. 20. Tracks in the vicinity, studied by Dixon, indicated that a male, a female, and two or three half-grown kittens lived in the area. On June 13, on the Kaweah River about % m i- above Hospital Rock, a Mr. Allison saw an adult mountain lion standing in a sunlit opening 35 to 40 ft. away. It stood staring at him for fifteen seconds; then the man shouted and the lion jumped into the brush. On Aug. 3, two adult lions and two quarter-grown kittens were seen at Halstead Meadow. On Aug. 10, two visitors from Los Angeles saw a lion at the upper end of Crescent Meadow and watched it for several minutes as it jumped and played about in the tall grass in the meadow; they plainly saw the tan color and the long, slender tail with its black tip. On Aug. 30, near Atwell Mill, tracks of a female and a nearly grown kitten showed that the animals had followed the trail for 4 mi. On Sept. 1, a female lion and her nearly grown kitten used the Seven Mile Hill Trail as a highway from Redwood Meadow to Giant Forest, following a ridge covered with pines and black oaks. At Colony Mill, tracks noted on Sept. 8 showed that a female and her half-grown kitten had gone up the road the previous night. Near Moro Rock, Sept. 15, a ranger saw a cougar

362

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ran across the road 50 ft. ahead of his car; on Sept. 17 and 25, fresh tracks made the previous night were seen in a dusty trail at this same locality. On Sept. 16, a mountain lion, possibly the same one, had followed the trail at Beetle Rock, passing within 60 ft. of occupied camps during the night without being observed by anyone. On Dec. 16,1934, the carcasses of a yearling fawn and a doe that had recently been killed by a lion were found on Paradise Creek. By 1936, mountain lions and their tracks were being seen fairly frequently, for the Hons had been under protection for several years. Clarence Fry (memorandum of Dec. 1, 1936, to the park superintendent) submitted a list of sixteen actual sight records in Sequoia in 1936. Thereafter, mountain lions were seen so often that a complete list of occurrences cannot be included here. Tracks of the animals can be seen in the park almost any day, along deer trails and man-made trails. A few records which contribute specific life-history information are given below. In a letter dated May 10, 1939, CCC Project Superintendent A. R. Tinker reported to Augustine: "On . . . May 5, 1939, at 8:00 A.M., Enrollee John Bynum reported by telephone from Gringstone Gulch, that there was a dead deer on the West Boundary Truck Trail. At 9:00 A.M. I drove . . . about 3 miles north of Camp Yucca Creek . . . and found the deer. . . . I found the top of the deer's head was crushed, with tusk marks on either side. There was a rip, about a foot long, in the right flank just behind the ribs and quite low down on the side. There were marks on the right hind leg that resembled claw marks. In the dust on the road I found lion tracks about two and one-half inches in diameter." Rangers Loverin and Hansen reported to Augustine (1940Z?) an incident that occurred at 5:15 A.M., Aug. 13,1940, % mi. up the Seven Mile Hill Trail from the High Sierra Trail: "We noticed where some object had been dragged down the trail and we began following these drag marks up to a log, where they disappeared. We spent fully five minutes within 40 feet of this lion before noticing him. This lion then was about 30 feet from its kill, . . . a female fawn about two months old. He had covered the kill with duff while we were stomping around almost on top of him. When I saw him I yelled the fact to Hansen very loudly . . . The lion almost ran over Hansen and the horse named 'Steamboat.' 'Steamboat' showed absolutely no surprise whatever, and

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would not budge off the trail when Hansen tried to tree the lion. The lion was as large a one as I have ever seen, living, or any of the dead ones killed by Jay Bruce [State Lion Hunter]." In August, 1940, Augustine (1940&) reported: "This seems to be a banner month for lion observations. Three lions were seen, and tracks of four lions were observed. An excellent picture of a lion was obtained by Ranger Naturalist Applegarth in the Muir Grove of Big Trees, at night, with a set camera." Oberhansley records that a 90-pound female with four unborn kittens was caught in a coyote trap by State Fish and Game Trapper Melvin Clover just outside the park near Ash Mtn. Hdqrs., May 21, 1940. Another female was shot and killed by a deer hunter near Stony Creek in October, 1940; her two kittens escaped. Oberhansley obtained more than a dozen sight records of lions in the park in 1940-1943 (Oberhansley, 1943a). Clarence Fry (1943a) recorded for the period November, 1942, to January, 1943: "1 lion observed for several seconds on the road near Oriole Lodge Camp on December 13 by Rangers Packard and Fry, elevation 5,000 feet. On January 12, I came within inches of overrunning a two-thirds grown lion one-quarter mile west of the Ash Mt. park entrance on the Generals Highway, outside the park, elevation 1,600 feet. It appeared confused by the automobile headlights." In 1948, Boyer reported: "On March 4, two mountain lions were seen 200 yards west of Potwisha Bridge by District Ranger Schmidt, who was returning to the Giant Forest at 2200 [10 P.M.]. The adult animal bounded from sight immediately, while the immature lion was apparently confused by the sound and lights of the car. It jumped into the car lights, causing Ranger Schmidt to swerve his car, to avoid hitting the animal. He was impressed by the grace of the cat, even though an immature one, and by the size of the tail in relation to the rest of the animal." In the Kings, the mountain lion is a less common resident, in the yellow pine belt. The preferred habitat of this species lies mostly below the park boundaries in the brush belt, where deer are most abundant. Neither Sumner nor Bryant found any lion sign within the park, and Dixon found only a small old sign on the north rim of Kings Canyon between Hotel Creek and Lewis Creek, May 17, 1942. However, in October, Boyer (1948a) reported: "Cedar Grove [in the Kings] has

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reported lions five times, without too much possibility of duplication of animals more than twice." B O B C A T , OR W I L D C A T

Lynx rufus californicus

Meams

Description.—About twice the size of a house cat but with proportionately longer legs, bigger feet, a conspicuous ruff of long hairs on the cheeks, and a very short tail. Upper parts are reddish brown, grayer in winter; under parts are white, with black spots and bars. Ears are black, with a small tuft at the tip and a whitish area about midway between the base and the tip. The tail is brownish, barred with black near the end and tipped with white. Total length is 30 to 35 inches; tail, 5 to 7 inches. Weight of males, about 17 pounds; of females, 14 pounds. Habits.—The bobcat inhabits the temperate, middle part of North America, from extreme southern Canada to Mexico. It is the southern counterpart of its larger cousin of the north woods, the Canada lynx. The bobcat, however, is much less a forest animal. In addition to swamps, woods, and cutover lands, it inhabits chaparral slopes, rocky brushlands, and desert canyons, from sea level to about 8,500 feet elevation in the Upper Sonoran and Transition life zones. The lynx group, to which the bobcat belongs, also inhabits Scandinavia, northern Asia, and parts of southern Europe. However, this group of tuft-eared, short-tailed cats is not very closely related to the mountain lion, the domestic cat, and other more typical members of the cat family. Less shy than the mountain lion and less nocturnal in its habits, the bobcat is glimpsed by visitors fairly frequently, as it bounds across a road or clearing and disappears into dense brush. Although usually silent, bobcats sometimes scream and yowl during the mating season, like house cats only louder. More than once, these noises have been mistakenly attributed to the mountain lion. (See section on Mountain Lion.) The young, which average three to a litter, are born in cavities in rocks, under roots of stumps and fallen trees, and in hollow trees. Like other members of the cat family, the bobcat does not hibernate but roams the mountain and foothill slopes throughout the winter in search of food. Although it climbs trees easily when treed by dogs, and may occasionally climb to reach the conspicuous young of some large bird, as a rule

Above: Belo'c:

Pine Marten Mountain or Long-tailed W e a s e l , in winter (left) and summer (right)

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it stalks its quarry or crouches in ambush on the ground. One bobcat at Hospital Rock was observed hunting ground squirrels regularly during the day. This cat became quite accustomed to the presence of human beings and paid little attention to them. Several hundred stomach examinations made in various parts of the country have demonstrated that ground squirrels, rabbits, wood rats, and pocket gophers comprise the largest part of the bobcat's food (Grinnell, Dixon, and Linsdale, 1937, pp. 615-619). Tree squirrels, mice, kangaroo rats, and chipmunks also have frequently been found in bobcat stomachs. The cats even eat porcupines fairly often. Birds amount to about 5 per cent of the total food; they include robins, flickers, various small songbirds, and quail. Uninformed persons have heaped great abuse upon the bobcat for its alleged depredations on quail; but the facts, as shown by stomach examinations and by intensive studies of quail populations (Sumner, 1936, pp. 241, 329), fail to support the accusations. It has been demonstrated conclusively that the bobcat catches quail and other birds whenever it can do so, but the birds usually are able to escape this comparatively slow and conspicuous enemy. It is doubtful that a quail population has ever been reduced significantly by bobcats. Records of old-time conditions indicate that, on the contrary, often where bobcats were thickest the quail were most abundant also. This is not so hard to understand when it is realized that a majority of the rodents comprising the bobcat's principal food are direct competitors of quail for food. Bobcats eat house cats when they can catch them away from the protection of human dwelling places. In the western states they share with coyotes the credit for preventing half-wild house cats from multiplying enormously. By contrast, in the eastern states, where both bobcats and coyotes are much scarcer, half-wild house cats have overrun large areas. Bobcats also eat deer at times, chiefly, it appears, in regions of deep snow where the deer are at a serious disadvantage. In central and southern California, for example, where snows are less deep, bobcats rarely eat deer, and perhaps the few they do eat are chiefly fawns and sick or starving animals (Grinnell, Dixon, and Linsdale, 1937, pp. 617-618). Cats in general are regarded as somewhat fastidious feeders, but bobcats, when driven to it by hunger, will eat carrion. A significant proportion of the deer hair found in their stomachs is undoubtedly from carrion. The bobcat has difficulty in making a living in regions of deep snow, and

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this doubtless limits the northward distribution of the species. Ranger Sam Clark, on January 7, 1935, near the Sherman Tree in Sequoia found an immature bobcat plodding along through the soft, deep snow and sinking into it up to its belly at every step. He chased the cat and easily outran it, closing in to within six feet of it. The animal seemed starved and almost exhausted. The elevation of 7,000 feet at this point is well above the normal winter range of the species in Sequoia. To a bobcat, a sheep is a feeble and stupid quarry, almost as easy for it to catch as a cage-bred canary is for a house cat. A few individual bobcats get the sheep-killing habit and draw upon the whole species the hatred of sheepmen. A few also kill poultry. Fortunately, however, the majority of bobcats seem to prefer to shun man and his domestic creatures, and spend their lives catching rodents, which are one of the principal enemies of farmers. Park status and records.—In Sequoia, a common resident in the brush belt, from 1,600 ft. elevation along the Kaweah River up to 11,000 ft. at Cottonwood Lakes just south of Mt. Whitney. It occurs regularly along the North, Middle, East, and South forks of the Kaweah River and is seen frequently on the Colony Mill-Crystal Cave road and not uncommonly elsewhere in the park. Clarence Fry, who has lived in the Sequoia region since 1898, stated (C. Fry, 1930) that, years ago, bobcats were even more numerous than gray foxes and preyed on them; he believes that trapping outside the park has greatly reduced the numbers of bobcats in Sequoia. Nevertheless, bobcats are still numerous enough there to make detailed records of their occurrence unnecessary. As the bobcats have become less shy they may have become more vulnerable to traffic accidents. Boyer (1949a) reports one killed by a car near Potwisha, Jan. 4,1949. On Feb. 2,1949, he saw a bobcat "crossing road y2 mile above Tunnel Rock. Animal, apparently an immature one, was sneaking across the road with its eyes fixed on an unknown object or objects up the slope in the brush. It paid no attention to the patrol truck until it was within 50 feet of the cat; it then turned and re-crossed the highway, without looking at the truck directly. It stopped about six feet down the shoulder of the road, crouched there and looked up at us as the truck passed by. An interesting point is that

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there was a drizzling rain at the time, and the cat was wet, but not bothered by it seemingly." In 1950, Boyer (1950a) reported: "March 29. Ranger Nealis and Roadman Stiltz ran a good-sized bobcat off of a coyote-killed yearling deer about one mile east of Burnt Pt. Creek [Cow Creek] on the west boundary road while on road patrol this date. The animal was reluctant to leave the carcass when the ranger truck appeared. Another bobcat was seen crossing the road several miles south of this point." On Mar. 16, outside the park, a few miles from Cedar Grove, by the side of the road near Barton's Resort, Boyer had seen the carcass of a doe on which coyotes and subsequently a bobcat had fed. "California bobcat tracks showed in the soft dirt near the body. The following day, several park employees . . . frightened a bobcat from the almost completely stripped carcass. On March 18, very little was left of the deer, as is generally the case." Bobcats are reported to be rather common at Barton's Resort. At Grant Grove, droppings examined in 1950 by Boyer (1950&) "contained remains of birds, rodents, and rabbits." In the Kings, where brush habitat is less plentiful, the bobcat is a regular resident principally along the lower, western part of the park. MABMOT

Marmota flaviventris sierrae A. H. Howell Description.—A large, fat-bodied, yellowish-brown rodent of the timberline areas. The upper parts are grizzled with white, with the top of the head and nose blackish; chest, feet, and side of neck are dull yellowish. Total length is about 24 inches; bushy tail, about 7 inches; weight, about 5 pounds. The shrill, sharp whistle of the marmot when alarmed and the animal's habit of taking sun baths on top of boulders are characteristic. Habits.—Marmots are essentially mountain woodchucks and as such belong to a group of fat, comparatively slow and clumsy, burrowing rodents. The eastern woodchucks are primarily lowland forms that live at the edges of fields and woods; marmots, the western representatives, are nearly all inhabitants of far-northern or mountainous regions, from Alaska to central New Mexico and the southern Sierra. Marmots feed chiefly on grass and green leafy plants rather than on seeds,

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which are the principal food of many other rodents. Apparently they do not cache this food but store up enough fat within their bodies during the relatively short summer season to carry them through the long months of hibernation. This no doubt is the reason that marmots are fat and lazyappearing, for intense activity does not promote the deposit of fat in the tissues. Marmots live a fairly secure life in the shelter of their rocky dens. But, since a marmot may hibernate nine months out of the year, the oblivion of deep sleep is part of the price of this security, even if the animals do not realize it. During cloudy weather even in summer, marmots are notably absent from the flat rocks where they habitually soak up the sun on summer days. Marmots usually make their dens between or under boulders, where badgers, bears, and wolverines cannot dig them out. At Heather Lake, a marmot sought to escape from Dixon by running under a large, flat rock; but since the crevice did not go in far, Dixon, by reaching in about a foot, grasped the animal and dragged it out by its tail. Suspended by its tail, the marmot was practically helpless and struggled very little. Subsequently, when placed on top of a large boulder, it crouched motionless for a moment, as many creatures do when cornered, perhaps seeking to avoid notice, then took refuge under another boulder. Park status and records.—Common in the vicinity of boulder piles in high mountain meadows from timber line down to 7,000 ft. elevation. In Sequoia, marmots can frequently be observed at Hockett Meadows, Alta Peak, Hamilton Lakes, Heather Lake, and Wolverton Creek. Our earliest spring record after the marmots' hibernation, was at Hamilton Lake, elevation 8,500 feet: five marmots were out and running about over snowdrifts 5 ft. deep, May 21, 1935. Two were seen cropping grass and green vegetation, June 7, 1935, at Gallats Lake, elevation 10,000 feet. Fresh tracks were seen in new snow at 10,500 ft., June 9, 1934, just below Wales Lake, and at 10,700 ft. near Wallace Lake. On June 17, 1933, on the summit of Alta Peak, a marmot was observed living in crevices of the peak's east face. The west slopes between 10,000 and 11,000 ft. elevation were covered with solid fields of snow; many marmot trails crossed these snow fields, often for a dis-

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tance of 50 to 100 yds. In making these crossings over the open snow, the marmots laid themselves open to attacks of golden eagles, a pair of which at this time had a nest near by, containing one eaglet; the animals had taken this risk in order to obtain green food in the early part of the season, before the snowbanks shrank. On Nov. 15,1934, no fresh droppings or cuttings could be found at or near the den on Alta Peak; this indicated that the marmots had gone into hibernation for the winter. One was seen near Wolverton Creek on the Generals Highway, May 5,1942, by Oberhansley (1942). Clarence Fry (1939a) reported that before 1913 marmots were numerous around Hockett Meadows; since then, they had been almost completely wiped out by some disease, but by 1926 or 1928 they were numerous again. In the Kings, marmots have been recorded at Rae Lake, Kennedy Mountain, Woods Lake, Dusy Lakes, Evolution Basin, Quaking Meadow in Deadman Canyon, and Martha Lake. CALIFORNIA GROUND

Citellus beecheyi

fisheri

SQUIRREL

(Merriam)

Description.—The California ground squirrel0 is about the size of a gray squirrel but is more thickset. It is yellowish brown instead of gray, and has silvery gray patches on the sides of the neck and shoulders. Total length is 17 inches; tail, 7 inches; weight, 22]/2 ounces. This squirrel spends most of its life on the ground instead of in trees; it is seen commonly on the tops of rocks and fences. When frightened, it runs into a burrow instead of up a tree like a gray squirrel. The alarm note is a sharp, metallic or whistled "clink." This animal is one of the most conspicuous and characteristic rodents of the lower foothills and valleys of California. Habits.—Various species of ground squirrels inhabit prairies and open mountain slopes in western North America, from Alaska to Lower California and Mexico. They do not occur in heavy forest, in areas of tall, dense grass and weeds, or in thick chaparral. Still other relatives inhabit Europe, central Asia, and Siberia. The California ground squirrel occurs principally in the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys and in the western foothills of the Sierra, although its range extends over the mountains into Nevada in the vicinity of Pyramid Lake. ® Also known as Beechey ground squirrel.

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By digging their dens deep among the rocks, ground squirrels have escaped some of the predators of tree squirrels. However, the strength necessary for this work has been developed at the expense of the agility which is one of the defenses of the tree squirrels. Although ground squirrels have in their subterranean retreats greater protection from owls and hawks, they are more vulnerable than tree squirrels to surprise by snakes and weasels. California ground squirrels are relatively poor climbers, yet some of them do climb trees. At Sunset Rock in Giant Forest, on September 16, 1933, one ran 40 feet up the vertical trunk of a ponderosa pine to gnaw off some ripening pine cones. Augustine reports (1940a) that, on May 19, 1939, he noticed a squirrel in the front yard of the Hospital Rock Ranger Station, dusting itself. Soon it went to a golden oak near the corner of the house, climbed the tree with ease, and went onto the roof. On November 7,1939, he saw a squirrel climbing a buckeye tree at the Hospital Rock campground. It climbed out on the branchlets, nipped several nuts, then ran down to the ground and, after removing their outer coverings, took the nuts into its tunnel. At higher elevations, however, these squirrels often wait on the ground while the smaller, more agile chickarees cut the pine cones, then pounce on the cones and carry them away before the chickarees can get down out of the trees. On September 17,1933, observations at Sunset Rock showed that ground squirrels robbed the chickarees of about two out of every three cones that they cut. Since the chickarees could not run fast with the green cones, the larger and more powerful ground squirrels easily overtook them. In certain climates, ground squirrels may spend as much as seven or eight months out of each year in a dormant condition in their burrows. In the hot lowlands where the vegetation dries up early, this period of dormancy may begin as early as July. This summer sleep is called "aestivation," as distinguished from the winter sleep, to which the term "hibernation" is properly restricted. As the fall months pass, aestivation becomes hibernation. The animals do not wake up; they are usually so torpid that heartbeat and respiration almost stop. With the advent of spring and a new crop of vegetation, the ground squirrels—which had been bulging with fat in the summer—wake up thin and hungry. The number of young in a litter averages about seven. The food is chiefly vegetable and includes nearly all kinds of wild seeds, wild and cultivated grains, fruits, berries, vegetables, lily bulbs, acorns, and blossoms. Ober-

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hansley (1942) has seen several squirrels on green yucca stalks gouging or chewing out pieces of succulent stem. Although animal food ordinarily does not comprise a large part of the squirrel's diet, it is quite eagerly sought; this includes grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, caterpillars, and the eggs and young of small birds when the squirrel can find them. B. E. Jamison, Ranger Naturalist at the Grant Grove Section, described the following incidents (in letters to Dixon, November 10 and December 7, 1939): In the early part of July, 1939, Jamison and a nature party of about twenty visitors observed two ground squirrels sucking eggs in a quail's nest, about a quarter of a mile from Grant Grove park headquarters on the Sequoia Lake trail. The squirrels were frightened away. Four eggs had been destroyed, and the next day it was found that all the remaining eggs had been either broken or carried away. The squirrels apparently had returned to their feast. On July 20, a group of boys observed a ground squirrel which had in its mouth something that appeared to be a living object. When they chased and frightened the squirrel, it dropped the object. This proved to be a young quail about two or three days old. In the first week of June, another squirrel in the Grant Grove Section killed a fairly large chicken which, with several other chickens, was in a box faced with slats. This squirrel returned to the box several times, although it was chased away each time. The box was finally hung from a tree limb. Ground squirrels are rather readily caught in traps baited with meat. Not infrequently they eat small animals that have recently been run over by automobiles. Under certain conditions, cannibalism used to be common among domestic chickens and game birds held in captivity; however, when it was discovered that this abnormal type of meat hunger was caused, at least in part, by salt deficiency, it was easily controlled (Nestler, 1940). It seems likely, therefore, that meat eating in rodents is a symptom comparable to the hunger for salt that is shown by both deer and cattle to such a marked degree in the Sierra. This view is further substantiated by the observation of Boyer (1949a) on the gray squirrel (see section on California Gray Squirrel). Probably it is more than a coincidence that another, unrelated, dweller of the salt-poor, high mountain country, the Cassin finch, also displays a craving for mineral deposits (see section on Cassin Finch). In July, 1940, Ranger Naturalist Paul Wilson reported to Augustine (1940b) that he had watched a fight between two golden-mantled ground squirrels and a California ground squirrel, in which one golden-mantled

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squirrel had been killed. The California ground squirrel carried off the dead golden-mantled squirrel in its jaws, as any carnivore would carry off its kill. The red-tailed hawk is one of the foremost natural enemies of the ground squirrel. An examination by Oberhansley (1942) of pellets under two nests in the park in June, 1942, revealed more ground squirrel hair and bones than all other materials combined. Park status and records.—In Sequoia, common in the oak-covered lower foothill region, particularly at Ash Mtn. Hdqrs., Potwisha, and Hospital Rock; less common at higher elevations, but increasing. In Giant Forest the species is most numerous about Sunset and Beetle rocks; it seems to have increased at Lodgepole in the past decade. Relatively few individuals have been found at Kern Hot Springs, and only one at Upper Funston Meadow, in a rockslide. One was seen by Oberhansley (1942) at the foot of Mt. Whitney in September, in both 1939 and 1940; one was reported by Augustine (1939a) just under J. O. Pass at 9,300 ft. elevation, in 1939. In 1943, Clarence Fry (1943b) reported the occasional presence of the species as high as 10,000 ft. in the Kern. On Aug. 9,1939, Ranger Naturalist Paul Wilson saw ground squirrels within y2 mi. of the natural bridge on Golden Trout Creek at 8,000 ft. elevation. Ranger Naturalist Applegarth saw one on the High Sierra Trail west of Chagoopa Plateau at about 8,500 ft. elevation, Aug. 31, 1939 (Augustine, 1940). On Feb. 9, 1950, Boyer (1950a) reported: "A [California] Ground Squirrel was observed at the mouth of a snow burrow in a cut near the 6,000 feet sign on Highway 180. The animal, large in size and grizzled in appearance, probably was one of the oldest 'grandpa' squirrels generally seen 'out' longest in the fall and the first 'out' in the spring. The burrow was dug through two and one-half feet of packed snow, on an angle of about 70° from the vertical. The animal was wary of humans, as once it disappeared it did not return in a 20 minute wait." On May 11,1950, he observed: "[California] Ground Squirrels were observed in mating antics during the period from May 11 to 14. The females examined were in oestrus during the time. The following antics were observed between a pair of rodents: the larger squirrel slowly followed the smaller [female] animal. She turned around, touching noses with the other for several seconds, their backs being arched and

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all pelage standing on end. Finally there was a short, fast scuffle and the animals disappeared in a Ceanothus tangle." In the Kings there is less foothill habitat than in Sequoia, but the species is common in the vicinity of Cedar Grove. Records in 1936: ground squirrels sparingly present from Charlotte Meadow to the floor of Kings Canyon, July 24; one at Tent Meadow, July 25; a few at Simpson Meadow, July 28. In 1940: one seen on the Copper Creek trail at about 7,000 ft. elevation but none higher; one at 7,500 ft. near Wildman Meadow, and three or four at intervals from that point down Lewis Creek to Cedar Grove; one on the south side of Avalanche Pass, Sept. 27; one at Cub Meadow; one at junction of the North and South forks of Woods Creek, Aug. 12, and increasingly common from there down. In 1942, the species was seen, May 8 and 17, at Lewis Creek; and May 21, by Miller (1942), up to 6,500 ft. elevation on Sheep Creek. Generally, it is found below 7,500 ft. and reaches the upper limits of its center of abundance at 8,500 ft., although it occurs sparingly at higher levels. Ground squirrels have spread somewhat farther into the high country in recent years. Some old residents think that this has come about because the squirrels have followed pack stock for spilled grain, and people for picnic-lunch remains, along the trails into the higher mountains. That food from such occasional undependable sources could have influenced the squirrel populations materially seems doubtful. It may be significant that the spread coincided both in time and place with the virtual extermination of the rattlesnake, a potent natural enemy. Another explanation is that the building of trails and the grazing of meadows in the high country created favorable ground squirrel habitat in new areas. Linsdale's intensive studies (1946) indicate that ground squirrels require rather open areas where their vision is unrestricted by tall grass, and that they have disappeared from areas that have grown back to dense vegetation. Testimony gathered by Augustine (1940a) in 1939 and 1940 from old-time local residents, indicated that the ground squirrels in Sequoia originally occupied much the same range as they do now, though possibly they were a little less widely distributed and undoubtedly were much less abundant. The testimony follows: Walter Fry stated that in 1901 ground squirrels were seen up the

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Middle Fork of the Kaweah only as far as the place where the Mineral King road leaves the present highway, which was then the end of the road. They were first seen in Giant Forest in 1918, but in the next twenty years there was no noticeable change in the population. With road and trail construction came an increase in ground squirrels, which perhaps was due to increased food—the barley and hay used for packing. There were a few at Ash Mtn. Hdqrs. when he first came to the park, in the early 1900's. Assistant Chief Ranger Irvin D. Kerr found no ground squirrels at Lodgepole in 1925; they were first noticed in 1928 when a corral was erected in the place now known as Bridge Camp. He too believes that hay and other foods brought in by man caused the animals to appear in that area. Chief Ranger Ford E. Spigelmyre stated that the first ground squirrel was seen in Grant Grove (then called General Grant National Park) in 1925, and he remembered hearing the late Ranger Charles Lee remark that this was the first one to arrive. Park Ranger Asa Peck, however, said that ground squirrels were very numerous in the Redwood Meadow district in 1924. Mr. and Mrs. Phil Alles, residents of Atwell Mill since the early 1890's, stated that they have always seen these squirrels in numbers comparable to those in the area today. Caretaker Herb Quick stated that there were very few ground squirrels at Giant Forest in 1932 when he arrived. Now they are very numerous. Postmaster Bruce Montgomery of Giant Forest said in 1940 that twenty-five years earlier there were no squirrels on the Middle Fork of the Kaweah or up the Mineral King road; at Mineral King, where he had owned a cabin for many years, they were seen for the first time about 1920; there has been a general increase since then. Dr. C. E. Wells, the resident doctor at Giant Forest, has noticed a definite increase in the past six years in Giant Forest. Fireguard John Grunigen, who came into the Three Rivers country in 1893, clearly remembers seeing squirrels on the East and North forks of the Kaweah. In 1896, he saw squirrels on the Mineral King road as far as Lake Canyon, and up the North Fork or Colony Mill road as far as Watson Spring and Marble Canyon. He camped at Watson Spring and remembers well the presence of ground squirrels. Even in the early days, he

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noted periods of excessive populations, but the numbers in peak periods were not comparable to those seen today. Jules Conterno of Camp Lewis, Kern Canyon, said that when he first arrived in the Kern in 1902 there were no ground squirrels. He first saw them in 1916, and they have been steadily increasing ever since. Clarence Fry said that no squirrels were in the Kem when he first visited it in 1903. They first began to be noticeable there about 1913 or 1915. E. B. Jones, carpenter at Ash Mtn. Hdqrs. who came there in 1921, thought that the ground squirrel population then was about the same as in 1940. CCC Foreman Bruce Bequette, who was reared in the Three Rivers district, said that he remembered seeing ground squirrels in the park at all times. There were many in Giant Forest in 1911, when he visited that area for the first time. Park Ranger George Brooks stated that in 1926 squirrels were present in the same area as they are now. He has always seen them at Tar Gap Ridge, though their numbers have varied over the years. Ground squirrels have never been seen at Hockett Meadows; their numbers in near-by areas have varied. When Brooks made his first pack trip up the Middle Fork to Hospital Rock and above, in 1920, he saw large numbers of squirrels; they ranged as high as Slide Spring. Flumewalker Fred Griffiths, an Oak Grove resident for forty-two years, said: "Squirrels have always been here, and were as numerous forty-two years ago as now, and they ranged as high as they do now." G O L D E N - M A N T L E D GROUND

Citellus lateralis chrysodeirus

SQUIRREL

Merriam

Description.—A small, brilliantly colored ground squirrel of the high mountains. Its striping gives it the general appearance of a large chipmunk, but its body is stockier than that of a chipmunk and the tail shorter. Head and neck are yellowish or copper-colored; a local name for the animal is "copperhead." The back is grizzled brown; the under parts are pale gray or whitish. Conspicuous and diagnostic is the broad white stripe on each side of the back, sandwiched between two dark stripes. (In true chipmunks, both the head and the body are striped.) Total length is 11 inches; tail, 4 inches; weight, 5 % ounces.

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Habits.—The golden-mantled ground squirrel inhabits mountain forests of the West from British Columbia to southern California, Arizona, and New Mexico. A close relative also inhabits mountain areas in Mexico. Although the golden-mantled ground squirrel lives in forested regions, it keeps to the ground when traveling or feeding, and seldom climbs logs or rocks except when seeking a lookout station. However, a partly grown animal climbed a pine tree in Darwin Canyon, on July 28, 1942, almost as easily as a chipmunk. The golden-mantled ground squirrel is a rather silent animal. It seldom utters its single alarm note, "chip," even when the true chipmunks are vociferously shouting their alarms. The young number two to six in a litter and are born in June and July. They come aboveground when about one-fourth grown. They are extremely active, and often are more brilliantly colored than the adults. The species appears to hibernate earlier in the fall at Sequoia and to come out later in the spring than the chipmunks do. Apparently this squirrel goes to sleep about the last of October and usually does not reappear until about the middle of April. In Sequoia, the first golden-mantled ground squirrel of the season was seen out of hibernation at Giant Forest on April 8,1933. By April 24 several squirrels were out, although on the level the snow was still three to four feet deep. By the middle of September they had become sleek and fat, in preparation for their long winter sleep underground. They were seen carrying finely shredded bark and hair to line their hibernation dens. On October 13, 1934, an all-day search from Giant Forest to Willow and Cahoon meadows revealed only two golden-mantled ground squirrels that had not gone into hibernation. On November 13, 1934, an all-day hunt in Giant Forest yielded none, although one had been seen the previous day. Our observations were subsequently confirmed by Boyer, who wrote (1948a): "Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel activity has ceased in this region [Giant Forest area]. None has been seen since November 20th. Sequoia chipmunks, pine squirrels, grey squirrels, and an occasional 'old' Fisher ground squirrel are still observed. Temperatures are dropping to 18 degrees F. at night at 6,800 feet elevation." A few golden-mantled ground squirrels living in or near the residences of park employees, however, are reported to have been active on warm days almost throughout certain winters. In March, 1949, for instance, Ranger Bechtel reported "several Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels and Chip-

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munks . . . in the vicinity of his residence" on warmer days (Boyer, 1949fo). Again, on February 6, 1950: District Ranger Bechtel reported a Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel as being active around his residence. There is a constant source of rodent food and bird food available throughout the winter at the large bird feeder alongside the house. One animal seen by Ranger Branges near the Standard Service Station at Grant Grove on December 20 is . . . thought to have been disturbed by quantities of water from a local thawing out having entered or breached the usually well waterproofed burrow system; or another possibility is that the animal was disturbed by another animal. The latter squirrel ran only a few feet across the snow and quickly dug itself down into the snow and disappeared. (Boyer, 1950a.) In the spring, when new vegetation still is scarce, the golden-mantle depends to some extent on the various stores of seeds that it cached the preceding summer in small burrows or in side passages connected with its main den. If it forgets where some of these stores are or does not live to use all of them, some of the seeds may sprout and eventually become forest trees. Thus the golden-mantled ground squirrel helps to perpetuate the forest. It eats grass and plant seeds, blossoms, leaves of green plants, berries, mushrooms, roots, bulbs, pine nuts, and tourist tidbits. It also steals the cones cut by chickarees before the chickarees can get down out of the treetops to claim them, and eagerly eats meat and insects when it can obtain them. Like many other species of ground squirrels, the golden-mantled squirrel takes frequent dust baths in the warm sunshine, or just lies and soaks up the sun. Since it spends half of its life under the ground, this sun bathing may be necessary in order to obtain sufficient ultraviolet radiation, and may represent a supplementary method of storing up vitamins. Among this squirrel's many natural enemies are weasels, coyotes, red foxes, wolverines, badgers, bears, and hawks. On August 24, 1933, near Crabtree Meadow a weasel was seen chasing a young golden-mantled ground squirrel, but the squirrel escaped by running up into a bushy lodgepole pine. Three minutes later the squirrel came down the tree and scampered off. On the same day another escaped from a mountain coyote by running under a rock.

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Boyer (1950a) tells of an observation made by District Ranger Erskine on July 30,1950, at the swimming pool at Lodgepole: "At the pool intake, a mature Golden Mantle was seen to jump voluntarily a distance of about 18 inches into the deep water and swim to the other bank, a distance of 6 feet. The route taken was not essential, as the animal could have reached the other bank by a curved land route." Boyer suggests that a heavy flea infestation might have motivated the plunge. Park status and records.—Rather common from middle altitudes in the fir belt up to timber line at 12,000 ft. elevation, but nowhere as abundant as the chipmunk; conspicuous in the vicinity of camps. In Sequoia, the species was seen at Siberian Pass Aug. 27,1933. Records in 1934: one squirrel seen at a little above 11,500 ft. elevation on the headwaters of the Kern near Lake South America, June 11; two at 11,000 and 11,200 ft. elevation on Milestone Mtn., June 12; many above Moraine Lake among the foxtail pines at 10,500 ft., June 15; six, near Hockett Meadows, June 18, 1935. The species occurs regularly at Round Meadow in Giant Forest. One squirrel was seen, Aug. 27, 1933, at 12,000 ft. elevation on Mt. Whitney; one was seen there near 13,000 ft. in 1950, by Oberhansley (1942). Augustine (1940k) found the squirrels numerous between 11,500 and 12,000 ft. at Hitchcock Lakes and around Mt. Guyot. Records of golden-mantled ground squirrels in the Kings, in 1940: Aug. 4, two at East Lake; Aug. 8, present but not numerous around Charlotte Lake and Mt. Gardiner; Aug. 27, one on main ridge west of Glacier Valley; Aug. 29, rather common on the trail up the Dusy Branch; Aug. 30, quite common in LeConte Canyon all the way to Muir Pass; Sept. 25, one east of Moraine Meadow, and one on Sphinx Creek trail. Two young were seen, July 28,1942, at 11,000 ft. elevation in Darwin Canyon.

BELDING GROUND SQUIRREL

(Citellus heldingi

beldingi)

Description.—Smaller than the California ground squirrel, being about the size of a chickaree or a house rat, and with a noticeably short tail. When the animal stops to look around, it stands up very straight on its hind legs, with the forelegs inconspicuously pressed against its body, so that, from

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a distance, it resembles a short stake or picket pin of the kind burros are tethered to. Because of this, it is commonly called a picket pin. It lives in small colonies in alpine meadows. Upper parts are light yellowish brown; under parts are lighter. Total length is 9 to 11% inches; tail, 2y 3 to 3 inches; weight, 7y4 to 10% ounces (Grinnell and Storer, 1924, p. 168). Habits.—The Belding ground squirrel is a short-tailed ground squirrel that inhabits mountain meadows of the Canadian and Hudsonian life zones in the central and southern Sierra. Its center of abundance lies closer to Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, and Mono Lake than to the Kings, where its colonies are comparatively small and isolated. Similar animals inhabit eastern Oregon, northeastern California, and adjacent parts of Idaho and Nevada. It has seldom or never been seen to climb trees, and is not often seen even on the tops of boulders, which many of its relatives use as lookout posts when watching for enemies. Undoubtedly, the very erect, picket-pin posture represents a compensatory effort to spy out enemies. The loud, clear, piping whistles with which it announces the discovery of an intruder also serve to warn all members of the colony. Belding ground squirrels feed primarily on grass, the green leaves of meadow plants, and seeds. They apparently do not store food or dig for bulbs like the more widely distributed California ground squirrel, and their diet appears to be less varied. Hibernation commences in late September, or even earlier if the herbaceous plants begin to dry up earlier, as in a drought year (Ingles, 1947, p. 99). This winter sleep usually lasts until May or June. The number of young in a litter averages about eight. Park status and records.—Not known from Sequoia, which lies just south of its range. In the Kings, its southernmost recorded habitat (Howell, 1938, p. 81), it is fairly common in meadows at high altitudes, particularly above 9,500 ft. In July, 1928, specimens (MVZ 7706177063) were collected at Dusy Lake, elevation 10,700 ft., and at Little Pete Meadow, 9,200 ft. Records of Belding ground squirrels in 1940: one at "Upper Little Pete" Meadow, Aug. 30; one dropped at the same place by a startled Cooper hawk, Sept. 2; seven in McClure Meadow and many around Evolution Lake, Sept. 1; a good many in Upper Basin, Sept. 3, at least as far south as the Taboose Trail junction; one at Horse Corral Meadow (elevation 7,600 ft.), Sept. 21. In 1942: one animal and many burrows seen in Goddard Canyon at 8,500 ft. eleva-

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tion, July 24; three squirrels at McClure Meadow, July 25; two specimens collected there, July 27; squirrels common there, July 29. In 1947, three were seen, Sept. 10, at Martha Lake. DISTINGUISHING FEATURES OF THE CLOSELY SIMILAR

FOUR

CHIPMUNKS

(Alpine, Lodgepole, Say, and Merriam) Because identification of the four kinds of true chipmunks that inhabit the parks (as distinguished from the golden-mantled ground squirrel) may prove difficult, their distinguishing characteristics are tabulated below: THE FOUR CLOSELY SIMILAR CHIPMUNKS Habitat

Size

Coloration

Voice

Remarks

A thin, highpitched, repeated "sweet, sweet, sweet"

Distinguishable by its very small size, pale coloration, and the rocky, alpine habitat

Alpine Chipmunk Inhabits higher altitudes than any other chipmunk —Hudsonian and Alpine-Arctic life zones— and seldom occurs below 9 , 0 0 0 ft.; rock piles are its chief habitat, down logs a secondary preference; seldom climbs trees

Smallest of the park chipmunks, only slightly larger than a mouse; length 7 in.; weight oz.

Palest of the park chipmunks, pale buff on sides; light and dark stripes not sharply contrasting; under side of tail bright orangeyellow

Lodgepole Chipmunk Inhabits high forests west of Sierran crest, between 5 , 0 0 0 and 11,000 ft. elevation, principally in Canadian Life Zone, occasionally in Hudsonian and upper Transition; chief habitat is coniferous forest, both solid and interrupted by chaparral; where its range meets that of Say chipmunk, lodgepole frequents dense stands of lodgepole pine in the damper, more sheltered basins (Johnson, 1943, p. 9 9 )

Medium; total length 8% in.; tail in.; weight 2 oz.

Colors brighter and richer than in other park chipmunks, particularly the white stripes on the rich reddish-brown sides

T h e common chipmunk of the higher elevations west of the Sierran crest; frequently seen at Giant Forest, Lodgepole, Grant Grove, and comparable areas; climbs trees, sometimes to great heights

O F

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NEVADA FOUR

Habitat

3 8 1

CLOSELY

SIMILAR

Size

CHIPMUNKS

(Continued)

Coloration

Voice

Remarks

Similar to that of lodgepole chipmunk

An approximate eastside counterpart of the lodgepole chipmunk; the medium size, the restriction to the east slope of the Sierra (except near the crest), and the treeclimbing habit are characteristic

A soft lowpitched hollowsounding whistle, repeated at regular intervals from brush

The large size, dull colors, brushy low-elevation habitat, and soft, hollow, repeated birdlike note are characteristic; seldom as abundant as smaller chipmunks; appears more solitary and shy; climbs trees regularly, usually not higher than 25 ft.

Say Chipmunk Medium, East side of Sierra and approxivicinity of crest on west side—Bullfrog Lake, for mately example; high limber same size pine and white-bark pine as lodgeforests on east slope, pole chipprincipally in Canadian munk Life Zone, occasionally in Hudsonian; logs and stumps on forest floor near timber line are the chief habitat; where ranges of Say and lodgepole chipmunks meet, Say frequents open forests of stunted limber pine and white-bark pine on well-drained, exposed slopes near timber line (Johnson, 1943, p. 9 9 )

Colors "average," not clearly distinctive for field identification; not as rich as those of lodgepole chipmunk

Merriam Chipmunk Chaparral areas mixed with small trees, at lower elevations on west slope of Sierra, chiefly in Upper Sonoran and lower Transition life zones, below 4,000 ft.; forages principally in brush

Largest of the park chipmunks; total length 9if, in.; tail 4 in.; weight 2V> oz.

Colors noticeably dull and grayish compared to other park chipmunks

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ALPINE

MAMMALS

CHIPMUNK

Eutamias alpinus (Merriam) Description.—This, the smallest of the four park chipmunks, is almost as small as a mouse. It is also the palest chipmunk in the parks. (See table listing distinguishing features of the four chipmunks.) It lives mostly among rock piles at or near timber line, frequenting open areas rather than dense growths of vegetation, and it seldom climbs trees. Habits.—The alpine chipmunk is restricted to the High Sierra of California; specimens have been taken along the higher parts of the range from Olancha Peak, some 10 miles southeast of Sequoia National Park, to Mount Conness in Yosemite. There are about sixty-five kinds of chipmunks, distributed through the forests and brushlands of North America, from Canada to Mexico and from Maine to California. The group as a whole occupies an enormous variety of habitats, but the various races have become somewhat specialized to fit into certain types of environment. Thus there are mountaintop chipmunks, middle-altitude chipmunks, lowerfoothill chipmunks, sagebrush, badlands, plains, and northern-forest chipmunks. The alpine chipmunk is for the most part terrestrial. Occasionally it is seen a few feet up in bushy trees, but it spends most of its life in the rockslides that characterize its timber-line habitat. It is believed that its dens are among the rocks or in burrows under them. The hibernation period is unusually brief, in view of the high elevation. The animals remain out until near the middle of October and appear to emerge again in June (Grinnell and Storer, 1924, p. 192). More precise information along these lines is lacking because human observers do not commonly remain in the alpine chipmunk's habitat during the winter months. The usual number of young in a litter is apparently four or five. The food consists chiefly of the small seeds of sedges and other alpine plants, which for any mammal larger than this chipmunk would be too small to handle, as well as inadequate in amount. Park status and records.—A common resident in the higher mountains at and above timber line. In Sequoia, found regularly at Alta Peak. Records of alpine chipmunks in 1933: some seen among the Kaweah Peaks at 12,000 ft. elevation near Nine Lakes, Aug. 17, 1933; on the Kern-Kaweah as low as 9,000 ft., Aug. 22; on the trail to Mt,

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Whitney at 12,500 ft., Aug. 25. In 1934: at Wales Lake, elevation 11,750 ft., June 9; in Milestone Basin at 11,800 ft., June 12; several individuals at Aster Lake, June 22. In the Kings, two were observed in the vicinity of Muir Pass, Aug. 30, 1940; several at Mather Pass and adjacent areas above 10,500 ft. elevation, Sept. 3. One was seen at the upper end of Evolution Lake, July 26,1942; one at 11,000 ft. elevation in Darwin Canyon, July 28. LODCEPOLE

CHIPMUNK

Eutamias speciosus sequoiensis Howell Description.—The lodgepole chipmunk is the common, brightly colored chipmunk of Giant Forest, Lodgepole, Grant Grove, and all camp grounds at that general elevation on the west side of the Sierran crest. Its bright, white stripes and trustful nature are characteristic. It is the only chipmunk in the parks that habitually goes up into the trees when frightened. (See table listing distinguishing features of the four chipmunks in the parks.) Habits.—The lodgepole chipmunk inhabits both slopes of the Sierra as far south as Mammoth Pass, the west slope of the southern Sierra between the San Joaquin and Tule rivers, and also various scattered high mountains in southern California. This species hibernates in warm nests which it builds in stumps, logs, and in cracks and crevices of rock piles. There are three to six young in a litter; they may be bom in an underground den or high up in a woodpecker hole. Fallen tree trunks, in open places, as at the edges of mountain meadows, are a favorite habitat; the chipmunks characteristically dig their burrows under or near such sheltering objects. At Giant Forest the lodgepole chipmunk comes out of hibernation in March or early in April. For example, on April 14,1935, although the snow was 3 to Sl/> feet deep on the level near Lodgepole Camp, some of the granite domes and warmest exposures were free of snow. In such warm spots several lodgepole chipmunks had come out of their hibernation dens and were running about through the manzanita bushes and over the snow. At Giant Forest the first chipmunk was seen on April 9, 1934, and several were seen at Beetle Rock on April 16. They came out first on the warm south- and west-facing rocky areas. Tracks in the snow showed that coyotes had been stalking both chipmunks and chickarees there. At 4 P.M., on March 29,1948, "The first Lodgepole Chipmunk was caught by hand, iden-

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tified, and released at the 7,000 ft. elevation marker on the Generals Highway . . (Boyer, 1948a). At Grant Grove, March 2, 1950, "the first chipmunk activity was reported at District Ranger Bechtel's residence. . . . March 7, the first chipmunk was seen at the Grant Grove Coffee Shop. It had hibernated under the grocery store, and was fat and in good shape. Undoubtedly the last few days before the winter sleep had been spent in eating from the chickaree food caches under this same building." On November 14,1934, near Willow Meadow, four lodgepole chipmunks were still out and active. On November 15, between Panther Gap and Alta Meadow, three more were seen. This, however, must have been close to the end of their year, for with the first hard snowstorms in December, and often even in November, they go to bed for their long winter sleep, which is interrupted only by brief stirrings abroad during occasional warm breaks in the winter weather. Lodgepole chipmunks can dart straight up or down the perpendicular trunks of large trees and can leap from one branch or needle cluster to another, though not as easily as the tree squirrels. At Coffee Mill Meadow, on July 31, 1940, a chipmunk was photographed repeatedly at a distance of 5 feet when it attempted to escape observation by crouching motionless on the branch of a small fir tree. However, when the observer approached still closer, it leaped out and downward 6 feet, landing on a branchtip of another fir tree, and then raced into a thicket. The lodgepole chipmunk is an omnivorous feeder, relishing plant seeds, fruits and berries, pine nuts, and seeds of white and red fir trees. It also eats insects when they are available, and it is always willing to share the campers table scraps. However, park visitors are urged for their own protection not to feed these animals. For chipmunks, like human beings, are bitten by ticks that lurk in the brush. Sometimes these ticks are infected with relapsing fever, or some related disease, and transmit it to the chipmunk. The disease then may pass from one chipmunk to another, or from a chipmunk to a human being, through the bites of ticks and fleas associated with the infected animal. Like the golden-mantled ground squirrel, the lodgepole chipmunk has internal cheek pouches, which it stuffs so full of seeds that sometimes it appears to have a bad case of mumps. When the pouches are so full that nothing more can be crammed into them, the chipmunk buries the food in the soft, dry earth, to preserve it for future consumption. Since these seeds are planted at about the right depth for germination, those not dug

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up and eaten sometimes develop into seedlings. Thus the chipmunk is one of the most industrious of foresters. Park status and records.—Abundant at altitudes from 5,000 to 11,000 ft. In Sequoia, the lower edge of its range meets the upper edge of the range of the Merriam chipmunk at Moro Rock. At the east base of this rock, four Merriam chipmunks and four lodgepole chipmunks were seen, Oct. 15,1934, gathering ripening seeds among manzanita bushes and golden oaks. At Emerald Lake, elevation 10,650 ft., on Whitney Creek, the range of the lodgepole chipmunk meets that of the alpine chipmunk. Lodgepole chipmunks were seen at Sky Parlor Meadow, May 29, 1934. Specimens have been collected from Twin Lakes (in Sequoia), 9,700 ft. elevation; Cahoon Meadow, 7,800 ft.; Whitney Creek, 10,850 ft.; Junction Meadow, Round Meadow, Crescent Meadow, Hamilton Lake, 8,300 ft.; Moro Rock, 6,719 ft.; Kern Lake and Little Lake, 6,200 ft. Records of lodgepole chipmunks in the Kings, in 1940: one at Coffee Mill Meadow, July 31; many at East Lake, Aug. 4; many at the Glen Pass-Kearsarge Pass trail junction, Aug. 8; several at Moraine Meadow, Sept. 25; many at Cub Meadow, Sept. 27. In 1942: two seen below Lookout Peak on Sheep Creek, May 14; one taken by Dixon at Colby Meadow, July 27; species seen by Miller (1942), on the Sheep Creek trail, May 21.

SAY

CHIPMUNK

Eutamias quadrivitatus

inyoensis Merriam

Description.—The Say chipmunk resembles quite closely the lodgepole chipmunk of the west slope of the Sierra, but differs from it in being primarily an east-slope species. (See table listing distinguishing features of the four chipmunks in the parks.) Specimens have been collected at a few high points near the crest of the Sierra on the west side, such as Bullfrog Lake (10,600 feet elevation) and the south side of Cirque Peak (12,863 feet; 1 y2 miles south of Army Pass). But this chipmunk shuns the dense forests preferred by the Sequoia chipmunk. The Say chipmunk inhabits a scattered group of mountaintops stretching from the southern Sierra northeast across Nevada and Utah. Many of the populations stranded on these lofty islands of cold climate are separated

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BIRDS AND MAMMALS

from others of their kind by scores or even hundreds of miles of desert, which is impassable to them. The Say chipmunk lives chiefly in the Canadian Life Zone but is also present locally in the Hudsonian. It prefers high forests of ponderosa, white, limber, and white-bark pines; seldom ventures down into the pinyonjuniper belt of the lower Great Basin mountains; and stays out of the sagebrush plains (Hall, 1946, p. 340).

MERRIAM

CHIPMUNK

Eutamias merriami merriami

(Allen)

and Eutamias merriami kernensis Grinnell and Storer Description.—The Merriam chipmunk is the large, dull-colored species that inhabits chaparral in the foothills of the west slope. (See table listing distinguishing features of the four chipmunks in the parks.) When alarmed, it does not climb a tree but vanishes into the brush, and at all times it is noticeably more shy and more elusive than its small relatives of the higher slopes. The hollow, birdlike, single, whistled note, repeated over and over from an unseen spot in the dense brush, is often mistaken for the note of some bird. Habits.—The Merriam chipmunk occupies most of the brushy, lower mountain areas of the southern half of California and certain higher mountains of Lower California. Just as many other kinds of animals—such as flycatchers, woodpeckers, and foxes—have divided up the land so as to reduce competition between close relatives, so the chipmunks have evolved into high-mountain forms that climb trees habitually, and low-altitude species like the Merriam chipmunk that find a living in the brushlands of the Upper Sonoran Life Zone and the lower part of the Transition Zone. Unlike the alpine and lodgepole chipmunks, which live in areas deeply covered with snow in winter, some Merriam chipmunks do not hibernate but are active during the winter. On December 12, 1934, a Merriam chipmunk was seen foraging near Hospital Rock, and another was observed at 4,500 feet elevation six days later. On January 10, 1935, one was seen below Hospital Rock. Another was seen on March 9, 1935, on the Salt Creek truck trail. Individuals that live along the upper edge of their

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natural range may hibernate when made drowsy by snow and cold; those in the lower foothills probably never hibernate. Park status and records.—The race merriami merriami is a regular but sparse resident of the brush or chaparral belt in the lower foothills, below 5,500 ft. elevation, except in the Kem drainage. In Sequoia, the lowest altitude at which we have seen this species is 1,500 ft., just below Ash Mtn. Hdqrs. The highest is 6,600 ft.: Dixon took a specimen on the east side of Moro Rock, Oct. 12,1934. This chipmunk had eight sugar pine seeds in its right cheek pouch. Another Merriam chipmunk was seen, June 19, 1934, at 6,500 ft. elevation, on a cliff near Bearpaw Meadow. In the Kings, one was seen, May 5, 1942, at the mouth of Lewis Creek; and one at Cedar Grove, May 14. The race merriami kernensis is a rare resident along the middle part of Kern River in Sequoia. Three chipmunks were seen in a green manzanita thicket at Upper Funston Meadow, May 25,1934; two specimens were collected near Little Lake on Kern River, at the park boundary. Chickabee0

Tamiasciurus

douglasii albolimbatus

Allen

Description.—You may be walking quietly along the forest trail, your footsteps muffled by the carpet of pine needles, hearing no sound louder than the faint roar of a distant stream, your thoughts at peace. Suddenly from the shady branches overhead explodes a high-pitched, indignant "queer'-o!" followed by a series of squeaks and squeals of Lilliputian profanity: "Chee, chee, che-e-e-e-el" The challenge is so rude, so unexpected, and so vehement that you give a little start before you recognize with a smile the jerking, bushy tail and bulging bright eyes of the irate, insulting little forest sentry, the chickaree. The chickaree is a small, dark-brown, tree-climbing squirrel with a reddish tinge along the middle of the back and a black line along the sides that sharply marks off the white or buffy under parts. It is only about a third • Also called pine squirrel, red squirrel (though it is not conspicuously red), Douglas chickaree, and Douglas squirrel (which is confusing because there is also a Douglas ground squirrel).

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BIRDS AND

MAMMALS

the size of a gray squirrel and is much darker. It also comes to the ground less often than the gray squirrel. The chickaree lives mostly in coniferous forests of the Canadian and Hudsonian life zones; the gray squirrel lives principally in mixed oak and open coniferous forests of the Upper Sonoran and Transition zones. The tail is about two-thirds as long as the body; the ears are tall and slightly tufted. Total length is about 13 inches; tail, about 5 inches; weight, 9 ounces. The scolding, the call, and the habit of cutting pine cones in the autumn and letting them fall to the ground with a thump are characteristic. Habits.—The chickaree inhabits most of the coniferous forests of the Pacific Coast from British Columbia to northern Lower California. Other relatives, including the common red squirrel of the East, live in the majority of forest lands of northern and eastern North America, from Labrador to northern Georgia; in the middle part of the continent, from Alaska to southern Minnesota; and in the Far West, away from the Pacific Coast, as far south as the mountains of Arizona and New Mexico. The chickaree is the most agile tree climber of all the park squirrels, with the exception of the flying squirrel. In leaping from the high, swaying branches of one tree to those of a neighboring tree, it travels above the ground almost as fast as a man can run. In fact, it seldom comes to the ground except to gather cones, to drink, or to get to some tree too far away to be reached by a mid-air leap. It does not hibernate, although it may remain in its nest during winter storms. Hollow trees probably are the favorite den sites, including the abandoned holes of the larger kinds of woodpeckers. These cavities are lined with twigs, grass, pine-cone scales, leaves, fur, feathers, and shredded bark. When cavities are not available, the chickaree constructs a ball-like nest of the same materials in some thick clump of foliage or growth of mistletoe. The young are born in June or July, and average about five in a litter. In Giant Forest on January 12, 1935, tracks in the snow showed that the chickarees were active. On March 10, 1935, the only mammal seen abroad during the day at Giant Forest was a chickaree, which dashed across the road near the checking station. It jumped easily from tree to tree; but when it landed in the soft snow it sank out of sight. The chickaree eats young twig tips and flower buds, and the tender needle buds of coniferous trees. Seeds and nuts of many trees and shrubs make up the main fall and winter food supply, particularly the seeds that

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lie beneath the shingle-like scales of pine and fir cones. The chickaree eats bird eggs when it can find them, and it especially relishes raw meat, although normally that is a rare item in the animal's diet. On September 28, 1950, Boyer reported ( 1 9 5 0 a ) : A lack of conifer cones is apparent in the [Grant Grove] area. Most green cones of all types are cut down, or ripped open by Nutcrackers. The chickarees are concentrating on Big Tree cones, and some animals are moving down to lower plant associations for a supplemental mast diet in the Black Oaks. The drought over a period of four or five years is evidently showing up in the cone crop. Sub-normal precipitation over this period will make for a critical food shortage this year. Another instance of a chickaree foraging beyond its usual habitat is given below, under "Park status and records." The food-storing activities of the chickaree, particularly in late summer, are prodigious. It hides pine and fir cones in hollow logs, under prostrate trunks, and in various crevices, or it piles them in heaps in some sheltered, moist situation. The squirrels cut the cones high in the treetops, letting them fall one by one until enough lie on the ground to make it worth while for the animals to go down to the ground and store them away. So active are the little harvesters that the hard green cones rain down from the treetops, often startling hikers on the trails. On August 5, 1933, at Crescent Meadow, in a fusillade from the top of one of the giant sequoias, forty-one green cones dropped in five minutes, and, when the squirrel was at the peak of its activity, thirteen cones fell in ten seconds. On two square yards of ground there were thirty-four cut cones. By the next day all these cones had been gathered and stored away. At Simpson Meadow, on September 5,1940, one or more chickarees were busily cutting fir cones. Beginning about 8:30 A.M., a chickaree cut cones of a white fir at the rate of at least one each minute for more than a half hour. The cones thudded to the ground like little bombs. At 2:00 P.M. the ground was still covered with the plump green cones; no chickaree had retrieved them, although one was seen on the ground not far away. One visitor to Giant Forest, noticing the large number of sequoia cones cut by the chickarees, expressed the fear that, if the squirrels continued to cut the cones, reproduction of the sequoias would cease and when the present trees died there would be no more. He was reminded that the life of a giant sequoia usually extends over many centuries—individual trees

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two thousand years old are not considered rare—therefore the rate of replacement does not have to be high to insure survival of the species. If onetenth of one per cent of all the seeds produced in any one year by the giant sequoias in Giant Forest developed and grew into trees, there would not be standing room for other trees in the forest. During the thousands of years that the chickarees and the sequoias have existed together, the chickarees' habit of storing sequoia cones beside or under decaying logs at the margins of the meadows actually has assisted in the planting of sequoia trees, for by no means all of the millions of cones cut and hidden are actually eaten. On August 8, 1933, a Sierra chickaree cut down a number of sugar pine cones which it proceeded to husk on rocks and stumps near camp. However, a California ground squirrel soon took up quarters there, drove off the chickaree, and appropriated the cones. This procedure was repeated, both at Tokopah Valley and at Sunset Rock, on September 16, 1933. At Sunset Rock, on September 17, when the chickarees cut ponderosa pine cones, the California ground squirrels came running over as soon as they heard the heavy cones hit the ground, and carried them off to their dens in the rocks. The chickarees actually got only one out of every three cones that they cut. On one occasion a chickaree cut a cone and immediately ran down the tree to get it. The chickaree had only just begun to strip away the seeds, when a ground squirrel chased it up a tree and carried off the green cone, which was too heavy for the smaller animal to carry up the tree trunk. This cone, when taken from the ground squirrel, was found to weight 12 ounces. Another chickaree was seen carrying a green pine cone that weighed 7 ounces a distance of 50 yards. On another occasion a chickaree was seen to cut a terminal shoot of a pine: it bit off the stem and let the bushy tip drop, but it retained a piece 2 inches long and % inch in diameter. It peeled the outer bark from this piece and ate the cambium layer. This squirrel cut five such branches in a period of two and a half hours. Park status and records.—Fairly common throughout the forests of the middle altitudes; less numerous at higher altitudes but present up to 10,500 ft. Records of occurrence are so abundant and widespread in both parks that we cite only an unusual observation made by Boyer (1950a), September 2,1950, of the behavior of a chickaree—possibly a young and inexperienced animal—that had strayed from its normal

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habitat and was on the Hogback Road south and east of Pinehurst. "When seen at the Fresno-Tulare County line, the little animal was running down the road, away from the conifers and at the time over a mile from the nearest yellow pines. As it was observed for a few minutes, it covered almost a hundred yards along the road. It would run up the side of every buckeye it came to, pause momentarily and then descend the tree to run to the next one, possibly forty or fifty yards farther down the road. It was hurried in its actions and actually seemed lost. Quite possibly it had been brought down from the conifer country in a load of shingles or shake bolts, or in a load of firewood consigned to the lower areas. Lack of natural food such as cones of the conifers may have caused this change of habitat, also." CALIFORNIA GRAY SQUIRREL

Sciurus griseus griseus Ord Description.—A large, gray, bushy-tailed, rather slender squirrel that climbs trees and runs easily from branch to branch. On the ground it moves by a series of jumps. Its call is a hoarse, coughing bark. The upper parts have a pepper-and-salt gray appearance at close range; under parts are white. Total length is 22 inches; tail, 11 inches; weight, 26 to 32 ounces (Grinnell and Storer, 1926, p. 196). The broad silvery tail is as long as the body. Habits.—The California gray squirrel, in its various local races, inhabits the Sierra Nevada, the Coast Ranges from San Francisco Bay to Lower California, and the mountains of southern California. A close counterpart lives in the forested regions of the East, from Canada to Florida and in the Gulf States. Other relatives, including fox squirrels and tuft-eared squirrels, occur in the higher mountain areas of the Southwest, the East, and in northern Europe and Asia. The gray squirrel is as much at home in the trees as the chickaree, though perhaps it is a little less nimble by reason of its much greater size. Like the chickaree, it can run through treetops, but it also forages extensively on the ground. Its habits and those of the chickaree are similar enough to make the two species competitors; but they minimize competition by occupying different altitudes. Grinnell and Storer (1924, p. 196), however, state that this "competition seems to be one of the factors operative in limiting the upward extension of the Gray Squirrel's range."

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The California gray squirrel does not hibernate, although it may remain in its nest during winter storms. The globular nest is made of moss, twigs, and leaves and is roofed over; it is about 15 inches high and 12 inches across. Sometimes the squirrel uses a tree cavity instead of building a nest. Dixon found two nests of the species on the lower part of Paradise Creek above Buckeye Flat, on January 11,1935. The first nest was 30 feet up in a canyon live oak; the second, 25 feet up in the forked top of a black oak tree. California gray squirrels do not need to store as much food as some other squirrels do, because they live in regions of mild climate where snow covers their foraging areas little or not at all. They eat about the same kinds of food as the chickaree, but depend primarily upon acorns and pine seeds. They also eat funguses of the toadstool type, birds' eggs when they can get them, and occasionally fresh meat—a food highly relished by most squirrels but rare in their diet. In the fall, they store up some of the acorns and pine seeds in small scattered caches buried in the ground, or sometimes in hollow trees and other crevices. Boyer (1950a) reported from Grant Grove: A California gray squirrel was observed to work on a large green sugar pine cone in the area around the BPR contractor's messhall. A first attempt was made to carry the cone up a 60" sugar pine head first. The cone would over-balance the animal and cause it to drop the cone. On the third try the rodent seized the cone near the top, then backed up the tree and succeeded in reaching a large limb 20 feet from the ground, where it worked on the cone for several seconds before it fell to the ground. At this point a number of people had gathered to watch the operation, consequently forestalling any more attempts by the squirrel to utilize the cone for food. At Colony Mill, September 9,1933, gray squirrels were cutting, shelling, and eating the seeds of green sugar pine cones. Boyer (1950a) wrote, on February 25, 1950: Ranger Anderson reports an unusual Gray Squirrel activity from the Last Hill Ranger Station. One animal fed daily from an improvised "bird-feeder" outside the station, has taken over complete control of the birds and animals having occasion to feed at the station. Whenever one of the blue-fronted jays lights on the platform when the squirrel is there, the mammal stamps his forefeet at the jay to show his displeasure, much in the same manner as a skunk giving warning.

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Why are the shed antlers of deer and elk so seldom found in the forest? One answer is to be found in the study of rodent food habits. Squirrels, mice, and others of this large tribe apparently gnaw upon antlers and other bony materials for the minerals that they contain. Thus, vegetable-eating rodents seek shed horns and the skeletons of animals for the same reason that those larger vegetarians, the deer, elk, bighorn, and goats, eagerly visit natural salt licks. On May 20,1935, at Redwood Meadow, a gray squirrel was noted gnawing a white object which investigation showed was the bleached leg bone of a California mule deer. Both ends of the bone were gnawed, the tooth marks being plainly visible. And since the gray squirrel had actually been seen gnawing it, the bone was preserved as a specimen. Boyer (1950a) reported a similar observation from Grant Grove on April 3, 1949: A California Gray Squirrel was seen licking the granite foundations of the equipment shed and gasoline shed at Last Hill. The rodent would stand on its hind legs for several minutes at a time during the operation, and caused considerable puzzlement as to why it should be doing the licking. After the squirrel moved off, some particles were scraped from the rock and they had a decidedly salty taste. When a gray squirrel population becomes so dense that certain types of parasites spread from one squirrel to another, a serious disease epidemic is likely to erupt and kill nearly all the squirrels over large areas. Such an epidemic, caused by a scab mite of the genus Notoredes, wrought havoc among the gray squirrels of California about 1916. Walter Fry (1923c) reported that the epidemic "killed probably ninety per cent of these squirrels" in Sequoia about 1921 or 1922. By 1926 the squirrels were almost exterminated from Yosemite also. Records for Sequoia show that gray squirrels were still low in numbers in 1932 but were commencing to increase. The trend toward recovery was also reported in 1933. By 1940 they were again approaching high populations in certain favorable areas. At Colony Mill, in 1933, there were about four gray squirrels to a square mile of territory. On September 15, 1940, the identical area had approximately fourteen gray squirrels to a square mile. In 1944, Clarence Fry (19446) reported that gray squirrels were common and were still increasing. By 1949 they had become quite common at Hospital Rock. Another epidemic may be expected at some time in the future, if the populations continue to build up. This is merely a natural method of

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checking an excessive gray squirrel population. However, up to 1950 at least, the squirrels showed no signs of disease. Boyer (1948a) reports that on "June 19 [1948] Dist. Ranger H. G. Schmidt saw a large broad-winged hawk, possibly western red-tailed, make a strike on an unsuspecting western gray squirrel at Suwanee Creek, seven miles north of the Lodgepole area . . . The hawk seized the animal, and, with much difficulty, lifted the squirrel from the ground, and flew laboriously to a nearby tree." (For a record of a hawk's catching a gray squirrel under conditions of deep snow, see section on Cooper Hawk.) Park status and records.—A resident of the black oak and yellow pine forests of the Upper Sonoran and Transition life zones on the west slope of the Sierra up to about 7,700 ft. elevation. It occurs in the oakcovered foothills in winter, and in the yellow pine and black oak forests higher up in summer; it is prone to wander, especially in late fall and early winter, when it may be found several miles from its usual habitat. Records are so numerous that we can list only representative samples here. In Sequoia, two gray squirrels were seen at 3,500 ft. elevation on the ridge above and north of Hospital Rock, Dec. 16, 1935. In November, 1939, the species was reported on the Kaweah River near Buckeye Flat. Oberhansley (1942) reports that in winter and spring gray squirrels are common at Ash Mtn. Hdqrs. and are seen less frequently as low as Three Rivers. "They regularly nest at Paradise, Colony Mill and South Fork where they may be seen at all seasons in the Upper Sonoran Zone" (Oberhansley to Dixon, Dec. 18,1941). In 1933, one was seen in a sugar pine near Beetle Rock, Apr. 28; one near Bearpaw Meadow, Aug. 15; one at Colony Mill, Sept. 9. One was seen at Clough Cave on the South Fork of the Kaweah River, May 16, 1935. Augustine (1939a) estimated that about fifty inhabited Kern Canyon in 1939, a few as high up as Lower Funston Meadow, elevation 6,500 ft. Two were seen 2 mi. below Upper Funston Meadow, elevation 6,600 ft., July 21, 1949. One was seen at Ash Mtn. Hdqrs., May 19,1950; at Colony Mill the squirrels were becoming more numerous—one nested "in the tree near the [ranger] station . . . using pieces of burlap sacking for nest material. This is possibly a "bachelor' summer nest." Boyer (1950a) states also that, at Grant Grove, Aug. 31: "A melanistic phase of California

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gray squirrel was car-killed on the Generals Highway near Quail Flat . . . Its color at the most was deep blackish gray, the darkest pelage recorded in the parks in my memory. . . . Numbers of California gray squirrels are present on the Grant Grove west boundary in the yellow pine-black oak association. The rodents are in good condition and relatively unafraid of humans . . ." In the Kings, where there is less foothill habitat, the gray squirrel is less common but is present in forests of the lower altitudes. Records of gray squirrels in 1940: July 22, two or three seen near the end of the road opposite Granite Creek; Aug. 27, one at Simpson Meadow; Sept. 23, one at lower end of Cloud Canyon; many seen by Ranger Armstrong in the Sugarloaf drainage and around Horse Corral and Rowell meadows; Sept. 29, two on trail to Long Meadow. Hopping (1940) said that the squirrels were "abundant" in 1940 in the Kings and reported "many killed by autos along entrance road." In 1942: one seen at Lewis Creek, May 8; two near the mouth of Roaring River, May 9; several at Lewis Creek, May 17, just after a snowstorm; one and its nest, in a sugar pine on Lewis Creek, May 18; one seen by Miller (1942) at 4,600 ft. elevation on Sheep Creek, May 21. FLYING SQUIRREL

Glaucomys sabrinus lascivus (Bangs) Description.—An elusive, nocturnal squirrel with prominent, dark eyes, a flattened body, and soft, silky fur; dull grayish brown above and white below. It does not actually fly but glides in a graceful arc from the top of one tree to the trunk or lower branches of another. When extended during glides, the flattened, ribbon-like tail and the furry membranes between the outspread front and hind feet nearly double the surface of the animal and act as a parachute. Total length, 12 inches; tail, 5 to 6 inches; weight, 4Y3 ounces. When foraging in the deep twilight, or after dark, the flying squirrel may sometimes be identified by its low vibrant call note, "whurr.' Habits.—About 300,000,000 years have elapsed since the earth's first vertebrates crept up out of the sea and commenced to adapt themselves to the infinitely diverse living conditions afforded by land and air. Since then, flight, one of the most revolutionary of all experiments, has been attempted over and over again by different kinds of animals, with varying success. Insects already had mastered the art, but their small size had some-

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what simplified the problems. A few fish acquired the ability to leap out of the water and coast briefly above the waves on vibrating fins; but since they were unable to breathe air, their efforts at sustained flight failed. In the process of hopping over the ground and leaping from tree to tree, certain of the more active reptiles gradually developed supporting surfaces that facilitated gliding flight. After some 110,000,000 years on land, one reptile group, the pterodactyls, perfected leathery batlike wings and mastered the art of soaring on air currents as the albatross does now. Another reptile group, some 25,000,000 years later, in the Jurassic period, evolved into the first true birds, of which the Archaeopteryx was one. Mammals, the most intelligent and highly developed of the earth's progeny, were the last to develop flying types. Not until after the dinosaurs had vanished, sometime within the last 60,000,000 years, did the bats independently develop the same wing principle as the pterodactyls. Independently, too, the flying squirrels have made a start toward flying; but they have done so very recently in comparison with the other fliers and gliders, and may require several million years to complete their flying lessons, if they ever do complete them. Their progress so far undoubtedly has brought advantages, such as quicker escape from certain enemies, and probably easier foraging. Although flying squirrels cannot truly fly, they are extremely adept gliders. They leap outward from the topmost branches of some tall fir or giant sequoia, glide swiftly downward at a fairly steep angle, then swoop upward and, with their head pointing up, land with a light plop on some tree trunk a few feet above the ground. These little glider pilots are by no means obliged to land at a predetermined point or maintain a fixed rate of descent, once they have taken off. They can change direction by varying the area of the parachute-like membrane that stretches from wrist to ankle, and also the angle at which it meets the air. The wide, flat tail is an effective rudder; the resemblance of the tail—in its shape and the density of the long hairs which point at right angles to the bone—to the tail feather of some bird is more than a coincidence. According to Cahalane (1947, pp. 417-418), flying squirrels can make sudden turns of 90 degrees or more, and are more nimble in the treetops than any other mammal, not excluding even the marten and the fisher. Certainly, their ability to take a short-cut escape route through the air should be excellent protection against all four-footed natural enemies. In Frypan Meadow, at 7:29 P.M. on July 30,1944, a flying squirrel sailed

Wolverine

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downward in a long, rather swift arc, from a point about 75 feet up in a red fir to a point about 125 feet from the tree trunk and about 10 feet above the ground. At this point the animal was lost to sight in the dusk. From the speed displayed by this squirrel, one would presume that a horned owl might find it rather difficult to capture a flying squirrel in mid-air. Dead stubs are as essential to flying squirrels, and to great numbers of other forest animals, as houses and lots are to human beings. Flying squirrels seek shelter during the daytime in old woodpecker holes and other tree cavities; when these are not available they sometimes nest behind loose slabs of bark. They line their nests with twigs, bark shreds, and fir needles. Dixon found a typical flying squirrel nest in an old woodpecker hole 12 feet up in a living aspen at Quaking Aspen, a few miles south of Sequoia National Park, on May 19, 1934. T h e nest lining was 5 inches in diameter and was composed of dry, black, hairlike moss. The mother squirrel poked her head out of the nest hole but refused to leave her two nursing babies, which had eyes not yet opened and round tails not yet flattened. The first hairs were coming in on their heads and shoulders. T h e developing fold of skin that extends from front to hind legs, which enable this squirrel to glide from tree to tree, was noticeable even at this early age. Two types of environment are particularly favored by this squirrel: red fir forests in the Canadian Life Zone, and areas in the Transition Zone where black oaks predominate. Animals that lead a relatively secure life, whether as a result of size, defensive weapons, or special methods of protection and escape, usually produce fewer young than do their less secure relatives, which offset higher mortality by a greater rate of reproduction. In Yosemite, four female flying squirrels averaged three young each (Grinnell and Storer, 1924, p. 2 1 4 ) . The flying squirrel inhabits most of the cool forest lands of North America north of Texas. However, even where the species is fairly common, most people remain unaware of its presence, because of its strictly nocturnal habits and the faintness of its call notes. Flying squirrels are found in two isolated regions: one in central Mexico, the other in southern Mexico and Guatemala. Others live in Europe and Asia. T h e food of flying squirrels consists principally of seeds and nuts of pines, oaks, and other trees and shrubs. However, even more than other squirrels, this elegant little soft-furred species seeks animal food. It eats insects, bird eggs, and meat, whenever it can find them.

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Park status and records.—Probably fairly common in the dense fir forests of the middle altitudes, but not often observed, because it comes out only at night. In Sequoia, Clarence Fry (1930) reported it as "occasionally seen in River Valley." A dead immature female was found at Cabin Creek, by Dixon, Oct. 4, 1934. Another flying squirrel was seen soaring from one fir tree to another, by McCallum and Oberhansley (Oberhansley, 1942), at Camp Kaweah in Giant Forest, Aug. 7, 1939. Two were seen at Redwood Meadow, elevation 6,600 ft., in the summer of 1942 (Fry, 19426); two at Redwood Mtn., June 28,1944 (Fry, 19446); two in River Valley in 1945 (Fry, 1945), and one in 1946 (Fry, 1946). In the Kings, in 1940, a flying squirrel was seen at Frypan Meadow, elevation about 7,700 ft., July 30; Augustine (19406) reported "one caught alive by the Sierra Club at Zumwalt Meadows in July."

POCKET

GOPHER

Thomomys bottae mewa Merriam and Thomomys

bottae awahnee

Merriam

Description.—Pocket gophers are stubby, stout-bodied, burrowing rodents with large heads, short brown fur, very small ears and eyes, a short, thinly furred tail, and fur-lined cheek pouches. Total length is 8 inches; tail, 2y4 inches; weight, 2 % to 4 % ounces. They appear aboveground only briefly, when foraging or when pushing up their characteristic, more or less circular mounds of earth. These mounds are particularly noticeable in fields and meadows, on open slopes, on suburban lawns, and in or near mountain meadows at all altitudes. Habits.—Because of their comparatively limited powers of locomotion, small mammals cannot surmount barriers such as rivers, mountain ranges, and deserts that constitute no obstacle for birds. And if a small mammal travels almost entirely by excavating a tunnel underground, its range is still more circumscribed. Consequently, intermingling among gopher populations is far less than among sparrows or hummingbirds. The various races of gophers have divided the natural habitat so as to minimize competition. Thus, there are high-mountain gophers, middle-

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altitude gophers, foothill gophers, valley gophers, and plains and desert gophers. And, because individuals of one population do not intermingle with those of other populations within the same type of habitat, the same valley or mountain range may have several local races of gophers, sometimes living within a few miles of one another but isolated by their stay-athome habits. More than a hundred species of pocket gopher inhabit most of North America from southern Canada to Costa Rica. Pocket gophers are hardy and tunnel in all kinds of soil from soft valley loam to rocky, bone-dry ridges. However, they cannot inhabit soils that are frequently inundated, or northern regions where the ground remains frozen solid for long periods; and they do not live in dense forests, because the weedy plants with succulent roots that are the animals' principal source of food are not found there in sufficient quantity. Gophers are exceedingly reluctant to leave their burrows, even when searching for food. Often they tunnel to the base of a plant, nip off the fleshy root without emerging above ground, and continue on their way, leaving no sign of their visit until the rootless stalk of the plant withers and topples over. At other times they dig upward from the main tunnel to the surface, and from this "manhole" reach out and furtively snatch the stalks and seeds of near-by plants and draw them into their tunnels. Then they plug the hole with earth, to keep out snakes and other enemies, and devour their food in safety. A gopher seldom comes completely out of its burrow when foraging. When it has dragged underground all the food it can reach without removing its hind feet from the doorway, it withdraws into its burrow, and later tunnels up to the surface at some other point. A characteristic of the gopher is the ability to dart backward or forward with the suddenness of a toy electric train. When in reverse, the nearly naked tail acts as a feeler, something like the long, sensitive snout of a mole. Because of this ability to retreat backwards, the gopher, when it sees an enemy approaching, can dart into its burrow without losing any time by turning around. Sometimes, also, such reverse locomotion must be of vital importance to the gopher, when in the cramped quarters of its underground tunnel system it meets a hostile gopher or another enemy. Then, whether attacking or retreating, the animal bares its huge chisel teeth in angry, squeaking defiance and faces the intruder. Pocket gophers do not need to hibernate; they store large quantities of

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food in side tunnels opening off the main runway, and in winter often tunnel through the deep snow, above the ground surface, to reach the upper parts of plants that are inaccessible in summer. Darwin (in 1871) calculated that, in one year, earthworms, under favorable circumstances, deposit on the surface of the ground finely digested earth material amounting to more than 18 tons to the acre. The deposition of this material and the honeycombing of the ground by the thousands of tiny worm burrows are Nature's methods of enriching and plowing the soil. Grinnell and Storer (1924, pp. 140-141) have estimated that in Yosemite National Park gophers similarly excavate and bring to the surface a volume of earth totaling approximately 160 carloads of 50 tons each. Even though there is no crop to plant and harvest in a national park, the soil must be worked by these small, inconspicuous plows if it is to absorb and conserve the moisture, instead of letting it rush off the surface in destructive floods. This plowing causes moisture and air to reach the subsoil and turn it gradually into fertile topsoil. It also brings much subsoil directly to the surface, where it weathers into topsoil more quickly. Grass, brush, and forest trees grow more luxuriantly in the porous earth than in a hard-packed, unplowed, cement-like soil. Pocket gophers eat roots, bulbs, seeds, and flowers of low-growing plants, and in fact almost any succulent vegetable material. Although, like other rodents, they will eat meat if it is available, they apparently do not eat insects. In Sequoia, Dixon watched a gray fox capture a gopher of this species by stealthily sneaking up on it while the gopher was busy throwing dirt from its underground burrow. Park status and records.—The race bottae mewa is a regular but not abundant resident in the blue oak belt along the lower western margin of Sequoia National Park; it is numerous in the vicinity of the Ash Mtn. Hdqrs. Specimens nos. 8970 and 8971 were collected there by Dixon, Apr. 29,1933. In the Kings, which contains less Upper Sonoran Life Zone habitat, no specimen of this lowland race has been found, although it may occur locally in the general vicinity of Cedar Grove and Tehipite Valley. The race bottae awahrtee inhabits middle altitudes in the Transition Zone, particularly in the ponderosa pine belt, and also in Giant Forest.

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At Round Meadow in Giant Forest, Nov. 12 and 13, 1934, several gophers of this species were working around the margins of the meadow, which is relatively wet all summer; one specimen (no. 9122, Dixon collection) was secured. These gophers, and to a lesser degree, moles, work out nearly to the center of the meadow in the summer. In two instances, gophers worked all the way across the meadow after the soil had dried out; but when it became wet again, after a snowstorm in the fall, they no longer crossed the meadow. No specimens of this race have been collected from within the Kings, but some have been taken at Horse Corral Meadow and at Hume. ALPINE POCKET

Thomomys

GOPHER

alpinus alpinus Merriam

Description.—A large, high-mountain form of pocket gopher with a blackish area down the middle of the back and on the nose. The length is nearly 9 inches; tail, 2 % inches. This gopher inhabits the edges of mountain meadows in the Canadian and Hudsonian life zones at from 6,000 to 11,000 feet elevation. Habits.—The alpine pocket gopher is restricted to a strip of high country from the neighborhood of Yosemite National Park south to the southern end of the High Sierra and, interruptedly, to Tehachapi Peak. Park status and records.—In Sequoia, fairly common at high altitudes. Along the southeast boundary, on Aug. 27, 1933, alpine pocket gophers were relatively numerous in the sandy soil at Siberian Pass, at the head of Rock Creek, at Whitney Meadow, and at the head of Golden Trout Creek. In one instance, fresh gopher mounds extended almost in a straight line for a distance of 150 ft.; these mounds had been made in the forty-eight hours since the last hard rain. Since this species so far has not been collected north of Whitney Creek in Sequoia National Park, there is no record of it for the Kings. C A L I F O R N I A POCKET

Perognathus

californicus

MOUSE

dispar Osgood

Description.—A small, pale-colored, long-tailed mouse, a little larger than a house mouse, found in brushy situations in warm valleys and foot-

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hills chiefly of the Upper Sonoran Life Zone. The fur is coarse for a mouse, with many long bristle-like hairs on the sides and rump. The upper surface is buffy; the under surface, white. The tail ends in a distinct tuft. Total length, i y 2 inches; tail, 4Y2 inches; weight, about %o ounce. Chipmunks and ground squirrels stuff their cheeks with food until their faces bulge, but they do not have the capacious external pouches of the pocket gophers, pocket mice, and kangaroo rats. These external pouches, which do not connect directly with the mouth at all, are elastic, fur-lined slits alongside the lower jaw and extending backward almost to the shoulders. Habits.—Pocket mice are primarily inhabitants of warm, dry plains and desert country. They are most abundant where dry, loose, or sandy soil makes burrowing easy, and are absent from dense forests and cold wet ground. Such habitat requirements restrict the group to Mexico, the drier parts of the western and central United States, and southern British Columbia. Pocket mice live underground, rarely come out to forage except after dark, and keep the mouths of their burrows plugged with earth during the daylight hours. Unlike the pocket gophers, however, they do venture away from the vicinity of their holes when foraging. Their method of locomotion also is different, for they hop actively and rapidly with their large hind feet, using their smaller front feet as hands for stuffing their cheek pouches with seeds. The front feet are also used for digging; undoubtedly there is a significant connection between the relatively small size of these members and the habitat of the animal: pocket mice, in marked contrast to pocket gophers, are restricted to light soils which can be excavated without the use of much strength. In the parks, yucca seeds are an important source of food for the pocket mouse. The flat black seeds of the yucca grow in capsules which break open as the seeds mature, and allow them to become scattered. The mouse gathers the seeds at night, tucking them into its cheek pouches and, after satisfying its hunger, buries the remainder to a depth of about 2% inches in the soft, sandy soil. If the mouse is killed before it can use the seeds, the yuccas, with the coming of the rainy season, tend to sprout and grow. Seeds of almost any kind are relished by the pocket mouse. A little succulent vegetation, when it is available briefly during the growing season, and a few insects are also eaten. Rodents obtain their water requirements by one—or sometimes by a

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combination—of three different methods. They may actually drink; but this is one of the least-used methods because only a fraction of the continental rodent population lives near water, particularly in the arid West. They may eat succulent roots and tender growing shoots and a certain amount of insect life and similar "fresh meat"; this is the method used by the majority of rodents. A few, however, including the pocket mouse, manufacture enough water for their needs, chemically, within their bodies, by breaking down the starch of dry seeds; thus they are entirely independent not only of free water but even of green vegetation. Pocket mice have lived in captivity for years on a diet of dry seeds without water. Living in a comparatively warm environment and storing an abundant supply of seeds in its underground chambers, the pocket mouse does not have to hibernate. However, it is a rather delicate creature and in the colder parts of its range remains underground and comparatively inactive during cold spells, venturing out only on warm, windless nights (Cahalane, 1947, p. 441). Owls and the gray fox are natural enemies of the pocket mouse. Park status and records.—Not often seen by park visitors, but not uncommon in its chosen habitat. Found only along the lowest and warmest west-slope margins of the parks, in brushy situations where greasewood and yucca are characteristic. Sixteen mousetraps were set, Apr. 24, 1933, directly behind Ash Mtn. Hdqrs. on a warm, southfacing, rocky slope covered at the base with greasewood and yucca. Two, baited with bacon and placed under dense yucca clumps growing in light, sandy soil, caught pocket mice; but traps set out in more open sandy places were not even visited by the mice—no tracks were visible in the sand around the traps—and traps set in rocky crevices and under rocks in an old wood rat nest were not sprung.

HABVEST

Reithrodontomys

MOUSE

megalotis longicaudus

(Baird)

Description.—Somewhat like a house mouse but smaller and with a proportionally longer tail. It inhabits grassy lowlands, not houses. Upper parts are dark brown; under parts, grayish. Total length is inches; tail, 3 inches; weight, about y3 ounce. Habits.—Harvest mice live in grassy places in the lowlands, for the most

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part in regions of relatively mild climate. They occur as far north as Virginia, Kentucky, North Dakota, and central Washington, but flourish particularly in Central America, and range as far south as Ecuador. They are most likely to be found in grassy, lowland sloughs, along irrigation ditches and weedy fences, though occasionally they are found on d a m p brushy slopes. In California they are not always abundant even in their chosen habitat. A usual sign of their presence is the little globular grass nest, about the size of a baseball, with a small hole on one side. It is customarily placed a few feet up in a thicket, or lower down in a tangle of grass stems. Occasionally, however, it is hidden under a board, or in a tunnel in the ground (Cahalane, 1947, p. 466). T h e harvest mouse bears each year two and sometimes three litters of young, numbering three or four to a litter; although in the northern parts of its range, where winters are longer and the climate colder, it sometimes has only one litter. Thus, at some northern points, the rising mortality curve resulting from the more rigorous weather evidently intersects the lowered birth-rate curve—and beyond that fluctuating, invisible line are to be found no harvest mice. T h e harvest mouse eats seeds, sprouting green vegetation, and insects. Perhaps its name was derived, as were the names of various other small creatures, from the season of the year when the species was most commonly observed. At any rate, the "harvest" stored by this mouse is not large compared with that of squirrels, gophers, and pocket mice. Living in a climate unpunctuated by periods of drought or severe winter, the harvest mouse does not need to store up large quantities of food. Park status.—In Sequoia, a rare resident at lower altitudes on the western border. The species has been reported only at the extreme lower western margin. It has been collected on the Kaweah River just below the park boundary, and old nests have been found in grassy areas along the Middle Fork of the Kaweah just inside the park. The species has not been reported from the Kings, which affords little or no suitable habitat for it, except possibly at Zumwalt Meadow and in Tehipite Valley.

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WHITE-FOOTED OR D E E R

Peromyscus

MOUSE

maniculatus gambelii

(Baird)

and

Peromyscus

maniculatus sonoriensis

(LeConte)

Description.—The white-footed mouse, the elegant little native which is also called wood mouse and deer mouse, has large, delicate ears, bright eyes, soft fur, and cleanly habits. It is far different from the city-dwelling house mouse, an immigrant from the Old World, which is scaly-tailed, small-eyed, and drab-colored. The white-footed mouse lacks the musty smell of the house mouse, and its pure white under parts contrast pleasingly with the soft brownish fur of the upper parts. It sometimes establishes itself in cabin walls and ranch-house attics; but even here it is essentially a shy, wild, night creature, not given to rummaging in drawers and pantries or otherwise intruding upon the human occupants. The total length is 5 to 6 inches. The tail is 2 % inches long (that of the house mouse is 3 to 3 % inches), and it is not scaly but is well-furred, with white hair below and dark above. Habits.—White-footed mice are found throughout most of North America from South America to the Arctic Circle. Where chipmunks, pocket gophers, and many other small creatures have achieved safety through specialization, at the price of losing some versatility, the white-footed mouse has remained unspecialized in its habits and is equally at home from sea level to timber line, in brushy thickets, rockslides, log cabins, grass clumps, meadows, along stream margins, and in forests. The race gambelii inhabits the interior, warmer parts of Washington and Oregon, California west of the Sierran crest, and northwest Lower California. The race sonoriensis is paler and slightly larger than gambelii and is the east-side representative of the group. It inhabits the interior deserts and dry plains of the Great Basin region from southern Idaho and southeast Oregon south through Nevada, and adjacent parts of California east of the Sierra. It is also found from southern and western Utah and Arizona south to northern Mexico, and in northeast Lower California. At the southern end of California, which is drier than the northern part, it ranges across San Diego County to the western slopes of the inner Coast Range. West

406

BIRDS AND MAMMALS

from Tehachapi Pass it extends over the mountain rim a short distance into the very dry southern end of the San Joaquin Valley as far west as Carrizo Plain, and to Mount Pinos; north of Tehachapi it has been found as far as Kern River. Beyond that, however, the Sierra rises quickly, and its cool moist slopes are inhabited by the race gambelii. The habits of the two races are essentially the same. The mortality of the white-footed mouse may be higher than that of more seclusive creatures, but the reproduction rate also is high: more than one litter in a year no doubt is common, and some young evidently reproduce in the same season in which they were born. Under the most favorable conditions, an increase up to twentyfold may be possible in a single year (Grinnell and Storer, 1924, p. 109). The white-footed mouse is one of the most successful mammals in the parks, or in North America, if judged by its numbers and wide range. Grinnell and Storer (1924, p. 104) estimated that in Yosemite it nearly or quite equaled in numbers all the other mammals of the area combined, and we believe that it is also the most widely distributed mammal in the southern Sierran parks. White-footed mice do not hibernate but remain active underneath and even above the snow, where they leave a tracery of little paired footprints. They store up large quantities of food, which includes seeds, sprouting shoots, tender young bark, buds, nuts, berries, and insects. They also relish meat. They climb trees readily, though slowly in comparison with a chipmunk. Since they are so light in relation to their surface, a fall usually has no serious consequences for them; in an emergency they do not hesitate to jump into space from any height. We have dropped white-footed mice experimentally from a 38-foot tower without causing them any noticeable distress. Park status and records.—The race gambelii is abundant along the west slope of the Sierra in both parks, from the lowest parts up to timber line; it inhabits nearly all types of cover. At Crescent Meadow, Aug. 5 and 6, 1933, eight gambelii were trapped under fallen sequoia logs that extended out into the meadow; two were trapped at Tokopah Valley, Aug. 10. At Hamilton Lake, elevation 8,300 ft., ten were trapped with twenty-five traps on the night of June 18,1934; the next night the same traps caught six more. Whitefooted mice were found all over that area, being most numerous around the margin of the broken, rocky talus slopes. At Aster Lake, four were

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OF THE SIERRA NEVADA

caught in willow thickets, under logs, and beside small streams, June 22,1934; at Emerald Lake, two were trapped, June 25 and 26. In the Kings, a female, containing five embryos 1 in. long, was collected (no. 9207, Dixon collection) at Cedar Grove, May 21, 1942. Our records for the race sonoriensis in Sequoia National Park are all from the Kern basin east of Kern River. At Junction Meadow, June 8,1934, four specimens were caught, in a sandy wash between the Kern and Kem-Kaweah rivers among granite boulders and a stand of big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata). Others have been captured on the plateau near the southern boundary of the park between Kern River and Cottonwood Lakes. In the Kings, Swarth and Dixon collected a specimen (MVZ 24912), Sept. 4,1916, at Bullfrog Lake not far from the Sierran crest, though on the west side. The Sonora race no doubt is abundant on the east slope of the Sierra a short distance outside both parks, but these mice probably do not come over the crest in large numbers north of Kern River. C H A P A R R A L OR P A R A S I T I C

Peromyscus

californicus

mariposae

MOUSE

Grinnell and Orr

Description.—The chaparral mouse is the largest mouse in the United States, being more than twice the size of the common white-footed mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) and as large as a young wood rat. Total length is from 8y 2 to 10 inches; tail, 4Y> to 5% inches (longer than the head and body); ear, about % inch; weight, 1 % 0 ounce. The fur is notably long and soft; the upper parts are dusky brown, in sharp contrast to the under surface and feet, which are pure white. Habits.—The giant members of almost any tribe of wild creatures are likely to be more rare than the smaller and usually more adaptable members. Bigness brings immunity from some enemies, and greater strength for securing food; but with it comes a bigger appetite, which means that the likelihood of starvation is greater and failure to raise a family is more probable in times of food scarcity. In the attainment of large size an animal may forfeit speed or agility. And fewer protecting crannies and escape thickets are available, the larger the animal becomes. Chaparral mice are not active diggers; they rely heavily on natural holes and crevices for their nests, as well as for temporary protection when danger threatens.

408

BIRDS AND MAMMALS

It seems significant, then, that the chaparral mouse is less common than most other mice. It is also known as the "parasitic mouse," because frequently, though by no means always, it lives in the interstices of the bulky stick nests built by wood rats. It seldom makes its own burrows or nests. Like many other kinds of wildlife that inhabit the California chaparral, the chaparral mouse is chiefly confined to this state. It is restricted to the Upper Sonoran Life Zone, from the neighborhood of Yosemite and San Francisco Bay to extreme northwest Lower California. Many of the smaller kinds of white-footed mice are exceedingly quick, nervous, and shy. By contrast, the large chaparral mouse seems almost sluggish. It is easy to tame and makes a trustful pet. Park status and records.—In Sequoia, a rather rare resident of the blue oak belt in the Upper Sonoran Life Zone along the western boundary of the park. Of several dozen mice of various species trapped in Sequoia, only two belonged to this species: one, an adult male, trapped at Potwisha in a dense growth of greasewood, May 3,1933; the other, trapped at Hospital Rock, Dec. 13,1934, in similar surroundings. Although the species probably occurs in similar habitat in the Kings, no specimens have been collected there, so far as we know. BRUSH

MOUSE

Peromyscus boylii rotvleyi (Allen) Description.—A medium-sized, white-footed mouse, dark brown above (young mice, bluish gray) and white below. The ears are rather large, and the tail is usually slightly longer than the head and body. Total length is 6% to 8l/o inches; tail, approximately 4 inches; ears, % inch; weight, % 0 ounce. Habits.—Essentially a southern species, the brush mouse lives in the Upper Sonoran and Transition life zones, occasionally higher, in mountains of southern California and Lower California, and from southern Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas to Guatemala. It inhabits rocky and brushy situations, such as the sides of ravines and canyons, particularly in the neighborhood of oak trees, and usually not far from water. This mouse is an agile climber, partial to cliffs and rock shelves, though not hesitating to climb trees.

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Park status and records.—In Sequoia, a rather sparse resident at elevations of from 2,000 ft., near Hospital Rock, to 6,600 ft., at Upper Funston Meadow in the Kern River area. In the Kings, Swarth and Dixon collected three specimens at Kanawyers, Sept. 1-16,1916 (M VZ 24946, 24947,and 24929). Specimens caught by Dixon in 1942: May 8 and 9, two at Lewis Creek; May 27, one at Zumwalt Meadow (175 traps were set there); May 28, one (no. 9216, Dixon collection) on Hotel Creek.

P I N Y O N OR BIG-EARED MOUSE

Peromyscus truei gilberti (Allen) and Peromyscus truei truei (Schufeldt) Description.—In comparison with the common, introduced house mouse of the city, all the native white-footed mice have large eyes and ears, but the big-eared mouse is a veritable "Dumbo" of the mouse world, with an ear equal to or exceeding that of the larger chaparral mouse. In size and color, the pinyon or big-eared mouse closely resembles the brush mouse; but the larger ears, % to 1 inch in length, are fairly diagnostic. Total length is 6% to 8 inches; tail, 3% to 4% inches; weight, % 0 ounce. The race truei is somewhat paler than gilberti but is otherwise hardly distinguishable in appearance or habits. Habits.—In its general range, as well as in its habits and appearance, the big-eared mouse resembles the brush mouse. It inhabits mountains and foothills from central Oregon, Nevada, Utah, and Colorado south to Mexico. Comparatively little is known of the life histories of either the brush mouse or the pinyon mouse. The pinyon mouse occupies a less extensive habitat in the parks, occurring only locally and occasionally in the Transition Life Zone, and not often in rocky situations. If more were known about the life histories of the two groups, greater divergence might be apparent. Park status and records.—In Sequoia, gilberti is a rather sparse resident in the upper chaparral belt. A positively identified specimen is recorded from the "East Fork of the Kaweah River" (Osgood, 1909, p. 171). No specimen has been taken from the Kings, where undoubtedly

410

BIRDS AND MAMMALS

the race is even less common because of the smaller Upper Sonoran Life Zone area there. The race trtiei lives on the east side of the Sierra. In their physical characters, individuals in the Sequoia region tend to be intermediate between truei and gilberti, which is an indication that the races interbreed. This makes identification of subspecies of mice of this group in the parks practically impossible, except by comparing their measurements with those of museum specimens. The only specimen of truei recorded from Sequoia National Park, to our knowledge, was trapped by Richardson (1937) at Junction Meadow on Kern River, in a warm, sandy area, covered with sagebrush. D U S K Y - F O O T E D W O O D R A T , OR PACK

Neotoma

RAT

fuscipes streatori Merriam

Description.—On a quiet evening, in some old ranch house or cabin, have you been startled by a sudden nervous rapping, as of someone gently tapping—tapping with a willow switch upon the roof outside? It sounds as though some large rat was rapping out a signal with its tail. Which is exactly the case. Again, you may be awakened by a strange thumping in the attic space above your head—"thump, thump, ker-plunk"—followed by astonishingly heavy-footed bounding and galloping sounds, seemingly made by an animal at least as large as a cat. Again it is the shy dusky-footed wood rat. If you turn on the light or stir audibly, the rat is apt to become discreetly silent, only to resume the commotion when it believes all is safe once more. The wood rat is about the size of a house rat but its fur is softer. It is brownish gray above and white below, with a buffy area on the belly. The tail is well furred, not scaly as in the house rat, and it is round, instead of flat and squirrel-like as in the bushy-tailed wood rat. Total length is 15 inches; tail, 7 % inches; weight, 9 ounces (Grinnell and Storer, 1924, p. 116; Grinnell, Dixon, and Linsdale, 1930, p. 516). Who likes a rat! If you mean the scaly-tailed, introduced rat of city alleys and sometimes of suburban homes, few friends of the rat can be found among all mankind. But the cleanly, big-eyed, native wood rat differs as much from the unrefined city rat, to which it is not closely related,

OF THE SIERRA. NEVADA

411

as the delicate, native white-footed mouse differs from the smelly, smalleyed house mouse. Campers frequently are mystified by the disappearance of knives, spoons, and other small camp equipment at night. Pack rats have prodigious strength for their size; although they weigh only a pound, they can remove an unbelievable amount of plunder in one night. They work silently at times, but often make almost as much noise as a bear when raiding a camp. In former times it was widely believed that the trading proclivity of the "pack" or "trade" rat was an indication that the rat had a conscience and a sense of honesty—that it always left something in exchange for the things it took. What really happens is that a rat carrying one object comes across another "treasure" which interests it more, and drops the thing it is carrying, so that it can carry off the new article. The two principal types of habitat preferred by wood rats are brush thickets and rock crevices. These rats, however, like pocket gophers, chipmunks, and other small rodents, have developed into many different types, which occupy an enormous variety of habitats. Competition within the group is consequently at a minimum. There are mountain, foothill, chaparral, desert, stream course, and rock-inhabiting wood rats, totaling about fifty kinds. They inhabit western North America from the Yukon to the Gulf States and Guatemala, the mountainous parts of the East from Connecticut to Tennessee, and a coastal belt in South Carolina and Florida. The dusky-footed wood rat inhabits the Pacific Coast region from Oregon to Lower California, and also the eastern or desert-facing base of the Sierra. Most typically it lives in chaparral and mixed woodlands at the lower elevations; this is its habitat in the parks. Usually, the large stick nests are the most conspicuous evidence of the presence of the wood rat, for most of its activities take place at night. However, in addition to the rattling and thumping noises previously described, angry or frightened squeaks are sometimes heard on still evenings, as the rat battles with one of its own kind, or when it is hard-pressed by some enemy. If you are caught out in bad weather and can find nothing else dry enough to start a fire, try the dry, shredded, inner lining of a wood rat's nest. It will burn when nothing else will ignite. The wigwam-shaped nests usually are 2 to 3 feet tall, sometimes more, and are about the same diameter at the base. Twigs, bark, and small sticks haphazardly woven and piled

412

BIRDS A N D

MAMMALS

upon one another comprise the principal structure, but to this are added all the odds and ends that the "pack" or "trade" rat likes to pick up and carry around, such as chunks of decayed wood, horse and cow droppings, old bones, small stones, pieces of paper—and your watch or your camp spoon. One wood rat house at Hospital Rock extended along the side of a boulder for a distance of more than six feet. Usually, the nest has several entrances near the base of the pile, to facilitate the rat's escape if an enemy should try to tear the nest apart. Wood rats eat acorns, green leaves, roots, seeds, berries, and other vegetable material; these comprise more than 90 per cent of their diet. They eat a few insects, and perhaps would eat eggs and young birds if they found them, but there seem to be few records of their doing so. Quail and other birds have been known to nest in the crevices of wood rat nests (Cahalane, 1947, p. 491). Much food is stored inside the nest, for winter use, and as a result of this foresight—or this acquisitive habit, to put it more scientifically—the wood rat seems to find it unnecessary to hibernate. Park status and records.—A common resident at the lower elevations in the chaparral thickets and along intermittent streams, particularly in the blue oak belt. Although found mostly in the Upper Sonoran Life Zone, it extends at times up into the Transition Zone. In Sequoia, it is fairly common at Ash Mtn. Hdqrs., Potwisha, and Hospital Rock, where its characteristic houses are frequently seen. In the Cedar Grove area of the Kings, ten large houses (mostly old) were counted, Aug. 10, 1941, in a distance of 200 yds. along the trail on the south side of the main river % mi. below the mouth of Roaring River. One recently used wood rat house and several older ones were noted on Lewis Creek, May 9,1942. BUSHY-TAILED W O O D

RAT

Neotoma cinerea cinerea (Ord) Description.—A large, grayish pack rat with a flattened, bushy, squirrellike tail and long thick fur. Upper parts are grayish brown; under parts, pure white. It lives among rock piles and caves at high altitudes. Total length is 15% inches; tail, 6% inches; weight, 9% to 16 ounces (Grinnell and Storer, 1924, p. 120). Habits.—The big, light-colored, bushy-tailed wood rat has unusually

OF T H E SIERRA NEVADA

413

long, dense fur, in keeping with its cold, high-mountain habitat. It lives to some extent among logs on the alpine forest floor, but it is particularly numerous in rockslides, which it even follows above timber line. Parties climbing Mount Whitney have seen these rats salvaging remains of lunches discarded by climbers at and near the summit. There is also a tendency for bushy-tailed wood rats to descend cold rock walls and canyons into the Transition Zone where broken rockslides occur, as at Upper Funston Meadow on Kern River. Dixon collected a specimen in a rockslide there on May 30, 1934. At Aspen Meadow in Goddard Canyon, on July 30, 1942, in half the chinquapins in a thicket which had been covered with a snowslide the previous winter, the stalks were white and dead; toothmarks and droppings indicated that they had been gnawed by bushy-tailed wood rats. The ranges of the dusky-footed and bushy-tailed wood rats illustrate unusually well the manner in which various species of a group of animals divide up their habitat, for there is a gap of several miles and a difference in altitude of 1,500 feet between their respective ranges (Grinnell and Storer, 1924, p. 120). The rock-dwelling bushy-tailed wood rat builds much less conspicuous houses than its chaparral-dwelling cousin. One of the reasons for this obviously is that in the Boreal Life Zone there are fewer sticks and many more rock crevices. Walter Fry (1934a) describes two incidents illustrating this animal's trading habits: On . . . September 29, 1899, we established camp about one-half mile southeast of Castle Rocks within Sequoia National Park, altitude 8,900 feet. When we retired for the night we spread our blankets on the ground and as the weather was quite cold we decided to sleep with part of our clothing on . . . [Professor W. F.] Dean took from his pocket a money bag containing three twenty dollar gold pieces and a small amount of silver, also his spectacle case containing his gold-rimmed spectacles and placed them in his hat at the side of our bed. When we awoke on the following morning we found that the money and spectacles were gone . . . and in their stead was a round ball of horse dung somewhat larger than a walnut. Dean asked me what kind of a trick I was trying to play on him . . . I know he thought I had the missing articles and I expected him to start fighting

414

BIRDS AND

MAMMALS

me at any moment. It must be remembered that neither of us at that time knew anything about the antics of the bushy-tailed wood rat. After breakfast, we threw a canvas over our camp equipment and left afoot to inspect the boundaries of the 480 acres that Dean owned at that time in the vicinity . . . When we arrived back at camp about dusk we saw a bushy-tailed wood rat scampering from our camp equipage with a spoon in his mouth to a nearby rock pile that surrounded a survey stake. Quickly we removed the rock pile, and down on the ground near its center beside a soft grassy nest near a large hole in the ground we found not only the money and spectacles, but . . . our two table knives, forks, and spoons. Never shall I forget the above incident . . . which caused both of us some eleven hours of continuous worry and came mighty nigh to destroying what proved later a life-long friendship . . . On . . . the night of August 7, 1913, while tenting out with a detachment of soldiers at Alta Meadow, Sequoia National Park, elevation 8,600 feet, we observed one of these mountain marauders busily engaged in exchanging articles that belonged to us. . . . Sergeant John McCall and I were lying on our cots in a tent reading by a dimly lighted candle, when, about 9 o'clock, we observed one of the rats slyly enter our tent through the flap door with a small bone in its mouth. He came alongside a sack of potatoes where one potato was lying on the ground; and, dropping the bone, he picked up the potato, scrambled up over a pile of stovewood onto a wash-bench where he found a small cake of castile soap. Here he dropped his potato, took a bite of the soap, picked up the cake and jumped onto the ground near an 8 inch saw file. He examined the saw-file thoroughly, then picked up his soap and went on to the side of McCall's cot where McCall's large corncob pipe was lying; here he dropped his soap, sniffed into the pipe, sneezed a couple of times, picked up the pipe and went on over to where there were a couple of cavalry spurs lying. After a thorough examination of the spurs he picked up one of them and started dragging it from the tent. Right then and there we drove the rat out into the night. Park status and records.—A regular inhabitant of the higher rocky ridges and rockslides in the Canadian and Hudsonian life zones, where it is often associated with the cony. In Sequoia, it has been observed at

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Upper Funston Meadow, 6,600 ft. elevation; at Little Lake, 6,200 ft.; Eagle Lake; Hamilton Lake; and near Mt. Silliman in the western part of the park. In the Kings, a specimen was taken by Swarth and Dixon in 1916 at Zumwalt Meadow, 4,700 ft. elevation (Swarth, 1916), an unusually low altitude for this species. Droppings were seen among the granite boulders at the summit of Lookout Peak, 8,547 ft., May 26, 1942. DESERT WOOD R A T

Neotoma

lepida intermedia

Rhoads

Description.—A medium-sized wood rat with a grayish-brown back and white under parts. The tail is distinctly bicolored, being dark above and whitish below. Total length is 13 inches; tail, 6% inches. This species lives in dry Upper Sonoran chaparral at low altitudes, often where there is cactus or yucca. It makes a rather inconspicuous stick house, usually as an adjunct to a burrow or a rock crevice, which serves as the main shelter. Habits.—The desert wood rat group, although not confined to the desert areas, inhabits dry situations at low or middle altitudes. In country that is not moist or forested, it occurs from eastern Oregon, Nevada, Utah, and western Colorado to northern Mexico. The species is distributed somewhat irregularly over the southern part of California, west of the Sierra and south of San Jose. Park status and record.—Rare. In Sequoia, one specimen (MVZ 30051) was taken, Aug. 7, 1919, by Waterhouse and Alexander at 6,400 ft. elevation near Giant Forest. So far, the species has not been recorded from the Kings. MOUNTAIN MEADOW

MOUSE

Microtus montanus dutcheri

Bailey

Description.—Meadow mice, also known as field mice or voles, are chunky little dark-brown, short-tailed mice, which have small eyes and at a distance seem to have no ears. Usually they are seen scurrying along runways in the grass, often in the daylight. The mountain meadow mouse," • A book name, montane meadow mouse, sometimes is used, but "montane" in this case has essentially the same meaning as "mountain."

416

BIRDS AND MAMMALS

a high-altitude species, is about 6y2 inches long; its tail is 1% inches. Its upper parts are dark brown; its under parts, brownish. (Other park species have dull-gray under parts.) Habits.—Although by no means restricted to meadows, meadow mice do require ground vegetation sufficiently dense to provide concealment. Because such habitat is widely interspersed with other types of environment that form a barrier to dispersal and intermingling, many local races have evolved. More than a hundred kinds of meadow mice are scattered from the Arctic Circle to Guatemala, and many others are spread over Europe and Asia. Prairies, plains, sea beaches, woods, dry fields, and mountaintops have their special varieties of meadow mice. Some kinds are known only from one small marsh or mountaintop; the dtitcheri race of the mountain meadow mouse so far has been found only in the vicinity of Mount Whitney. (For further information on meadow mouse habits, see section on Long-tailed Meadow Mouse.) Park status.—In Sequoia, common in high mountain meadows in the vicinity of Mt. Whitney. Not recorded from the Kings, where it may be replaced by a closely related race, Microtus montanus yosemite, which occupies similar habitat in the northern Sierra at least as far south as the head of the San Joaquin River.

LONG-TAILED M E A D O W

MOUSE

Microtus longicandus sierrae R. Kellogg Description.—Slightly larger and also grayer than the mountain meadow mouse. Total length is about 7 inches; tail, about 2V2 inches, being proportionately longer than in many other meadow mice although still quite stubby in comparison to that of most mice. The long, loose fur is dark brown but with a grayish cast; the sides are conspicuously gray; the under parts, pale gray or grayish white. Habits.—Although the long-tailed meadow mouse does cut little branching runways or streets through the grass, it does so less commonly than many other species of meadow mice. It also shows a greater tendency to wander from the beaten path through the low vegetation, occasionally appearing on dry hillsides at some distance from water (Grinnell and Storer, 1924, p. 130). Meadow mice have no special methods of defense against their numer-

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ous enemies. They do not burrow deeply, like moles and gophers; or inhabit crevices, like white-footed mice; or build stick shelters, like wood rats. As a result, they are rather easily caught and form one of the principal foods of coyotes, foxes, and many kinds of hawks, owls, and small fur bearers. To offset this high mortality, meadow mice have two or more litters a year. Since some females are sexually mature when only three weeks old, and since the gestation period is also three weeks, in extremely mild climates it is at least theoretically possible for a meadow mouse to have eight litters a year. However, we believe that the long-tailed meadow mouse seldom if ever raises more than three litters in the relatively short summer in the parks, even under conditions that would be called favorable in the mountains. The conditions at Round Meadow on September 24,1933, were probably typical: nine meadow mice were caught, ranging from young individuals, just weaned, to old adults. One of the largest and oldest females contained five embryos, each a half inch in length. At least two groups of meadow mice had already been raised there that season, and these embryos evidently represented a third litter. A family of mountain weasels had visited this meadow that summer but had moved on; their destruction of meadow mice therefore had been only a temporary check. The mouse population had soon become fairly numerous again. On September 25 and 27, fourteen more meadow mice were trapped in the same meadow. Meadow mice do not hibernate, even at high altitudes or in the north, but run about actively under the snow, feeding on young shoots and on the bark of shrubs and small trees when other food becomes scarce. Grass and other green vegetation, flowers, seeds, succulent stems, bark, roots and tubers, and insects in season comprise 99 per cent of their diet (Cahalane, 1947, p. 515). Meadow mouse nests are balls of grass, hidden in shallow burrows, in clumps of grass, or sometimes under a log or old board. The meadow mouse is notably hardy, being able to withstand exposure to bad weather, and wettings that would send most other kinds of mice into a shivering death coma. Sheer toughness, combined with a high birth rate, has made this one of the most successful of all types of mice both in numbers and in world distribution. Even its great assortment of natural enemies cannot keep it in check when food and climatic conditions are just right. Under just the right conditions, meadow mice, like their Old World cousins, the lemmings, sometimes increase in a few months into unbelievable hordes. They do not emigrate, as the lemmings do, but sometimes

418

BIRDS A N D

MAMMALS

destroy all surface vegetation before starvation and disease eventually wipe them out. A very severe "plague" of meadow mice of this nature occurred in the Humboldt Valley of Nevada in 1907-1908. Such outbreaks of meadow mice, however, are usually less conspicuous and less widespread, the mice of various local areas being in different stages of the population cycle at any given time. Under these milder epidemic conditions, the mice may be seen constantly, even in daylight hours, and may run about almost underfoot, but there is no wholesale destruction of vegetation. Disease, spread by crowded conditions in the burrows and runways, seems to be the chief decimating factor, rather than a shortage of food. Thus, Grinnell and Storer (1924, pp. 126-127) found that meadow mice were notably scarce east of Coulterville, their runways abandoned, and their burrows plugged with cobwebs; yet simultaneously they were extremely abundant at Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite National Park. Mr. Baumann told Dixon in 1934 that he had found many dead meadow mice along the ditch banks of the canal which he patrolled daily at Potwisha. The mice were all in good flesh; from his description it appeared that they had died of some disease. Sumner observed what appeared to be the peak of a local population cycle in the Kings in 1940. Dixon found the meadow mouse population low, in Evolution Valley at least, in July, 1942. Park status and records.—A common resident of the higher grasslands, particularly in the vicinity of wet meadows or streams. Inhabits the Transition and Hudsonian zones and occasionally even the ArcticAlpine. The meadows in the Giant Forest area are a typical habitat. Specimens collected in Sequoia in 1934: three at Upper Funston Meadow, May 31; one at the mouth of the Kern-Kaweah, June 8, on a sandy, alluvial fan (the only meadow mouse we have captured entirely away from a meadow or grassy area); one at the head of Kern River, June 13; one each at Hamilton Lakes, June 18, Aster Lake, June 22, and Emerald Lake, June 25. Richardson (1937) collected specimens at Cahoon Meadow, at the head of the Big Arroyo, in Tokopah Valley, and at Little Lake. Specimens collected in the Kings in 1916, by Swarth and Dixon: at Bullfrog Lake, Aug. 28-31; on Bubbs Creek, Sept. 4; in the Cedar Grove area, Sept. 17; at Horse Corral Meadow (adjacent to the park

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boundary), Sept. 20. In 1942, one specimen (no. 9206, Dixon collection ) was trapped, May 21, at Cedar Grove; one, May 26, at Zumwalt Meadow; another, May 27, in the same place. LEMMING

MOUSE

Phenacomys intermedins celsus A. B. Howell Description.—The lemming mouse is grayer than the meadow mouse but resembles it closely. It is solitary; it does not construct runway systems; and it lives at high altitudes, chiefly in and near patches of Sierra heather (Phyllodoce breweri). Habits.—Lemming mice sometimes are called tree mice because certain members of the group spend most of their time in forest trees and build their nests among the branches. They are rare, little-known mice of the Far North, being found in Canada, on scattered, cold mountaintops in the western United States, and in the cool, damp, coastal forests from Washington to northwestern California. The lemming mouse of the Sierra Nevada, on the basis of specimens collected, is known to inhabit the Hudsonian Life Zone of the central and southern Sierra from the vicinity of Lake Tahoe south at least to Humphreys Basin, just east of Evolution Valley. This species does not live in trees but on the ground among patches of high-mountain shrubs. It is likely to be seen by few park visitors, and it is difficult to distinguish from a meadow mouse. Only by its nests and cuttings in the heather can it be identified in the field. In the laboratory it is identifiable primarily on the basis of the cusp pattern of its cheek teeth and other skull characters. Park status and record.—Rare. Not recorded from Sequoia. In the Kings, Dixon found a nest, numerous droppings, and characteristic fresh plant cuttings in a dense clump of red heather at McGee Lake in Evolution Basin at 10,900 ft. elevation, July 26,1942. The clean, dry nest was globular, with an entrance hole at one side; it was built of closely woven dry grass with an outer shell of red heather stems. The outside diameter was 6 in.; inside cavity, iy 2 in- The number of droppings and cuttings in this patch of heather indicated that several lemming mice had been there recently.

420

BIRDS AND MAMMALS

MOUNTAIN

Aplodontia

BEAVER

rufa californica

(Peters)

Description.—The mountain beaver looks like a meadow mouse but is as large as a small rabbit. The general coloration is plain grizzled brown above and below; the tail is hardly visible, being shorter than the hind foot. Total length is 12 to 15 inches; tail, % to 1% inches; weight, 2 to 3 pounds. Habits.—The mountain beaver is a shy, retiring animal that inhabits wet hillsides and springy places covered with a dense vegetation such as willows, alders, dogwood, and azaleas. Its burrows are somewhat larger than ground squirrel burrows and often form a very extensive system. They are from a few inches to as much as two or three feet below the surface and are usually so damp that water drips from the walls or runs in small streams down the floors of the passageways. Grinnell and Storer (1924, p. 158) point out that the mountain beaver is not nearly so aquatic as the true beaver and that its fur gets water-soaked as readily as that of other nonaquatic animals; but others (see Ingles, 1947, p. 187) assert that it is a good swimmer on the relatively infrequent occasions when it does take to the water. The mountain beaver is not a beaver at all. In fact it is not very closely related to any other rodent but by itself constitutes a primitive family made up of some nine local races which are restricted to the west slope of the Sierra Nevada and to the forests of the Pacific Northwest. It might almost be called a living fossil, for today it is found only in this limited area of mild climate, although a million years ago its range covered most of the western United States (Cahalane, 1947, p. 556). In the Sierra it inhabits the Canadian and Hudsonian life zones from Mount Shasta south to the Giant Forest region, which, with Atwell Mill, seems to represent the southernmost known point of its range. As pointed out by Grinnell and Storer (1924, p. 156), the habits of the mountain beaver suggest those of a gigantic meadow mouse. Others have compared the animal to an out-size pocket gopher. It apparently is active throughout the year even at the higher elevations, for hibernation is not necessary in the moist, stable environment to which the animal is restricted. It eats green grass, leaves, twigs, bark, and sometimes the tender twigs and shoots of coniferous trees. It stores some of this food in underground

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caches, and there are indications that it comes up through the snow to gnaw the bark of willows and other shrubs as much as four or five feet above the ground. Occasionally it cuts down whole shrubs or very small trees, as a pocket gopher cuts tall weeds to drag into its burrow, rather than as a true beaver fells trees. Late in summer and fall it gathers quantities of green grass and piles it for curing; later it takes the dry grass below ground for lining the winter nest. The mountain beaver is most active during the hours of darkness, but it has been found working in dark and secluded areas late in the afternoon and early in the morning. In contrast to the fertile meadow mouse, the mountain beaver, in keeping with its sheltered way of life and its restriction to a relatively mild and uniform climate, has a low rate of reproduction. But one litter, averaging three or four young, is produced each year. The young grow very slowly and do not reach maturity until their second year (Cahalane, 1947, p. 554). The mountain beaver is apparently far less hardy than many other rodents. Grinnell and Storer stress the fact that trapped mountain beavers, even when held lightly in the traps, usually were found dead, although squirrels and weasels accidentally caught in the "beaver" burrows were alive. Although the animal is easily tamed, in captivity it seldom lives long. These observers noted that "the least injury seems sufficient to cause its death; its general resistance seems extremely low." This sensitivity may have been a contributing factor in the experience of two University of California students who were hiking by flashlight along the main highway in Giant Forest on the night of June 28, 1933. Suddenly (as they later reported to park rangers) a strange animal appeared in the road ahead of them. In their hurry to see what it was, they mislaid the flashlight, and one of the men bumped into the animal in the darkness. It bit him in the leg so severely that the wound was treated later by the park physician. On being bitten, the man instinctively kicked out at the animal, which later proved to be a mountain beaver. A tough, phlegmatic animal, such as an opossum, would almost certainly have survived such a kick even if it had been well aimed, but the mountain beaver died. Dixon was unable to find any colony of mountain beavers in the immediate area, although in former years one colony had lived at Clover Creek and another near Walter Fry's old cabin in Giant Forest. Park status and records.—Uncommon. Colonies die out or move away as food supplies dwindle, but sometimes new ones appear later

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BIRDS AND MAMMALS

in the general vicinity. This type of fluctuation is to be expected on the extreme edge of a species' natural range, where conditions for survival are likely to be marginal. Walter Fry (1924) stated that the mountain beaver was first observed at Giant Forest on June 5, 1919, and it continued to increase until 1924. It was reported from that general vicinity until 1933, particularly along Clover and Wolverton creeks. In 1935, Clarence Fry (1935) wrote: "Old burrows were located but nothing that would indicate late occupancy was found. A migration to larger streams and a more abundant food supply seems to be the answer. It was noted that all creek dogwood and bracken, once plentiful along the stream, was entirely gone, only stubs of bushes remaining." No further reports came from the Giant Forest area until 1944, when Clarence Fry wrote (1944b) that "a [mountain] beaver was seen at the Giant Forest Village." In 1945, the report was "none seen"; in 1946, "no observations"; in 1947, the same (C. Fry, 1945, 1946, 1947). In 1948, Boyer (1940a) reported: "Two colonies of mountain beaver have been 'rediscovered' in the Giant Forest area. One is located at Dorst Camp and the other on Suwanee Creek near the Muir Grove Trail crossing. . . . The runway systems and cut vegetation were present in September of last year, and a camper reported seeing a 'muskrat' on the creek south of the bridge crossing in the camp." In July, cut vegetation at those places indicated considerable activity. Dorst Camp and the Muir Grove are about 4 % air miles northwest of Giant Forest proper. Subsequently, workings were found at Deer Creek in the vicinity of the Hazlewood picnic grounds. At Grant Grove, in 1940, Augustine ( 1 9 4 0 6 ) reported a colony along "a stream bank near the Utility Area . . . and other colonies on Sequoia Creek"; Bryant (1940b) recorded that "a colony exists on a stream entering General Grant Meadow." In the Kings, at the margin of a wet meadow in thick fir forest at the head of the west fork of Sheep Creek, fresh workings were found, May 14, 1942, under snow.

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JUMPING

Zapus princeps

MOUSE

alleni Elliott

Description.—The jumping mouse is little larger than a house mouse and has a very long, scaly, untufted tail, one-third longer than the head and body. Upper parts are reddish yellow, darker down the middle of the back; under parts are pure white. Total length is about 8 % inches; tail, 5 inches; weight, % to % ounce (Grinnell and Storer, 1924, p. 149). The jumping mouse has strong hind legs and small, weak front legs, and travels with kangaroo-like leaps. It lives at high altitudes near streams and in meadows. The pocket mouse is the only other rodent in the parks with which the jumping mouse might be confused. However, the jumping mouse is larger, occupies much higher and damper locations, and has a conspicuously long, tapering tail, which lacks the tuft that characterizes the tail of the pocket mouse. Habits.—Although not closely related to the kangaroo rats and mice of the dry lowlands, the seldom-seen jumping mouse is in some ways their biological counterpart in the high mountains. Rodents are the chief food of many hawks, owls, and fur bearers. To outwit such enemies and maintain the survival of their race, and also to divide up existing food supplies and habitats, some rodents, such as the gophers, travel in underground burrows, whereas others, such as beavers and muskrats, travel under water. Squirrels seek safety high in the branches; wood rats hide in stick nests and rock piles; but the jumping mouse has developed an altogether different technique. Just as the flea gives unpredictable, erratic leaps and then seeks safety in dense, concealing fur, so the jumping mouse, when startled out of the grass, gives several zigzag leaps of 4 to 6 feet, occasionally up to 10 feet, and vanishes into the grassy thickets, where it may crouch motionless for many minutes. To a flea it matters little whether it lands right side up or on its side or back, but the jumping mouse is a much more precise acrobat. Its long tail is no idle freak of nature but, like the long tails of kangaroo rats and mice and the heavy tails of kangaroos, is a vital factor in maintaining balance during long leaps. In fact, various observers have found that jumping mice with injured or amputated tails tumble over and are as helpless as a ship without a rudder. Jumping mice of the species princeps inhabit situations close to water,

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BIRDS AND MAMMALS

in the Boreal Life Zone of western North America, from British Columbia to the higher mountains of California, Arizona, and New Mexico. A related group of grasslands jumping mice occurs in grassy, weedy places and on prairies, from the Arctic Circle to the southern United States. Still another closely related group, the woodland jumping mice (Napaeozapus), inhabits eastern North America from Hudson Bay to the Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina and has relatives in Asia. Obviously, a northern animal so specialized for leaping that it can hardly get about on all fours would have serious trouble in deep snow. The jumping mouse solves this problem by hibernating, a habit shared by few mice of any species. Unlike most other mice, if closely pursued it does not hesitate to dive into a stream, and it can swim under water (Priddy, 1949). For summer shelter a globe-shaped nest of grass and leaves, 4 or 5 inches in diameter, is built on the ground in tangled vegetation. Winter quarters are more likely to be in an underground burrow, lined with grass and deep enough to afford protection from freezing during the long winter sleep. Park status and records.—In Sequoia, a rare resident of mountain meadows at the upper edge of the pine belt. At Tokopah Valley, Aug. 10,1933, a female jumping mouse was trapped in a thicket of grass and flowers near a rather dry meadow on a warm south-facing hillside; it contained seven embryos, each y2 in. long, that probably would have been born in about a week. On Aug. 11 another jumping mouse was caught in the same meadow; but jumping mice have been found nowhere else in the park. A specimen (MVZ 30072) was trapped at Sherman Creek, Aug. 16, 1919, by L. Kellogg. One or more specimens were trapped on the East Fork of the Kaweah, apparently inside the present park boundaries, and were deposited in the Field Columbia Museum, Chicago, sometime before 1899 (Preble, 1899, pp. 6, 28). We know of no specimens taken from the Kings, but one (MVZ 25180) was caught in a trap set on top of a log at Hume, elevation 5,300 ft., which is 13 mi. from Cedar Grove and on the road from Grant Grove, but only 4 mi. from the nearest park boundary.

425

OF THE SIERRA NEVADA YELLOW-HAIRED

Erethizon

epixanthum

PORCUPINE

epixanthum

Brandt

Description.—A detailed description seems unnecessary, for the quill pig, in various forms, occurs in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Malay Peninsula as far east as Borneo, and in North and South America. Shakespeare referred to it, and countless other writers before and after him. In the Sequoia-Kings, it is the largest rodent; total length about 32 inches; tail, 6y 2 inches; weight, about 17 pounds (Grinnell, Dixon, and Linsdale, 1930, p. 531). The upper parts, particularly the lower back, are armed with sharp quills, and the skin muscles are so arranged that this armor of quills can be erected at will. The rough skin on the soles of the hind feet makes a characteristic "canvas" pattern when it comes in contact with the dusty trail. Characteristic also are the grooved tooth marks which the porcupine makes when it peels the bark from young coniferous trees; equally characteristic are the window-like blazes on the trunks of larger trees where the animal has eaten off all the bark within its reach. The quills of the porcupine are loosely attached at their basal end, and under the magnifying glass the barbed tips of the quills can be readily seen. Once a quill becomes embedded, it is easily detached from the porcupine and remains lodged in the victim. Habits.—Whether protected by a bony shell, a coat of spines, or a gas barrage, the armored animals have not had to stay alert to survive. The bright eye and sensitive nose of deer and bighorn are not theirs, nor the quickness of bird or squirrel. The porcupine, being strictly a vegetarian, does not have to outwit other creatures to keep from starving, and has become a singularly slow, phlegmatic fellow. In many parts of the world, porcupines do not even trouble to leave the ground in search of food. The North American porcupines, however, are slow but efficient tree climbers. One of their chief foods is tender inner bark. They are particularly fond of the bark of lodgepole pines, which is quite thin. Never prone to waste energy, porcupines like to sit down while they eat. Hence the large, window-like blazes which they gnaw are always in spots easily reached from some squatting place on the ground, or in a tree crotch, or on a near-by horizontal branch. Porcupines also eat some pine needles, as well as leaves and shoots of willows and other deciduous trees and shrubs. In the spring and summer, they vary their diet with a little grass and succulent green plants (Cahalane, 1947, p. 573).

426

BIRDS AND

MAMMALS

In the high mountains where the streams are snow-fed and contain little mineral content, the cattle bawl for salt and learn to follow the cowman when he comes to replenish the salt supplies at certain hollowed-out "salt logs." The deer, salt-famished too, soon learn of these artificial salt supplies; or lacking these, they sometimes travel long distances to lick and paw at natural salt licks in the hills. The porcupine, too, craves salt. Like other rodents, it greedily gnaws deer antlers, and any animal skeletons it finds. It will even chew up shovel and ax handles or other wooden camp articles that have become salty from human perspiration. Although a porcupine does not need much speed or ambition, it does have to be hardy. Since it does not bother to store food, in winter it must remain most of the time in a tree, close to its food supplies, though the snow falls thickly and the branches sway with the icy blasts. In the parks, the yellow-haired porcupine apparently finds its principal safety and shelter in winter in the denser-foliaged trees, where it is safe from the attacks of coyotes, cougars, and some other carnivores, though not from the fisher. In many other parts of the country, however, porcupines take shelter in rock piles in severe winter weather, and at other times when resting, although they do not actually hibernate. Contrary to popular belief, a porcupine does not throw its quills at an enemy. Sometimes, however, a loose quill is flipped through the air and accidentally strikes home. For defense the animal relies chiefly on its heavily armed and muscular tail; a vigorous slap of this barbed weapon will drive quills into the nose and face of any dog or coyote that is not an expert at porcupine killing. Most animals when cornered face the enemy; but the porcupine, like the skunk, defends itself by presenting its rear to the enemy. Each quill has countless, tiny, backward-pointing barbs near its tip, which resemble the barbed spines of many cactuses. The quill is hollow and readily breaks off at the base when it enters the flesh of an enemy. Then the quill swells slightly in the victim's moist tissues—which often swell too, as a result of the inflammation. A person or animal hit by a quill is almost certain to be wary of porcupines forever after. A few dogs, as well as certain natural enemies of porcupines, become adept at killing them without getting full of quills. Usually, they first back the porcupine into a corner, then grab it quickly by the nose and pull it out, and in a flash turn it over on its back and expose the unprotected belly. A face full of porcupine quills must be intensely painful to the animal

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427

that owns the face, but quill wounds do not necessarily cause death. Many animals appear to be able to soften and absorb the quills gradually, just as human beings absorb certain kinds of surgical stitches. Wolverines have been found with their intestines full of quills, yet without a puncture. Probably even the fisher, archenemy of the porcupine, gets a quill or two in its hide now and then as the price of a meal. Oberhansley (1942) reports that the skin of a porcupine was seen on top of the snow at Rowell Meadow in June, 1942. The animal had evidently been killed and eaten by a coyote. (See also section on Coyote.) The porcupine's defense, however, is successful against all but an experienced minority of attackers. This is indicated by its phenomenally low birth rate: only a single young one is born at a time. The mother does not bother to make a real nest for her baby but merely crawls into a rock crevice or brush tangle, and relies on her spiny back and lashing tail to keep out intruders. The yellow-haired porcupine inhabits forested mountain country from Alaska to Arizona, Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, and south along the Sierra to Sequoia National Park. A close relative occurs in forested regions of the eastern half of Canada and the adjacent northeastern and north central United States. Occasionally, in the national parks, someone begins to worry about the possibility that the porcupines and the forest may be getting "out of balance." Fears have been expressed that the trees will be destroyed if the number of porcupines is not materially reduced. Some persons even say that because the ponderosa pines are beautiful and the porcupines are ugly, the National Park Service should protect the trees at the expense of the animals. Even professional foresters have been known to worry about the effect park porcupines might have on trees, notably at Mount Rainier. But the forest there has survived in spite of the porcupines, and this seems to be the customary outcome. Probably some natural enemy destroys the porcupines when they become numerous. At least their numbers and depredations fluctuate. On the other side it can be argued that visitors can see pines in a great part of western North America, but they have relatively few opportunities to see porcupines, since these animals are persecuted outside the parks. Many visitors derive a greater thrill from seeing a fearless "porky" than from seeing one more pine tree. At Mesa Verde National Park, because porcupines were destroying

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BIRDS AND MAMMALS

strategically placed trees close to important ruins where trees already were scarce, the park service reduced the number of porcupines. Elsewhere, the basic policy is to wait patiently until Nature's pendulum can swing the other way. Past experience has proved this to be the least painful solution of a local problem of porcupine abundance. In the Sequoia-Kings, which has a fairly normal population of wolverines and fishers, it is unlikely that porcupines will ever become a problem. Park status and records.—Uncommon, possibly because the fisher, wolverine, and mountain lion, the porcupine's chief enemies, are relatively plentiful. Usually it occurs at high elevations among lodgepole pines, but it occasionally ventures as low as 3,000 ft. In Sequoia, tracks were seen at Cahoon Meadow, Oct. 13, 1934. In 1935, hundreds of droppings seen on June 17 at Eagle Lake, elevation 10,600 ft., which is near Hockett Meadows, indicated that a porcupine had spent the winter there in a group of large, bushy, foxtail pines; tracks were seen at Mitchell Meadow in the Hockett region, June 18 and 19, and a freshly gnawed lodgepole pine was noted. In both 1939 and 1940, Augustine saw a porcupine at Little Baldy Saddle on the Generals Highway, and tracks of another at Chagoopa Creek in 1939. In October, 1939, he found that porcupines had gnawed many lodgepoles in the Kern drainage and also at Hockett Meadows. In July, 1940, he reported one porcupine at each of the following places: Lost Grove, Grant Forest, Little Baldy, and Wolverton Creek, as well as abundant evidence of one at Little Five Lakes (Augustine, 1939b, 1939e, 1940k). In 1941, porcupines or their tracks were reported at Horse Creek, Kern Ranger Station, the Sherman Tree, Halstead Meadow, and Cabin Creek. According to Oberhansley, a young porcupine found at Little Baldy Saddle in 1940 was kept for several weeks by the ranger naturalists in Giant Forest; its preferred foods were lodgepole bark, small twigs, and carrots. Three porcupines were seen in the summer of 1942; one of these, a large adult, was photographed below Cedar Creek on the Colony Mill Road at an elevation of less than 3,000 ft. Blazes made by porcupines were particularly common at Little Five Lakes and in the Big Arroyo (Oberhansley, 1942). In 1943, the presence of porcupines was noted at Wolverton Creek

M o u n t a i n Lion, red and grav color phases

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429

and in Kern Canyon; in 1944, in the Kern and at Tamarack Lake. In 1945, one was seen at Lodgepole; in 1946, two were seen at Redwood Meadow and one at Bearpaw Meadow. One was killed by a car in front of the Giant Forest Lodge, May 11,1948. By October of that year, two had been reported at the government dormitory at Lodgepole and four others in various parts of the parks, in lodgepole and western white pines of the Canadian Life Zone. According to Clarence Fry, porcupines were much less common twenty-five years earlier (Boyer, 1948a). On Nov. 5,1948, at 4:30 P.M., one was watched as it fed on some low manzanita branches beside the Generals Highway near Little Baldy Saddle. Boyer (1948a) reported: "On November 13, a medium-sized animal was observed in the gutter of the Generals Highway, y2 mile north of the 7,000 ft. marker . . . at 11:00 P.M. . . . moving at 'top speed' in an effort to escape . . . from the patrol truck lights. These reports merely substantiate earlier reports of increasing numbers in this southern Sierra region." In 1949, a porcupine was seen near the Redwood Mountain Overlook; several were seen near Little Baldy Saddle; one hit by a car and thought to be dead slapped forty or fifty quills into Boyer's shoe when he leaned over to grasp the animal's forefoot (Boyer, 1949&). On July 17,1950, Ranger Erskine saw one by the Generals Highway near Red Fir Camp (Boyer, 1950a). At least six were killed in 1950 by cars on that highway, between Sequoia and Grant Grove, most of them near Halstead Meadow and Little Baldy. In the Kings, in 1940, old gnawings were seen on three trees along the trail between Evolution Valley and Evolution Basin; one porcupine was seen at the lower end of Cloud Canyon and several were seen in Paradise Valley. In 1942, gnawings of the previous winter were noted at Zumwalt Meadow, and at McClure and Colby meadows. In 1949, Boyer (1949a) saw tracks on the south side of Bubbs Creek near Charlotte Creek, Mar. 21. In 1950, he saw a porcupine at the Horse Corral Meadow patrol cabin June 29; on Goat Mtn., Aug. 17, he saw a girdled tree with a great accumulation of droppings underneath, which indicated that a porcupine had spent several months, and possibly the entire winter, in a protected, bushy part of the tree (Boyer, 1950a).

430

BIRDS AND MAMMALS Pika, o r

Cony

Ochotona schisticeps albata Grinnell Description.—The cony resembles a small guinea pig, or a tiny rabbit, with soft light-gray fur; however, the round ears are more prominent than those of a guinea pig, although they are much shorter than those of a rabbit. Its thin, plaintive, bleating call, "yenk, yenk," has a flat, "rusty" quality, and issues characteristically from piles of talus rock at high elevations. Total length of the cony is about 7% inches; tail, about % inch; ear, about 1 inch; weight, about 5 ounces. The droppings are distinctly rabbit-like in form but are small, being about the size of a sweet-pea seed. Habits.—The cony is related to the rabbits—which, strictly speaking, are not rodents at all. Instead of two upper cutting teeth (incisors), the rabbits have four, and the lower jaw is so narrow that the upper and lower teeth can meet on only one side of the face at a time. For this reason, conies and rabbits chew with a side-to-side motion, which permits alternate chewing on the two sides. The little gray rock rabbit, as it is sometimes called, eats many species of alpine plants: columbines, shooting stars, and other herbs, grasses, and sedges, and tender twigs from high-mountain shrubs such as red elderberry and cream bush (Holodiscus discolor) are the principal items in its diet. The cony inhabits the mountain rockslides of western North America, from Alaska to northern New Mexico and the Sierra. A related species lives in similar places in northern Asia. The cony's whole life centers in rockslides. At the slightest alarm, the animal vanishes into a crevice. It also makes its nests and stores its winter food supply in such places. Usually it frequents the margins or sides of the talus slopes in order to be close to the alpine vegetation which is the main source of its food. The cony actually makes hay while the sun shines. Late in summer and early in fall, when the herbaceous vegetation has made a good growth and is approaching maturity, the cony nips off the growing stalks, leaves them to dry for a while, like hay, then stores its harvest under the boulders in the rockslides. Thus, when winter comes and heavy frost blackens the vegetation outside, destroying much of its food value, the cony is assured of a winter food supply. In November, when the first real snowstorms of winter blanket the higher peaks, the cony vanishes into its winter home underneath the snow, which covers the rockslides to a depth of many feet. It does not need

431

OF THE SIERRA NEVADA

to hibernate, and remains active throughout the winter, as is evidenced by the closely trimmed remains of its hay piles and by the huge hills of droppings near by. The rockslide habitat evidently protects the cony from many enemies; the animal's birth rate is low for a member of the rabbit family. The number of young varies from two to five, averaging between three and four. In Tokopah Valley, August 10, 1933, a cony called several times from an extensive rockslide just below Tokopah Falls at 7,000 feet elevation. Conies were observed in this same locality also on August 11. This is an unusually low altitude in which to find conies in the Sequoia area, but the situation of the rockslide on a cold, north slope where extensive, deep snowslides persist in summer until as late as the Fourth of July may account for their presence. Plants of the higher mountains also are found at this locality: this shows that it lies in the Boreal Life Zone, even though it is at a relatively low elevation. Walter Fry reported (1922b) that the presence of the conies was first noted in the Twin Lakes basin on July 15,1906. At that time they first took up residence in a huge rockslide which had rolled down the steep mountainside to the east in the previous winter. The colony, which first consisted of five animals, increased until, on August 24, 1922, it ranked "as one of the largest in the Sierras." Fry adds: "The Pikas are very agile and can run like rats or jump like rabbits. In bounding from rock to rock when closely pressed in pursuit they will often spring a distance of ten feet or more . . . in emergency they can swim very rapidly for their limit—a distance of some 50 or 60 feet." Park status and records.—Common throughout the higher rocky basins and talus rock piles both below and above timber line. It has been observed near Mt. Whitney at an elevation of 13,000 ft.; it probably occurs at least several hundred feet higher. Other records have been given under "Habits."

W H I T E - T A I L E D J A C K R A B B I T , OR S I E R R A

Lepus townsendii

townsendii

HARE

Bachman

Description.—This high-altitude jack rabbit with a fluffy white tail is about one and a half times as large as the common black-tailed jack rabbit of the valleys and deserts. Total length is 20 inches; tail, 3 % inches; ear,

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6 inches. The animal weighs up to 8 pounds (W. Fry, 1924a, p. 172). In summer the white-tailed jack is pale brown, but in winter it turns pure white except for the tips of the ears, which remain black. The feet and tail are white at all seasons. It inhabits the Arctic-Alpine and occasionally the Transition life zones, preferring open, alpine country and sparsely wooded situations, though it is sometimes present along the timbered margins of mountain meadows. Habits.—White-tailed jack rabbits sometimes are mistakenly called "snowshoe rabbits." The true snowshoe rabbits are decidedly smaller than the white-tailed jacks and have shorter ears; their hind feet are very large and broad and are covered with coarse hair. They are primarily far northern animals, partial to forested country. (See chapter on Vanished Species and Questionable Records.) White-tailed jack rabbits are like ordinary jack rabbits in being inhabitants primarily of treeless plains country. Although locally they range high in the mountains, they are more abundant on the vast plains and grassy flats of the West, from the Cascades and the Sierra Nevada on the west to the Great Plains region east of the Rockies, and from Canada south to the Mount Whitney region of California, northern Nevada, Colorado, northern New Mexico, Kansas, Nebraska, Minnesota, and western Iowa. The long, lean jack rabbits are built for speed. To elude their enemies they may crouch behind a bush, seeking to escape observation; but if discovered, instead of taking to a burrow or hiding in dense brush, they dart into the open and, like the antelope, outrun their pursuers. They can outdistance a coyote and can dodge and reverse the direction of their flight with lightning quickness; even a swooping eagle has been seen to miss them repeatedly. When resting, particularly in the daytime, white-tails, like other jack rabbits, crouch beneath bushes, or among boulders if above timber line, in little hollows scratched out in the earth, which are called "forms." Partly because of their nocturnal habits, these rabbits are seldom seen in the High Sierra, even in locations where their droppings are fairly numerous. In the Sierra, the summer food of white-tailed jack rabbits consists of the low annual plants, grasses, and sedges that are characteristic of the dry alpine meadows and ridges. In winter, these hares move down to somewhat lower altitudes to forage on the buds and bark of brush, such as the cream bush and sagebrush, and small deciduous trees that extend up through the snow.

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Unlike young cottontails and brush rabbits, the young of jack rabbits and other hares at birth are covered with fine fur and have their eyes open. When less than a quarter grown, and possibly when only a week old, they are on their own. (Cahalane, 1947, p. 607.) Walter Fry (1924a, p. 174), on June 21, 1907, found a nest with young . . . on the north spur of Mount Silliman in Sequoia National Park, elevation 10,400 feet. The mother had tunneled through some eighteen inches of crusted snow and built her bed on the ground under low willow bushes. When we approached, the mother rabbit bounded out on top of the snow, ran a few yards in a series of high jumps, then suddenly stopped and sat down high upon her haunches apparently in an effort to attract us from her young. We took the five young rabbits all gently from their nest, looked them over carefully, then returned them to the nest . . . When we were handling the young rabbits they uttered shrill squealing cries of fright and distress. In response to their cries the horrified mother ran hysterically round us uttering soft weird grunting sounds of emotional distress and stamping her big padded hind feet hard down on the crested snow with great slapping effect. After we had . . . [gone] away a distance of some one hundred yards, the ever anxious mother was observed passing from sight under the snow to rejoin her helpless offspring. The white-tailed jack rabbits are clothed with a dense, protective coat of warm white fur that enables them to live on top of the snow and to withstand the bitter winter winds that sweep the mountain ridges. On the western shoulder of Mount Langley, on October 7,1935, white-tailed jacks were conspicuously active at night, foraging through the newly fallen snow above 13,000 feet elevation. Fresh tracks and many characteristic, large flattened pellets showed that jack rabbits were more numerous than we had found them elsewhere in the Sierra and that they had taken refuge during the day among the broken rocks of the boulder field at the margin of the plateau. On June 11, 1934, at Lake South America at the extreme head of Kern River, fresh tracks in the snow indicated that a pair of red foxes had captured a white-tailed jack. One of the foxes had sneaked ahead, keeping out of sight around a pile of boulders, and had lain in wait while the other fox rushed out and drove the hare directly toward it. The crisscross tracks of the two foxes and the hare followed each other round and round the

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boulder. The blood-stained snow showed signs of a short scuffle, then no more jack rabbit tracks. Fox tracks indicated that after the kill the fox had sat down for a while and then had gone up over the ridge, carrying the hare. Park status and records.—A regular resident, but in rather small numbers. It is solitary in its habits, although at times two or three individuals play together, as indicated by their tracks in the snow. In 1950, Boyer (1950&) reported a rise in population: "An increasing number of summer-pelaged hares have been seen in the two parks this year. Kern Canyon, Sugarloaf, and back-country Kings Canyon report the large animal, seen especially in meadow-broken timber habitats. The winter snows show evidence of at least four to six of the animals in Grant Grove area, and other tracks at Woodward Creek, Big Meadow, Redwood Mountain Overlook, Cherry Gap show that the animal is present in sufficient numbers to be called 'common.' This is especially true in the winter, when it ranks high in winter activity, along with the coyote, chickaree, and marten." In Sequoia, the white-tailed jack rabbit has been observed from 13,800 ft. elevation, in summer near Army Pass, down to 8,000 ft., in winter at Mineral King (Grinnell, 1933, p. 199; W. Fry, 1924a, p. 172). Fry has also observed it wintering at Alta Meadow and at Hockett Meadows. District Ranger Jack Sinclair reported "snowshoe rabbits" wintering near the upper end of Tokopah Valley above Lodgepole; we have noted tracks at Lake South America and near Army Pass. In 1934, tracks were seen at 11,000 ft. elevation near Wallace Lake, on a granite ridge sparsely covered with lodgepole pines, June 9; droppings were numerous in the sedge at elevations between 10,700 and 11,500 ft., at the east base of Milestone Mtn., June 13. Many fresh droppings were found, June 15,1935, at 10,600 ft. on a gap just west of Eagle Lake near the head of Horse Creek and Hockett Meadows. In 1934, a white-tailed jack rabbit was seen near the Sherman Tree, by Caretaker Herb Quick; its tracks were subsequently photographed by Dixon. Another was seen at Siberian Outpost by Ranger Hansen, and a third by Ranger Evans on the Chagoopa Plateau. "According to Ranger Evans, about 25 may occupy Siberian Outpost. He reports seeing many signs outside the park in Big Whitney Meadows; has seen two there at different times. Conversation with District Ranger Shel-

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lenberger, Tunnel Ranger Station, Inyo National Forest, on September 25, 1939, revealed that there were many in that particular area" (Augustine, 1939a). Oberhansley reported (1942) that members of the snow-plow crew had seen white-tailed jack rabbits in 1939,1940, and 1941 in the vicinity of Lodgepole and Red Fir camps, where their tracks are commonly seen. One hare was seen, Apr. 4, 1939, by Les Jordan on the Generals Highway near the Big Meadow road; another, near Lodgepole, Apr. 16, by Jesse Simmer. Both animals were still white. "According to the records, these are the first observed west of the Great Western Divide since 1934" (Augustine, 1939b). In 1941, the species was observed by various rangers, near Wolverton Saddle, elevation 7,700 ft.; near Lost Grove, elevation 6,700 ft.; at Lodgepole (in the brown coat); and on the Chagoopa Plateau, at 10,500 ft. elevation. In 1942, one hare was seen on the Chagoopa Plateau, and two in the vicinity of Pear Lake, elevation about 10,000 ft. (Fry, 1942b). Hares were noted in 1943 near Heather Lake; in 1944, at the Pear Lake Ski Hut; in 1946, at Crabtree Meadow and Mineral King; in 1949, near Dorst Creek, near Woodward Creek, and in Lost Canyon. Records in 1940: tracks seen at Grant Grove, Jan. 20; a hare at Cedar Springs, May 19; a group of five hares and another group of two, at Big Meadow (between Grant Grove and Horse Corral Meadow), June 29; two in November, at Grant Grove, of which one was almost entirely white except around the head, the other wholly white (Boyer, 1950a). Tracks were seen, Dec. 10, 1949, at Redwood Mountain Overlook, Grant Grove Maintenance Area, Cedar Creek former CCC Camp, Columbine picnic area; Dec. 30, near Grant Grove Ranger Station (Boyer, 1949b). In the Kings, fresh droppings and many older winter droppings were found on a rocky ridge amid clumps of shrubby cinquefoil on the north side of Darwin Canyon, elevation 11,500 ft., July 28, 1942. One hare was seen, Aug. 27, 1947, at Ellis Meadow, and many droppings were observed there. One was seen in the early part of July, 1949, by Sierra Club members at Humphreys Basin, 2% mi. north of Glacier Divide, the park boundary north of Evolution Valley.

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COTTONTAIL

RABBIT

Sylvilagus audubonii vallicola Nelson Description.—A comparatively small and relatively short-eared rabbit, about y 3 the size of a jack rabbit. The tail is cottony white on the under side, which in rabbits is the most conspicuous side because the tail is turned or curled up. The cottontail is yellowish brown above, pure white below; total length, 16 inches; tail, 2% inches; ear, 2% to 3% inches; weight, 2 pounds. It inhabits open grasslands and clearings, willow thickets, and the edges of chaparral areas, but does not penetrate deep into brush or other dense vegetation as the brush rabbit does. It lives in burrows and is commonly seen not far from such shelter. It inhabits the Upper Sonoran primarily, but occasionally enters the Transition Zone locally. Habits.—Cottontails inhabit deserts, high mountains (in some regions, but not in the Sierra), open plains, and wooded pastures from southern Canada to South America wherever there are open grasslands, thickets, and woodland borders. In California, the local races are characteristic inhabitants of low, warm valleys. Cottontails are likely to come out of their burrows or hiding places in thickets and brush piles about the time the shadows grow long in the late afternoon. Not as fleet as jack rabbits, they rely chiefly on shelter for protection from their enemies, and seldom venture far from it. Often they take over the abandoned burrows of other animals, particularly those of ground squirrels, but they can dig their own when necessary. Scooped out depressions, or sometimes regular burrows, lined with fur which the mother plucks from her breast, are used as nests for the newborn young. Unlike the young of jack rabbits, which are nearly as precocious as baby chicks, young cottontails are blind and naked at birth. The cottontail, like the meadow mouse, is the principal food of many furbearers, and this is reflected in its reproduction rate. The number of young to a litter is two to six—a little more than three is the average in the San Joaquin Valley—which is not large for a rabbit; but since the climate is mild, the breeding season of the San Joaquin cottontail is unusually long, and apparently there are more than two litters a year (Orr, 1940, p. 143). Cottontails, like other rabbits, do not hibernate. Deep snow, if soft, causes them to flounder helplessly, for they do not have wide, hairy feet like those of the snowshoe hares and white-tailed jack rabbits. The snow,

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if crusted, may prevent cottontails from feeding. Severe storms can starve extensive populations. No doubt it is for this reason that the cottontail does not live as far north, or as high in the mountains, as the snowshoe and jack rabbits. Cottontails eat grassy and leafy plants, willows, wild rose and other shrubs, bark, wild fruits, and sometimes, alas, garden crops. Park status and records.—In Sequoia, a rare resident along the extreme lower western border of the park. Walter Fry states that it used to be much more numerous and was seen at Ash Mtn. Hdqrs. and as far up the Kaweah as Potwisha. On May 13, 1935, at 6:30 A.M., Dixon saw a cottontail sitting at the edge of the North Fork truck trail about 300 yds. inside the park entrance. Not recorded from the Kings, which hardly contains sufficient lowland habitat. BRUSH RABBIT

Sylvilagus bachmani

mariposae

Grinnell and Storer

Description.—The brush rabbit is smaller and darker than the cottontail and has slightly shorter ears, these being shorter than the head. It occurs at low elevations in and close to dense brush, particularly greasewood ( Adenostoma fasciculatum), and it is secretive and shy. It is dark brown above, with a bluish-gray tone, and grayish white below. The tail is smaller than that of the cottontail and shows less white. Total length is 11 to 13% inches; tail, 1 inch; ear, 2% to 3 % inches; weight, iy 2 pounds. Habits.—The brush rabbit, like the wren-tit, California thrasher, pinyon mouse, and chaparral mouse, is a sedentary, chaparral-dwelling form that has adapted itself to the mild Pacific Coast climate and seems to have sacrificed wide distribution for increased security. It inhabits brushy situations at the lower elevations along the Pacific Coast from the Columbia River to Lower California. Brush rabbits and cottontails have divided the available habitat in such a way that competition is very slight. Brush rabbits spend most of their lives in or near dense brush. They rely on this type of shelter almost entirely, and seldom enter burrows; consequently their territory does not extend beyond the point where the brush becomes too thin for concealment. Only a small area of North America completely fulfills their habitat requirements.

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Cottontails choose an entirely different habitat; they avoid dense brush, which probably interferes with their locomotion and ability to detect enemies, and, by utilizing burrows, they occupy great expanses of country that is too open for brush rabbits. Because cottontails inhabit a vastly greater area, there are many millions more of them than there are brush rabbits. From the standpoint of racial survival, the cottontail might be thought to have the advantage. But of what advantage are greater numbers if they are balanced by a correspondingly greater death rate? The brush rabbit, crouching in its brushy retreats, can slip away easily at the first approach of danger, without the risk of being trapped in a burrow by weasels, snakes, badgers, and countless other enemies. And though its range is far more restricted, the brush rabbit, within its chosen habitat, is often more numerous than the cottontail. Like the cottontail, the brush rabbit eats grass and rushes extensively. When summer comes and the grass dries, the rabbit turns to clover, lupines, and many other herbaceous plants, as well as various shrubs, including the wild rose, snow berry, and ceanothus. The number of young in a litter varies from two to five, averaging three and a half. The breeding period seems to be limited to the period from January to June (Orr, 1940, p. 186); this is also the time of maximum green vegetation—and therefore probably the period of highest vitamin intake. This breeding season is short compared with that of the cottontail, which may breed at any time of the year; and the number of young in a litter is less than that of most species of cottontail. Nature has adjusted birth rates to death rates; the comparatively low birth rate of the brush rabbit is an indication of the relative safety of the animal's way of life. Park status and records.—In Sequoia, a fairly common resident in the chaparral belt near the extreme western boundary of the park, particularly along the South and Middle Forks of the Kaweah River. Clarence Fry (1930) reported it as "fairly abundant" in the chamise belt along the Middle Fork. On Dec. 18,1934, two dead brush rabbits were found in the powerhouse canal above Ash Mtn. Hdqrs. One brush rabbit was seen, Mar. 11, 1935, feeding on green grass in a greasewood thicket on the south side of the westernmost of the Ash Peaks, between 2,000 and 4,000 ft. elevation; it allowed the observer to walk to within 18 ft. of it before

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it darted into the brush. Augustine (1939a) reported the brush rabbit as fairly common around Ash. Mtn. Hdqrs. in 1939. Oberhansley took a specimen in April, 1940, 1 mi. above Potwisha. There are no records from the Kings; it is possible that a few brush rabbits occur in brush patches along the extreme lower boundary below Cedar Grove. CALIFORNIA M U L E

Ococoileus

DEER

hemionus californicus

(Caton)

Description.—The California mule deer of the Sierra is larger than the black-tailed deer, the coastal race of the same species. As the name implies, the tail of the latter is entirely black. In contrast, the tail of the California mule deer is white except for a black tip and, sometimes, a narrow black stripe that runs from the black tip to the base of the tail. In some individuals, especially in Sequoia National Park, the black tail stripe is less pronounced or is lacking altogether. The large ears suggest those of a mule; hence the name. An average buck is 5 feet, 7 inches long, stands 40 inches high at the shoulder, and weighs up to 170 pounds; occasional individuals may weigh 200 pounds. The California mule deer is a race restricted to California and an adjacent area in Lower California. It inhabits the mountains of southern California, west of the deserts, and ranges as far north along the coast as the mountains around Santa Barbara. Its range extends for an undetermined distance north along the west slope of the Sierra before the race intergrades with the Rocky Mountain race, apparently in the general region of Yosemite. Mule deer of several closely related races occupy western North America from southwest Canada to Mexico. The related white-tailed group of deer inhabits most of the rest of the New World from southern Canada and the southeast coast of Alaska to Peru and Bolivia. Still other groups are distributed over much of Europe, Asia, India, Ceylon, and North Africa. In general, the upward migration of mule deer in the spring parallels the spring plant growth; both vary considerably from year to year. In mild winters a few deer seem to frequent the lower levels of their summer range, as at Giant Forest, even in January and February. Most of the deer population, however, is in the foothills at this time, and the main spring migration back to the higher altitudes begins about March.

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The new reddish summer coat is acquired early in June, about the time the deer reach their main summer range. It replaces the thick, gray winter coat that was acquired in the previous September. Young.—Newborn fawns have creamy white spots on their reddishbrown coats. In some years, twins form 40 per cent of the fawn crop. Triplets are born sometimes, though not often. In 1933, single fawns seemed to outnumber twins by four to one. The first spotted fawn of that year was found in Giant Forest on June 19. On June 20 another was seen with its mother; the doe tried to drive other deer away from the fawn by running at them and striking out with her front feet. Augustine (1940fo) observed the first fawn of 1940 on June 17 at Giant Forest. Oberhansley (1942) reported that the earliest birth of fawns found in Sequoia was recorded on June 4, 1941, by Rangers Augustine and Sinclair. Boyer (1950c) reported the first fawn of 1950 at Grant Grove, June 15. At four o'clock in the afternoon of June 25, 1933, a pair of fawns was found that evidently had been born less than two hours earlier. The place of birth was a dry depression at the base of a giant sequoia where the buttressed trunk had been burned away. When discovered, the doe was licking the coats of her new offspring to dry them. Two hours later she was still licking one fawn, and was standing over the other, which was trying to nurse. She then tried to lead away the stronger fawn, which could walk already. At first it refused to go and returned to its twin. The two fawns then stood together briefly, but weakness soon caused them to lie down. The doe promptly came back and led the stronger fawn away. It walked 50 feet in ten minutes. On June 30 one of these fawns was found hiding in a narrow crack in a granite rock pile. This crack was 10 inches wide and 3 feet deep; it was closed at both ends and had a flat bottom, covered with pine needles. It seemed remarkable that the young fawn could get in and out of this narrow crack. The next morning, when the mother arrived and called her fawns to her to nurse, it was discovered that they were hidden separately about 60 feet from each other. After nursing for ten minutes, each fawn by its own volition went off to a hiding place. One chose a clump of green grass and brush that grew between two boulders; the other returned to a hiding place that it had previously used, at the base of a large granite rock. One commonly hears that the mother hides her fawns, but we believe that actually the young animals hide themselves in the manner described.

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On June 20, 1935, Dixon watched a doe nursing a fawn in a clump of lodgepole pines at Hockett Meadows. As soon as the doe saw him, she ran. The fawn started after her, but as soon as it was out of Dixon's sight it crouched down between a lodgepole pine and a granite boulder. There it remained motionless with its head and neck outstretched, while he approached and picked it up. This fawn, a male not more than twenty-four hours old, measured as follows: length, 23 inches; tail, 2 inches; hind foot, 9 inches; ear from crown, 4 inches; metatarsal gland, 2% inches. While being measured, the fawn tried to escape by leaping suddenly upward; it struck the ground forcibly with its hind feet and gave a low bleat, which brought the mother charging back, the hair bristling along her spine. Rushing up to within 25 feet, she stood with ears thrust forward, watching Dixon intently, but made no sound. She rushed a little nearer each time the fawn cried, and when the fawn was released, ran eagerly to it, hastily sniffed it all over, and, reassured, led it away into the brush. Spotted fawns, like most other animals, often play tag with one another. On October 9,1933, a pair of fawns was observed chasing each other wildly about in a meadow at Giant Forest. At another time two sets of twins were seen playing together, although ordinarily each pair played alone. All four were beginning to eat green grass. By the first week of September, 1940, many fawns at Giant Forest had almost lost their spotted coats. On September 29, 1933, at Giant Forest, one male fawn still had a few spots on its rump, and also had little nubbins of antlers in the velvet, about half an inch long. By this date, however, most of the fawns had acquired their fresh gray fall coats. Antlers.—The antlers of the male deer are like bone, and first start growing as knobs under a velvet-like skin. The knob and its velvet coating rapidly elongate, branch, and, while still in the velvet, reach the full size of the developed antler. When development is complete, the bonelike substance hardens, and the deer scrapes off the velvet by rubbing the antlers against tree trunks and the stems of bushes. Occasionally, but very rarely, antlers develop on female deer. Old bucks that have lost their vigor sometimes have abnormal antlers. One that had been first seen wintering at Hospital Rock in 1947-48 was photographed on June 23, 1949, by Ranger Bill Clark, after it had moved up to the Hazelwood picnic area for the summer. The photograph shows a polished set of gnarled horns remaining from the previous year and new, velvet-covered, lumpy growths sprouting from the head at the same time.

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This buck was seen again at Hospital Rock in October, 1949, and in February, 1950. He was still there on April 19, 1950, but had lost his long antlers; however, he had retained the lumpy growths, which looked like clenched fists. On June 2, 1950, this buck with the knobby growths was back at Firwood Camp near Giant Forest (Boyer, 1950a). Another abnormal buck was seen on March 2,1950, outside the park on the road between Grant Grove and Cedar Grove (Boyer, 1950a): "The stag had antlers in the velvet, although it appeared dried. The left antler was a long spike with no branches, about 14 inches in length, while the right hand antler was a much-branched spike about 4 inches in length." Normally the antlers grow brittle during the winter and break off quite easily in the period from mid-January to March. On February 25, 1943, Clarence Fry (1943a) saw a three-point buck fall on the slippery highway near Deer Ridge and lose both antlers. Boyer (1949a) saw a buck at Hospital Rock in January, 1949, that in the morning had one antler and by afternoon had none. The new antlers start to grow about the middle of April. On April 20, 1933, two bucks near Colony Mill had antlers less than an inch in height. On June 9,1933, a large buck had well-developed antlers still covered with velvet but with a second fork forming, and there were indications of four points on each antler. On August 4, 1933, at Crescent Meadow, one of two bucks seen together had antlers almost grown. On September 8, the bucks at Giant Forest had antlers practically grown, but the velvet was still firmly attached. Three of these bucks were bedded down within 50 feet of each other. Up to that date no fighting had been seen among any of them, although one of them had scraped the velvet at the base of its antlers. By September 13, two of the bucks had shed the velvet from their antlers and one had also shed its red summer coat for the gray fall coat. The other buck had fresh strips of velvet hanging from the base of its antlers, which were still bloody, as they commonly are for a brief period while the old velvet, like an itching scab, is being scraped off. Oberhansley (1942) states that bucks with bare antlers were observed before September 1 in both 1941 and 1942. Boyer (1950a) reported that at Giant Forest in 1950 the first buck with the velvet gone was seen on September 6. On September 18, at Sunset Rock, Dixon watched two bucks in the gray winter coat and with hard, polished antlers; by September 23 the antlers of all but one of the large bucks were free of velvet. From the

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time one buck started rubbing the velvet off it was three days until it was entirely removed. Out of forty-one bucks seen on the North Fork of the Kaweah, on February 20, 1935, apparently only one had not yet shed its antlers. March 20, 1935, is the latest date in the spring that we have seen a large adult buck in good physical condition still carrying antlers. As soon as the antlers become hardened and polished, fighting for supremacy begins among the bucks. This fighting usually serves to drive the weaker bucks away from the does. On September 14,1933, it was observed that a yearling buck had a piece of badly scraped skin on his side, as large as a man's hand, where another buck had struck him a glancing blow. On September 16,1933, Dixon witnessed the first buck fight of that fall. Similar fights continued almost daily until the end of the breeding season. Actual mating was first observed by Dixon early in December, and by December 13,1934, mating was in full swing at Hospital Rock. At that time the more vigorous does coming into season were continually followed by one of the stronger, more virile bucks. Fall migration.—Deer, like many songbirds and various other unrelated creatures, tend to move up to the higher mountain meadows and ridges, sometimes above timber line, for a brief period in late summer and early fall. The regular downward migration, however, usually sets in with the first hard winter storm. At Cahoon Meadow, on November 14,1934, all the numerous deer tracks that had been made since the recent snowstorm were headed downhill. On November 15, 1934, at 10,500 feet elevation on the trail to Alta Peak, when the snow began to fall hard, a band of four does, five fawns, and one buck stopped feeding, moved about restlessly, and soon started in a close band down the main ridge which led to winter quarters in the brush belt below the ponderosa pines. And on November 17, 1934, when the snow along Wolverton Creek, at 8,000 feet elevation, reached a depth of 10 inches, the deer began to migrate to lower winter quarters; seventeen fresh deer tracks, all headed downhill, were found in a distance of 4 miles. In 1949, Boyer (1949a) reported: December 8. The first snowstorm of the season left about 6 inches of snow in the Grant Grove area; more at higher elevations . . . The storm caused a general exodus of California Mule Deer into the lower

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elevations, as seen by the numerous tracks crossing the Generals Highway to the west. From the Grant Grove "Wye" to the top of Big Baldy Saddle, a distance of approximately 9 miles, 194 deer crossings were noted; from Big Baldy Saddle to Cabin Creek, another 9 miles, there were 64 separate crossings. One probable reason that deer go downhill out of the deep snow is to avoid mountain coyotes, which under such conditions have a distinct advantage over them. The best available food also is found in the brush belt of the winter range along the lower foothills. Winter range.—Recent observations have shown that many of the deer found in summer at Giant Forest spend the winter along the Middle Fork of the Kaweah in the vicinities of Hospital Rock, Potwisha, and Ash Mountain Headquarters. On February 20,1935, forty-one deer, in small, separate bands of eleven, eleven, nine, and ten individuals, were counted as they fed at four o'clock in the afternoon on a warm, south-facing, open grassy slope in Yucca Basin. On February 21, near Ash Mountain Headquarters, fifteen fed on the open grasslands of the winter range. At Kern Hot Spring and Upper Funston Meadow, observations on May 28, 1934, showed that manzanita bushes had been almost killed in the previous winter by the heavy browsing of deer. Evidently, this warm pocket had been a limited wintering ground for them; three were still present. All the deer in that vicinity were in fairly good flesh and were still in the long gray winter coat. Enemies, accidents, and diseases.—About thirty-five years ago, superintendents and rangers began to comment on the gradual increase of deer and the resulting destruction of vegetation at Giant Forest and various public campgrounds in Sequoia National Park. In 1922, Superintendent John R. White wrote to the California Academy of Sciences: "The increasing tameness of deer has been noted. Many does seem to prefer public camp sites as places of birth for fawns, and subsequent residence. They are accustomed to eat scraps of food from campers' kitchens . . ." By 1933, the superintendent was urging some control of deer numbers. In 1943, Oberhansley wrote (memorandum of March 23 to the superintendent) that "photographs and motion pictures dating back at least 26 years" indicated that human trampling and the gradual increase in deer had severely depleted ground cover in the vicinity of Giant Forest.

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The presence of thousands of human beings in Giant Forest no doubt has been an indirect cause of a significant part of the deer increase, for the noise and clatter of motorized camping, radios, and general human hubbub keep away the deer's chief enemy, the mountain lion, which is much shier than the deer. As mentioned in the section on the Coyote, strong, healthy adult deer, if not hampered by deep snow, seem quite well able to defend themselves against coyotes, and have even been known to kill them under especially favorable conditions. This holds true also of small dogs, as indicated by the following succinct report from Wesley Loverin, dated July 27,1940: "One deer and loose dog do battle at Lodgepole. Deer wins." The vitality and individual aggressiveness of the deer, and of the coyote also, may sometimes be the determining factor in their encounters. Probably the most pugnacious does are those with small fawns to protect; does without fawns seem more prone to run from coyotes. In June, 1948, Boyer (1948a) wrote that Ranger Anderson had "watched a large coyote running a doe heavy with young within 100 yards of the corrals [at Cedar Grove]. The deer was still able to outrun the coyote, even though she made none of the stiff-legged jolting jumps peculiar to the animal." On June 4,1948, tracks and other signs near a dead doe revealed that a pair of coyotes had overtaken and killed her. The thin old doe had muchworn teeth and numerous hairless patches on her body and ears. (Boyer, 1948a.) Similarly, "Ranger Jack Anderson at Cedar Grove saw two coyotes running a doe." They chased her "up a hill into a draw 75 yards from the road" and there threw and killed her. Although Anderson "was cut off from view from the actual kill," when he climbed up the hill he found that the "doe had been opened up . . . As soon as he left, the predators circled back to the kill." In December, 1948, Boyer reported deer kills as follows: It is thought that coyotes are responsible . . . Sign showed where on both kills the coyotes ran the animals over steep banks and finished them as they lay on the ground. During the night of December 15 an adult doe was forced back over Black Oak Point [near Deer Ridge], The fall resulted in a break of her left rear leg. The predators tore open her throat and entered the posterior abdominal cavity. December 28 a yearling doe was killed, within 50 yards of the other kill, and

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essentially the same plan of action was used by two coyotes to kill this one. On February 3,1949, Boyer reported: Yearling California Mule Deer . . . was run down and killed by two mountain coyotes near Black Oak Pt., 500 yards southwest of Deer Ridge. The animal, an immature female, was running when she was pulled down by the coyotes. From sign on fresh snow, she was knocked down three times in a 50 yard run; the last time she was killed by the predators. The only portion remaining at 3:00 P.M. was a section of the backbone and the left hind leg. The carcass was cleaned up this much . . . between 12 noon and 3:00 P.M. The remains were 20 feet off the road up on the bank. On the 4th of February the only remains were scraps of skin and patches of hair, blood, and scattered stomach contents on the snow. Evidence of the following animals indicated that the carcass was visited during the night and early morning and cleaned up by them: fisher, wood rat, grey fox, two ravens, bobcat, and the coyotes. Three deer had traveled very hesitantly within a few feet of the area in the morning, evidently aroused by and curious because of the blood-stained snow. Mortality among fawns is rather high, as it is among young wild creatures of almost all kinds, from quail, rabbits, and bighorn to hawks, fish, and swans. Boyer (1948a) writes: District Ranger Schmidt reports a coyote carrying a dead fawn in its mouth on the truck trail east of Cedar Grove. The animal was relatively unafraid and merely turned and looked when Schmidt shouted. It then ran unhurriedly up the hill off of the road with the fawn still in its mouth. The fawn was new born, and was still wet from birth, at 10 A.M. when seen [June 22]. Giant Forest Trail Crewman Bruce McCallum reported [June 26] seeing a medium sized black bear devouring a fawn in a meadow on the Heather Lake Trail. Bobcats occasionally kill deer, particularly fawns, and so do golden eagles, which seem able to catch fawns only when the mothers have left the fawns undefended (see section on Golden Eagle). Bears catch a few fawns but are too slow and clumsy to be a threat to any but the youngest animals.

OF T H E SIERRA NEVADA

447

Nature has adjusted the reproductive rate of each species to meet the anticipated loss, just as life insurance companies base their rates and payments on the life expectancy of men and women as shown in carefully worked out mortality tables. The action of various natural enemies of a species reduces or prevents surpluses. When these enemies are removed by man's interference, the surpluses become unwieldy; but eventually, starvation and disease cut down such surpluses. The deer population in Sequoia, in spite of predation, has continued to increase at an unnatural rate. In view of the population trend and its effects on forest reproduction, we believe that predation by mountain lions and lesser natural enemies has been almost wholly beneficial to the deer. It is likely that there will continue to be plenty of deer for park visitors to see and enjoy, and also various rare predators which visitors seldom see in other parts of the country, where the animals are usually persecuted. For the original natural predators civilization has substituted a new hazard—the automobile. The accidental killing of deer by automobiles has become common, though not on a scale large enough to affect the size of the deer populations. At night the animals become blinded and confused by the bright headlights of passing cars and are particularly likely to be hit when drivers exceed the park speed limit. The speeding car and the passengers in it, as well as the deer, may then be severely damaged. If motorists tempted to exceed the designated speed limit would take to heart the following remarks by Boyer (1948a), both deer and motorists would benefit. . . . If many thoughtless persons could be made to see the crippled animal's efforts to avoid the finishing mercy shot, . . . the look of anguished suffering in the pain-glazed eyes, or its attempts to run on protruding leg bones, they would be almost certain to slow or even stop their automobiles when the nervous animals are seen along our high mountain roads! In a five-day period this month three deer were injured by cars, so severely that they were destroyed. These are the "reportable" cases. It is certain that there were many more, apparently minor in nature, that were not brought to our attention. On November 9, a crippled doe was reported at the 5,000 foot marker, between Deer Ridge and Eleven Range Point. Investigation

448

BIRDS AND M A M M A L S

showed that it was another car injury—this time a broken back. The doe could barely move when approached. It assumed the hiding position of very young deer when threatened with danger—head down, ears flattened, nose pointed along its extended forefeet, in a futile effort to avoid detection. It was destroyed. On November 10, a large four-point buck was struck by a car a short distance above Amphitheatre Point. A spinal injury resulted. It . . . made every effort to regain its feet and lunge at the ranger with head down, ears flattened, hair along neck and back raised, and the eyes glowing greenly. This might have been a possible source of danger to an unwary tourist. It, also, was put away. Again, in 1949, Boyer reported on the killing of deer along the roads in the central part of the Giant Forest district: . . . Figures have been kept throughout the entire month on the road kills . . . Seven adult deer, including four does with six unborn fawns and one newborn, were car-killed on the Generals Highway between Sherman Tree and Red Fir Camp. . . . As a matter of record, the following data are given: June 4: Doe, pregnant, car-kill, Clover Creek incinerator, two unborn fawns. Extensive damage to auto radiator. June 16: Doe, pregnant, car-kill, y2 mile north of Sherman Tree; forced birth to two fawns, one exposed and the other in placental sac. Damaged left fender and headlight of car. June 24: Doe, post-parturition, car-kill, % mile north of Halstead Meadow. A small fawn found near doe was brought in for care, but died during night. Carcass had been hastily covered with dirt and duff. June 25: Buck, velvet forked antlers, car-kill, % mile south of Lodgepole. Radiator grill fragments present; also sealed beam headlight glass. Animal about 3-4 years old, good shape. July 1: Buck, velvet spike, about 2 years old, car-kill, % mile south 7,00(y marker (1 mile S / W Lodgepole); bumper guard exposed heart in chest cavity . . . Doe disemboweled % mile north of Sherman Tree. Does ( 2 ) pregnant, contained two fawns, car-killed at Lodgepole Marble Fork Bridge. Ran 75' from road to stream edge before dying. Was fat, good condition, showed molar cusp wear. Six years plus. The following smaller animals also were killed on the Generals Highway between Giant Forest and Lodgepole in this same period: golden-mantled

O F T H E SIERRA NEVADA

449

ground squirrels, 26; western gray squirrel, 1; Sequoia chipmunks, 23; chickarees, 8; Fisher ground squirrels, 3; western robin, 1; juncos, 2; whiteheaded woodpecker, 1. All accidents to deer are not caused by automobiles, of course. On December 9, 1934, it was observed that an old doe known to have been at Hospital Rock each winter for twelve years had become very thin and was nearly blind; her side had been punctured by a sharp stick, and, although the wound had healed over, her general condition was so poor that it was doubtful whether she could survive the winter. It is surprising that more deer are not injured in this manner, particularly about the head, when on being frightened they crash through the brush with sudden bursts of speed. Oberhansley ( 1 9 4 2 ) reports three fatal accidents to deer in the summer of 1942: one deer fell from a sheer rock cliff onto the highway, one drowned, and one jumped to death off the Clover Creek Bridge along the highway. Other accidents—falls from cliffs and drownings of deer that had fallen off creek banks—had been reported several times previously by various park rangers. Feeding by tourists is as harmful to deer as it is to bears. Fawns that follow their mothers to the campgrounds often grow up as confirmed panhandlers. Candy, cigarettes, peanuts, scraps of bread, and chewing gum lack the basic elements essential for growth and health. As a result, campground deer are notorious for their skinny, sluggish, spiritless appearance. Among deer fed by tourists, disease is common because their resistance is low, and also because parasites and diseases spread easily from one animal to another as the deer stand around day after day in the same feeding areas. The feeding habits of deer in their natural habitat are quite different. A deer usually nibbles only a few mouthfuls and then moves on a few steps. This is one of Nature's ways of minimizing both overbrowsing and the spread of disease among grazing and browsing animals. Deer from Giant Forest and near-by centers of human activity in Sequoia were the subjects of special study by pathologists of the California Division of Fish and Game (Dixon and Herman, 1945). The carcasses studied were found to be unfit for human consumption and hence could not be made available to public institutions. Oberhansley reports (1942) that a greasy dishrag was found in the pylorus of one doe that died in Giant Forest. In concentrated, abnormally protected animal populations, as at Giant Forest, Lodgepole, and Hospital Rock, the disease situation runs in a vicious circle. There, a greater number of the animals are old and decrepit,

450

BIRDS AND MAMMALS

and these are the ones most subject to disease. Diseased animals, because of the absence of natural enemies, may linger on for several years, spreading their infections by contamination of forage, by direct contact with healthy animals, and by functioning as perambulating tenement houses in which parasites can take refuge and multiply enormously. As the concentration of deer continues, the browse supply not only diminishes in quantity but also becomes inferior in quality. After the tender twigs and buds have been stripped away year after year, there remains little but the thick, woody, unnutritious basal branches of the dying vegetation. Such inferior forage lowers the vitality of the entire population. Even when not handicapped by malnutrition, deer have many parasites and diseases. The ordinary wood tick, one of their commonest external parasites, though it does not often directly kill deer, may, when it becomes excessively numerous, cause their physical condition to become so poor that other diseases may gain a foothold and eventually cause death. Botfly larvae, which become imbedded in the nasal cavities, also are a frequent cause of irritation and ill health. An eye disease fairly prevalent among deer at Sequoia impairs the animal's sight and sometimes even destroys it temporarily. It is caused by a parasitic nematode worm, Thelazia californiensis (Dixon and Herman, 1945). The same eye disease has been observed in garbage-fed bears at Sequoia. Deer, like bears, lose their natural fear of, or "respect" for, human beings when tourists continually pester and feed them. They become impatient at the teasing of amateur photographers and children—who hold tidbits just out of reach to make the animals pose—and sometimes slap at tormentors with their hoofs. The Fresno Bee, on July 18, 1950, reported that a six-year-old boy had been "struck on the head by a doe he was attempting to feed at Hazelwood picnic area" and had been treated in the Lodgepole Hospital. Other park visitors who have disregarded the regulation against feeding deer have had similar experiences. Food.—Because deer are usually feeding in or near open meadows when the average observer sees them, it is commonly imagined that they live chiefly on grass, like cattle. Actually, deer subsist primarily on browse— the tender shoots, twigs, buds, and leaves of shrubs and trees. At times, however, they consume large quantities of grass, particularly in the spring, when it affords the first major source of green, vitamin-rich vegetation after the long winter's subsistence on woody shoots. The green leaves of trees and shrubs usually appear a little later than the first spring grass.

OF THE SIERRA NEVADA

451

On April 21,1933, a pregnant doe was observed at Hospital Rock standing repeatedly on her hind legs to reach into the lower branches of a buckeye, for green leaves. An analysis under the direction of Dr. A. W. Sampson at the University of California has shown that the amount of calcium in green buckeye leaves when the tree is in the flowering stage is approximately ten times the amount in them when the tree is in the bud stage. Thus, when the doe had greatest need of calcium for bones for her unborn offspring, she ate food that contained it. A favorite spring habitat of the deer is at Junction Meadow on certain south-facing slopes, between 8,100 and 8,500 feet altitude, which become free of snow early in the spring. Here they browse so extensively on the clumps of snow-brush, manzanita, and bitter cherry that sometimes they eat up almost the entire growth of the previous season. At Giant Forest, on December 18, 1929, the brush on a warm, southfacing ridge was 4 feet high and in a vigorous healthy condition. By June 10,1933, after four years of increasingly heavy overbrowsing at this point, much of the brush and bitter cherry had been killed. By 1934, so many of the lower branches had become chewed to thick, unpalatable stubs that some deer, in order to reach the more tender leaves and stems near the tops of the bushes, found it necessary to stand up, goat fashion, with front feet placed on a limb. For the purpose of measuring the pressure of the increasing population of deer, sample areas were fenced with deer-proof wire. The protected plants growing inside the fence soon began to show a startling contrast to those outside. By 1940, the brush and bitter cherry inside the fenced plots were vigorous and thrifty; new cherry sprouts were from 5 to 6 feet high; snow-brush in the protected plot was 4 feet high and showed strong, vigorous growth. By contrast, the growth of brush and bitter cherry outside the fence had been almost completely killed by the deer. By 1947, a large part of the forest understory outside the fenced plot had been destroyed, and over many acres only the flattened, dead remains indicated that once there had been an extensive brushy understory. Large numbers of fox sparrows, green-tailed towhees, chipmunks, and other small wild creatures that had once found food and shelter in these brush patches had disappeared when the vegetation died. Inside the fence, shrubs and young trees flourished shoulder high. Deer eat a great variety of plants. Among their favorites are the mountain and foothill shrubs of the genus Ceanothus. These include the loose,

452

BIRDS AND MAMMALS

slender-branched deer brush (Ceanothus integerrimus), 4 to 12 feet high, with bluish or white flowers (rarely pinkish); the low, widely spreading, thorny, white-flowered snow-brush (C. cordulatus); and the low, dense, rigid but nonthorny buck-brush or wedge-leaf Ceanothus (C. cuneatus) with sweetish-smelling white flowers. Deer also eat sedges (including short-hair, Carex exserta, of the high meadows), clovers, manzanita (including the flowers as well as the leaves), cream bush, dogwood, wild rose, snow berry, wild buckwheat, sneezewood (Helenium bigelovii), yerba santa, goldenrod, sagebrush, lupines, monkey flowers, primrose (Oenothera), seedlings and tender terminal shoots and leaves of various oaks, willows, alders, aspens, cottonwoods, and the California laurel or bay tree, wild currants and gooseberries, elderberries, choke-cherry and bitter cherry, poison oak, bracken, acorns, rain-soaked dead leaves, lichens, mushrooms, and mistletoe. At times they eat the tender tips of various conifers, but do so sparingly. Albinism.—Boyer (1950a) reported that "a near albino doe and yearling [had been] seen in Firwood Camp" on May 18, 1950, and that he himself had seen "a near albino buck with velvet antlers near Suwanee Creek." He thought that there might be "some tie-in in respective ancestry of these animals." Albino strains have been observed in deer elsewhere. In the summer of 1950 a young, pure-white animal was seen and photographed on the headwaters of King Creek in Lassen Volcanic National Park. Before 1940, another pure-white young deer had been seen in the same locality; it was observed again the next spring, but not after the hunting season. Park status and records.—The race californicus, the California mule deer, is a common resident on the west slope of the Sierra; on the east slope it is replaced by inyoensis, the Inyo mule deer. In summer, californicus is very common in middle-altitude forests above 5,000 ft. elevation, and is slightly less so in open granite basins near timber line; it often wanders above the limit of trees and crosses the high passes. In winter it moves down to open woodland and chaparral areas of the lower foothills. The highest altitudinal record for California mule deer of which we have authentic data is 12,750 ft.: George M. Wright, July 18, 1923, found a mature buck on the southwest face of Mt. Kaweah. Cattleman Walter Goins, a long-time resident of Horse Corral Meadow, told Sumner in 1940 that in the preceding ten years hunting had vastly improved in the area adjacent to Sequoia National Park;

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SIERRA.

453

NEVADA

before that, very few deer were seen there. Ranger Armstrong stated in 1940 that the brothers Courtner, from Badger, with a party of about nine other hunters, told him that they had been getting six to twelve deer the first day of the open season for the preceding eight to ten years, at Rowell Meadow; many deer came over the low, wooded crest in the neighborhood of J. O. Pass from Sequoia National Park. Before the park was established, they used to hunt in the Sequoia area also; but now they can get all the deer they want at Rowell Meadow. Oldtime resident Poly Kanawyer stated in 1940 that deer had increased very greatly in the previous ten years; when domestic sheep bands were numerous in the park there were almost no deer. The combined deer population of the two parks may have increased from about 10,000 in 1941 to 18,600 in 1950. The 1941 estimate was based on guesses of various well-informed district rangers. The 1950 figure is based on figures taken from the Quarterly Progress Report on Project 28-R-3, Federal Wildlife Restoration Act; in this project, Dr. A. Starker Leopold, its leader, had the cooperation of the University of California; the survey covered areas from the Sacramento River to Porterville. Figures for Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks are given in the accompanying table (based on Boyer, 1950£>). ESTIMATE

OF PARK

DEER

POPULATION

Deer herd management unit Kings Canyon National Park

'

23-B D D' 24-A

San Joaquin Herd North Kings Herd East Kings Herd • Hume Lake Herd

IN

Sq. mi. of park area 45 55 425 185

1950

Deer per sq. mi.

No. in herd

17 22 10 ° 18

765 1,210 4,250 • 3,330

15 15 15 •

5,100 2,700 1,260 *

710 Sequoia National Park

24-B Kaweah River Herd E Kern River Herd E ' North Kem Herd 0 Total sq. mi. in both parks

340 180 84 604 . 1,314

9,555

9,060 Total deer

. 18,615

• Area not included in a park management unit. Figures are estimates only.

On the east side of the Sierra, the race inyoensis, the Inyo mule deer, replaces the slightly smaller California mule deer. The clear light gray of the fall coat, at the time of year when the animal is most likely to cross over the Sierran crest into the parks, is characteristic. The black tip of the tail

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does not extend more than halfway toward the base of the tail. Measurements of the original specimen, from which this local race was described, a four-point buck, are: length, 5 feet, 8 % inches; height at shoulder, 43% inches; weight, 190 pounds. Its habits are similar to those of the California mule deer, but inyoensis is restricted to a narrow range along the east slope of the southern Sierra from Walker Pass possibly as far north as Yosemite, and to an area in the White and Inyo Mountains on the other side of Owens Valley from the Sierra. Park status and records.—In Sequoia, inyoensis is a summer visitor along the Whitney Crest and plateau adjacent to the southeastern border of the park. That it also crosses over into the Kings has not yet been conclusively proved. This race has been noted at elevations well above 12,000 ft. near Mt. Whitney. It tends to enter Sequoia from Army Pass southward. According to Augustine (1939a), District Ranger Shellenberger of Inyo National Forest stated that in the Tunnel Meadow area, 6 mi. southeast of Sequoia, inyoensis was the only deer, and that the main population came to Tunnel Meadow in the fall by way of Siberian Pass (i.e., the Siberian Pass Creek drainage inside Sequoia), as well as through Diaz Pass and Army Pass from Mulky Meadows and points due east of Tunnel Meadow, beyond the Sierran crest (and outside Sequoia). In September, 1940, Augustine (1940fo) reported the species on Wallace, Whitney, and Rock creeks. In 1941, Ranger Shellenberger told Oberhansley (1942) that the ratio of bucks killed in the hunting season outside but adjoining the southern boundary of the park was five Inyo deer to one California mule deer. Recent observations indicate that, possibly as a result of the protection afforded by the park, Inyo deer are increasing and are extending their range somewhat in the southeast part of Sequoia, especially in the area east of Kern River. Oberhansley (1942) reports them as common along headwaters of Rock and Golden Trout creeks. BIGHORN, OR MOUNTAIN

Ovis canadensis californiana

SHEEP

(Douglas)

Description.—The stately carriage and massive, curling horns of the rams are familiar to almost everyone, even though the animals themselves

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455

are infrequently seen. Although the young lambs are usually white, adult bighorn, except those of certain Alaskan races, are not. The general color is a pale sandy brown, and on the rump there is a large whitish patch which is conspicuous when the animal runs away. Bighorn are not woolly like domestic sheep, although in far northern regions the hair of their winter coats becomes quite dense and long. A full-grown ram of the Sierra race stands about 3 feet high at the shoulder and weighs in the neighborhood of 200 pounds. Its horns are 15 or 16 inches in circumference at the base and have a spread of 23 inches; together with the head, they weigh about 30 pounds. The female bighorn sometimes has been miscalled "ibex" and "mountain goat," no doubt because it has small, only slightly curved horns, which are distinctly goatlike. The horns of young males are somewhat larger and thicker at the base than those of the females, but are not curved as in the adult rams. The tracks of the bighorn are much broader and less pointed than those of the deer, even than those of the larger bucks. Habits.—Bighorn are crag dwellers, sure-footed on the brink of the most breath-taking abyss, nervous and panicky on flat land. Once they were common in broken, rocky country at all altitudes, almost throughout western North America; some even lived on lava plateaus miles from the mountains and sought shelter in underground caves and tunnels in the lava. Although the wolf and other natural enemies never materially reduced the numbers of the bighorn, the white man and his domestic animals almost exterminated the species. The bighorn died by thousands from the white man's bullets, but the diseases introduced from Europe with the importation of domestic sheep killed far greater numbers. Still more fatal, in the long run, was the competition for food between the bighorn and domestic animals. In summer, great bands of sheep, goats, and cattle were moved into the high, craggy country to "put to some good use" the grass and wildflowers. As early as 1878, botanists of the Wheeler Survey, expecting "an abundant botanical harvest" on visiting the Mount Whitney region, were disappointed to find that "immense bands of [domestic] sheep had denuded every living green thing, save sage brush, and had actually trampled the soil into dust, even destroying the roots of the grass in great measure," threatening "the possible disappearance of some of the local species of plants . . . [and] changing . . . the entire habitat of others." With the arrival of fall, the herders moved their flocks down to fresh grazing grounds in the sheltered valleys and left the high

456

BIRDS AND MAMMALS

places, now bare and dusty, for the bighorn. Weakened by disease and unable to find enough to eat, the thinning bands of bighorn wandered over their denuded range. When the winter storms came, more bighorn died of hunger, disease, and exhaustion than had been shot during the summer by the meat and trophy hunters. A hundred years of such adversity has reduced the bighorn in the western United States to scattered bands, most of which live on isolated mountaintops, although a few still inhabit the wild, deep gorges of the Colorado River and its larger tributaries, and some bands still persist in the remote ranges of northern Mexico. The chief remaining stronghold of the species is in the mountain wilderness of Canada and Alaska, though even there, bighorn have continued to decline. There are about ten races in North America, and other wild species in Asia, eastern Europe, and Africa. The lambs are born about the first of June, usually on some grassy ledge that affords the mother a good view of any approaching enemy. But one young one is born, as a rule, although twins occur occasionally. During most of the year the fully grown rams remain in groups that are apart from the ewes and lambs. Taxonomists now do not consider the Sierra bighorn to be subspecifically distinct from the bighorn north and east of California, but they concede that the Sierra animals differ slightly from other local populations. Although solitary wanderers occasionally are seen far from their home range, known bands usually are found in certain parts of the Sierra. Bighorn, particularly the rams, are accustomed to traveling great distances. They do not form closely knit, mutually exclusive herds but tend to split up into numerous small bands, which interchange members to some extent. The five herds referred to below should therefore not be thought of as compact units but rather as loose groups confined to a general region by geographic or other barriers. Present numbers.—Jones (19506) has shown that one band centers around Convict Creek, in the Mammoth Lakes country, about 25 miles north of Evolution Valley. Apparently this band has no connection with the bands to the south and does not enter the Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. Another band, the Birch Mountain herd, numbering only about 15 head, apparently does not often enter the park. The largest and most frequently reported of all the Sierra bighorn bands is the herd of approximately 135 animals that live in the neighborhood of Peak 12,329 overlooking Woods Lake, and Mount Baxter, Baxter Pass,

OF THE SIERRA NEVADA

457

Diamond Peak, Black Mountain, Dragon Peak, and Mount Gould near Rae Lake (Jones, 1950b, p. 40). Although this herd lives chiefly on the east slope of the Sierra, it does cross over rather regularly into Kings Canyon National Park. Animals have been seen, by various persons, in that neighborhood and along the John Muir Trail near the White Fork of Woods Creek. The next largest band is the Mount Williamson herd, estimated at 125 head, which from time to time enters the parks near the Kings-Kem divide, although not frequently enough to be predictable. The southernmost band, numbering about 90 head, is one that ranges from Mount Langley to Army Pass and Monache Meadows. In the early days, sheep from this vicinity ranged across Kern Canyon to the Kaweah Peaks and other summits of the Great Western Divide, and even to Mineral King; but this was before 1918 (Jones, 1950&, p. 35). Occasionally today, individual bighorn from the Mount Langley band stray into Sequoia, to the head of Rock Creek and the vicinity of Mount Hitchcock; but the greatest part of their range now lies southeast of the parks. Feeding and resting.—Bighorn start feeding a little before daybreak and continue at intervals throughout the day. After feeding a short time, they customarily lie down, like domestic sheep, to chew their cuds. The rest period may last twenty minutes to an hour, and then feeding is resumed (Jones, 19506, p. 56). Although bighorn are seldom easy to see, they can sometimes be located by the noise of the falling rocks which they dislodge as they move deliberately along the trails and ledges while feeding. But after they have lain down to rest, one may for hours scan the slopes with high-powered binoculars without seeing any of the animals, even though they are in plain view, for their brown coats blend perfectly with the rocky background. While they are thus resting, their habitually deliberate motions serve to conceal them further. They do not paw and stamp at flies or make other sudden motions as mules and horses do, and they hardly move their heads as their calm eyes take in the vast panorama below. Many Sierra travelers have passed close to resting bighorn without ever becoming aware of their presence. Even experienced naturalists, in estimating the number of bighorn present, find it necessary to supplement sight records with counts of the characteristic resting beds scraped by the animals in the loose gravel. These "day beds," as they are often called, are flattish, oval, more or less level places about 2 feet long, usually occurring in groups on some commanding overlook. The number of beds does not

458

BIRDS AND MAMMALS

exactly correspond to the number of animals, for when a band lies down, some individuals may use beds already present, whereas others scrape new ones with their hoofs. However, clues to the size of the band are given by the freshness of the disturbed ground in or near these beds, and the quantity of recent droppings—which resemble those of deer—that usually are scattered all about the bedding grounds. Food preferences.—A favorite food of the Sierra bighorn is a low, somewhat woolly, yellow-flowered alpine plant belonging to the sunflower or dandelion family. This plant, Hulsea algida (it has no common name), grows in decomposed granite soil at elevations of 11,000 to 14,000 feet. The bighorn not only eat the leaves and the stems, which grow 2 to 7 inches high, but dig up the stout taproot with their hoofs and crunch it too. Other food plants are the sedges, including the abundant "shorthair grass" (Carex exserta), grasses, buttercups, paintbrushes, wild buckwheat, mountain sorrel, lupines, penstemons, sagebrush, and alpine plants of the genera Polemonium, Ivesia, Monardella, and Draba. Horns.—The horns of the male bighorn, because of their weight and spread, act like a counterweight or like the heavy balancing pole of a highwire acrobat. In this we have the explanation of the fact that even when the animal is bounding away in full flight the head often seems to float along with an independent poise and grace. These horns are not shed as deerhorns are, but continue to grow slowly year after year. And since they curve, the tip describes an arc of a circle. The horns of the rams eventually may describe a complete circle or even start on a second circle. It is possible to estimate the animal's age by counting the broad segments of horn which mark each year's growth. Natural enemies and range.—The bighorn has solved the problem of survival like many other mountain dwellers, including the wolverine and rosy finch, by withdrawing from the heaviest competition with other animals, to a region where agility, sure-footedness, and great hardihood are prime requisites. Excepting only the white man, against whose coming primeval Nature obviously was not prepared, the bighorn has few enemies. Its agility among the crags gives it overwhelming advantage over wolves, coyotes, mountain lions, wolverines, and bears, except on relatively infrequent occasions when these enemies surprise it away from the rocks. Some observers have considered the golden eagle to be one of the bighorn's important natural enemies (see Ober, 1931, p. 37); but the evidence accumulated in recent years indicates that usually, as in attacks on deer,

OF T H E SIERRA NEVADA

459

eagles succeed in taking only young animals temporarily left unprotected by their mothers. Winter, rather than other animals, is the Sierra bighorn's chief enemy. However, even winter's icy winds do not necessarily harm the bighorn. In fact, some individuals apparently remain high on the mountains where the snow is continually blasted from the ledges and feeding grounds by recurrent gales. Snow and long-continued storms are the major hazard, for they cover up food supplies, exhaust the younger and weaker animals particularly, and cause all to flounder so helplessly that even coyotes can pull them down. This need to escape the deep snow is the underlying reason for the concentration of bighorn bands on the relatively dry east slope of the Sierra and their rarity on the west side in the parks. In winter the parks are blanketed with deep snow, from the cliff areas all the way down through heavy timber—which is definitely not bighorn habitat—to the low, western foothills where cliff habitat is scarce and restricted. By contrast, the east slope is open, rocky, and sparsely forested, quickly becoming semidesert at the lower levels. On this slope, therefore, the bighorn bands have ideal wintering grounds—or had them until man brought in his livestock. The future.—Even fifteen years ago the future of the Sierra bighorn looked bleak, and many conservationists spoke of the species as almost extinct. By 1900 it had vanished from Yosemite and all the area north of Mammoth Lakes. In 1931, State Game Warden E. H. Ober (1931, p. 32) estimated that about two hundred still survived to the south of Mammoth Pass; but many conservationists continued to be pessimistic regarding the continued survival of the animals. In 1935, a remnant remained in the Convict Creek and McGee Creek basins south of Mammoth Pass, but bighorn had died out along 30 additional miles of High Sierra range between those basins and the Palisades in the upper Kings. In the Palisade region another small band lingered, but apparently there were no others north of Taboose Pass. South of this pass an unknown number still inhabited the main crest, although they had vanished from the Kaweah Peaks and Mineral King areas as early as 1918. In 1935 the southern remnant was thought by many to be exceedingly small; but in the light of present knowledge it seems probable that Ober's estimates were essentially correct and that a healthy nucleus remained at all times. In the years 1936 to 1939, Norman Clyde of Big Pine reported numerous beds, droppings, and tracks on the east slope of the Sierra, outside the parks.

460

BIRDS AND M A M M A L S

In October, 1940, fourteen bighorn were discovered by Russell Keene of the U. S. Forest Service on the west slope of Black Mountain, just east of Rae Lake, in Kings Canyon National Park. His description of their behavior presents a typical scene in the life of these inhabitants of the great summit cliffs: . . . [while I was scaling Black Mountain] my attention was attracted by the sound of falling rocks some three hundred yards from me across a ravine. At one brief glance I saw . . . a band of fourteen Sierra Bighorn sheep. They were at an elevation of approximately 12,500 feet, and as near as I could judge there were at least three rams, while three or four of the others appeared to be quite small, as if they might have been spring lambs. For years I had been looking forward to . . . just one glimpse of these magnificent creatures in action in their native haunts among the crags and sky pastures of the great snow peaks; and then . . . there they were before my astonished eyes, bounding from rock to rock, from ledge to ledge, and up steep chimneys where it seemed utterly impossible for living creatures to travel. . . . in traversing comparatively gentle slopes, the animals ran in single file, but while negotiating cliffs and precipitous slopes they would invariably spread out, each animal selecting its own path to avoid falling rocks dislodged by its companions. Twice they were compelled to cross precipitous chutes or slides tilted at the dizzy angle of something like sixty degrees, imprisoned between vertical rock walls; the bottoms of these chutes were covered with a loose decomposed granite devoid of any kind of footing. The Bighorns fully realizing the lack of footing here would leap down off the walls and race across the chutes at great speed, being carried across by sheer momentum amid a shower of flying talus. Only one . . . crossed at a time, while the others stood by . . . and the ones that crossed over waited until all the others had joined them before proceeding up the rocks. This account appeared in the U. S. Forest Service mimeographed house organ, The Ranger, and was quoted in local newspapers; it created quite a stir among conservationists. Since then, reports of sheep seen by High Sierra travelers have been more frequent. The 1948 study by Jones, which resulted in a total population estimate of 390 bighorn, was the first major effort to obtain complete information on the status of the Sierra bighorn. No doubt this explains in part the sud-

OF THE SIERRA NEVADA

461

den increase in the population figures, but Jones believes that there may have been a real increase in the numbers of the animals. Partial recovery of their range, brought about through gradual elimination by the Forest Service of domestic sheep bands from the alpine areas, may have caused this increase. In theory, Sierra bighorn have been protected since 1883, but as late as 1935 Dixon found evidence of poaching in the Mount Baxter region. In recent years, however, law-enforcement measures have become increasingly effective. Because of this protection and the apparent absence of disease and of threats from natural enemies, the future of the Sierra bighorn is reasonably bright. However, Jones (19506, p. 71) points out that food competition with increasing numbers of deer, and with domestic livestock at lower elevations during the most severe winters, still remains as a hazard. Whether increasing numbers of visitors to the high country may drive the bighorn from their haunts has been debated from time to time. In view of our experience in Glacier, Rocky Mountain, Mount McKinley, and Yellowstone national parks, and in Death Valley and Joshua Tree national monuments, it seems likely that the bighorn of the Sierra, like those elsewhere, gradually will lose their fear of man as they learn that he is no longer an enemy, and will go about their business undisturbed by his presence in the new role of an admirer armed with a camera instead of a gun. Park status and records.—Uncommon. A letter received by Augustine (1939a) Oct. 9,1939, from Carl F. Curtis of Los Angeles, concerns Sequoia: "Early in August 1935, while traveling north, we saw one ewe on the right-hand side of Forester's Pass, directly above the rectangular lake there. This is on the south side of the pass. For four consecutive summers, 1934-1938,1 have spent six and seven weeks all through this country conducting pack trips for boys and girls. The above incident is the only time any member of our party has sighted a mountain sheep." In August, 1943, George Parker, a packer operating from Owens Valley, saw a band of thirty-three mountain sheep in the vicinity of Baxter Pass twice in two weeks, and some members of his party photographed them. The animals were seen first east of the pass, outside Sequoia National Park, and the next time west of the pass, inside the

462

BIRDS AND MAMMALS OF THE SIERRA NEVADA

park. In September, 1949, a group of back-packers, headed by Dick Stark of Palo Alto, saw a band of six bighorn, including at least one lamb, at a distance of 400 yds., between Mt. Gould and Mt. Rixford. Notes in the Sierra Club register on Mt. Rixford, show that this is not an uncommon experience. (Boyer, 1949a; also, see report in the Fresno Bee, Oct. 11, 1949.) For the Kings, Scoyen (1942) reported in August, 1942: "Two groups of eight and twelve each of mountain sheep were reported seen in the High Sierra region between Rae Lakes and the Palisades, with tracks found at Rae Lakes." Jones found that the territory of the 365 animals scattered along the main Sierran crest in the vicinity of the parks lies chiefly on the east slope, just outside them; but "at times during the summer months individuals or small bands are found many miles out on ridges running west of the crest [into the parks]" (Jones, 1950b, p. 36).

Vanished Species and Questionable Records Mammals

GRIZZLY

Ursus henshawi

Merriam

The grizzly is more massive than the black bear and has a hump above its shoulders. The last definitely known occurrence of a live wild grizzly in California was reported by Dr. C. Hart Merriam in Sierra Club Circular No. 12, in 1924. This grizzly had roamed in and out of the Sequoia-Kings region until August, 1922, when it was shot by a cattleman, Jesse B. Agnew, near Horse Corral Meadow, which is adjacent to the west boundary of Kings Canyon National Park. The skin of this bear, somewhat weathered, in 1950 was still nailed to the barn in Horse Corral Meadow. Grizzly bears were once common in the foothill regions over a large part of California, but they have been exterminated. Their nearest relatives exist, in small numbers, in a few of the wildest mountains of the northern United States. In the Canadian and Alaskan wilderness they are still fairly numerous, although they are decreasing in numbers as they continue to be hunted.

463

464

BIRDS AND MAMMALS OTTER

Lutra canadensis brevipilosus Grinnell A slender, seal-like water animal about 3 % feet long, with a small flat head, long tapering tail, short legs, and webbed front feet. The short, darkbrown fur is very dense. Otters are scarce in the Sierra. A few have been seen in Yosemite at Babcock Lake and in a limited area in the northwest part of that park, but they appear to be still more rare in the southern Sierra. They seem to prefer the middle and lower elevations, where the fish are—or in primitive times used to be—larger and more abundant. The Sequoia-Kings offers relatively little of this lower stream environment, which is usually near settlements anyway, where trapping would tend to drain off any otter population. For Sequoia, J. W. B. Rice, who lives on the Kaweah River, 4 miles northeast of Lemon Cove, reports having trapped three otters in the river near his place in past years, and says that others have been taken on that stream, though not recently. Oberhansley (1942) states that electrical foreman Ray Walls reported seeing an otter on the South Fork of the Kaweah River near Ladybug Camp in March, 1941. CCC Educational Adviser McDonald of the Maxon Ranch CCC Camp also reported this animal a month later. However, Oberhansley was unable to find signs of otter there. In the Kings, about 1910, the otter was reported by William Colby and Poly Kanawyer at 5,000 feet elevation in Kings Canyon, and at Simpson Meadow by Poly Kanawyer (Bryant, 19406). We have been unable to find any trace of otters in Kings Canyon National Park in recent years. WOLF

Canis lupus Say The wolf resembles a coyote but has blunter ears and is much larger and heavier than that animal, being about the size of a very large collie dog. The deep-pitched sonorous howl of the true wolf is quite different from the high-pitched broken "yapping" of the coyote. Former Superintendent Guy Hopping of General Grant National Park is convinced that he heard a wolf howl and saw the animal in the Roaring River area of the Kings Canyon region about 1912, when he ran cattle there. He described the howl as deep, like that of a big old hound.

465

OF THE SIERRA NEVADA

Walter Fry (1932a) states: "The only gray wolf seen within the park since the time of its creation was one killed by Charlie Howard at Wolverton September 25, 1908. . . . It was a large male in fairly good condition, but quite old, as evidenced by badly worn teeth." However, even this record never was scientifically verified by examination of the animal's remains. In view of the fact that even today large mountain coyotes often are mistaken for wolves, it is unlikely that the occurrence of wolves in the parks can ever be proved. Certainly they are now extinct, and probably have been so for twenty-five years. BEAVER

Castor

canadensis

In California, the beaver is a lowland animal, under natural conditions occurring only below 1,000 feet elevation. However, in recent years, the State Division of Fish and Game has been planting beaver, obtained from Idaho, in the higher mountains. One place where they have been planted, on the lower Abbott Creek drainage west of Millwood, is less than 5 miles from Grant Grove (see Fresno Bee, Dec. 16,1950). It is difficult to predict what effect beavers might have on other wildlife if they should invade the parks. This uncertainty practically always attends introductions of plants or animals into regions where Nature has made no previous provision for them. SNOWSHOE

Lepus washingtoni

RABBIT

tahoensis Orr

The snowshoe rabbit closely resembles the white-tailed jack rabbit of the Sequoia-Kings but is considerably smaller than the jack and has shorter ears. The tail is inconspicuous; it is smaller than that of the jack and is not white but is brownish black above and dusky below. The hind feet are even more heavily furred than those of the white-tailed jack, but are smaller, being 4 to 5 inches long. Total length is 14 to 16 inches; tail, 1 to 1% inches; ear, 3% to 4 inches. Both Grinnell (1933, p. 199) and Orr (1940, p. 55) give Niagara Creek, at 6,600 feet elevation in Tuolumne County, as the southernmost known location for this rabbit, based on specimens. The presence of this species was unknown in that region until a snowshoe rabbit was accidentally killed

466

BIRDS AND MAMMALS

by eating poisoned salt. Since then, Dixon observed a living snowshoe rabbit at close range in Yosemite National Park. It is our belief that the snowshoe rabbit may range along the western flank of the Sierra Nevada as far south as Sequoia National Park. This possibility is strengthened by the discovery, by Boyer on August 15, 1948, of part of a rabbit's foot at the northern edge of Sunset Camp in Giant Forest. This specimen was checked with all the rabbit feet on specimens from the Sierra in the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology. The length of hair and size of toenail definitely indicated that this rabbit was much larger than any cottontail, and the color was much too white for a cottontail or a brush rabbit. In addition, the fur was noticeably finer and shorter, and the toenail smaller, than those of the Sierra white-tailed jack rabbit. The texture of the fur and the size of the toe and the toenail exactly matched those of specimens of the Oregon snowshoe rabbit in the Museum collection. Dr. Seth B. Benson felt that this raised the possibility that snowshoe rabbits may occur sparingly as far south as Sequoia, although the specimen is too incomplete to prove this. Boyer's specimen must have been either from a snowshoe rabbit—a species unknown in the area—or from a quite young white-tailed jack rabbit. None of the nearly grown jack rabbits in the collection, however, had toes as small or as finely furred as the specimen. "Snowshoe rabbits" have occasionally been reported from Sequoia National Park; but it is probable that most of these actually were white-tailed jack rabbits. Bearing in mind the shorter ears, inconspicuous dark tail, and the fact that the true snowshoe rabbit is only a little bigger than a cottontail, one should carefully watch for this species. JACK

Lepus

californictis

RABBIT

californicus

Gray

The slender, pale yellowish-brown jack rabbit with very long, upstanding "jackass ears" and a black tail is not likely to be confused with any other animal. However, since it is a lowland-valley species, it perhaps does not now get far enough up the narrow Kaweah River valley to enter Sequoia. There is a record of a specimen taken on the North Fork of the Kaweah River; and Walter Fry (1932a) has written: California plains jack-rabbits have always inhabited sparingly a small area at Shepherd Cove [just outside the park] and Ash Mountain

O F T H E SIERRA

NEVADA

467

[Headquarters] within the park; but during the summer season of 1918, when poisoned grain was put out along the park boundary to kill ground squirrels, it not only killed the squirrels but the rabbits as well. None of the rabbits have been seen within the park since August 25th of that year. Oberhansley states that there is no record of the species having occurred inside the park in recent years. DWARF OH TULE ELK

Cervus nannodes Merriam A deerlike animal with a large whitish rump patch, about the size of a small Jersey cow. The male has large, spreading antlers, which it sheds annually; the female is distinctly smaller and lacks antlers. Before 1860 this elk inhabited the marshes and plains of the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys in great numbers, but since then it has gradually been killed off by hunters, and by the farmers whose cultivated lands it damaged. Never a mountain animal, it chiefly inhabited the Lower Sonoran Life Zone at elevations of less than 500 feet, although it wandered at times into the lower foothills, to altitudes not exceeding 2,500 feet (Grinnell, 1933, p. 206). As of 1950, one small herd still remains in its native habitat in the Buttonvvillow area near Bakersfield. In 1904 and 1905, more than twenty elk were transplanted from this nucleus to Sequoia National Park, where they were placed in a fenced enclosure. Several died, and when in 1910 a fire burned the fence the remaining animals scattered far and wide. Walter Fry (1932c) states that all the tule elk planted in Sequoia had disappeared by 1926. There have been unreliable reports of elk in this area in recent years, but there has been no real proof that any elk remain within many miles of the park. Kings Canyon National Park, being higher, and farther back in the mountains, never could have provided permanent habitat for tule elk.

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Kings Canyon National Parks

References

AUGUSTINE, W I L L I A M B .

1939 a. 1939 b. 1939 c.

1939 d. 1939 e. 1940 a. 1940 b. 1941 a. 1941 b. BAILEY,

Annual wildlife census report for Sequoia National Park. MS in park files in Sequoia National Park. Extensive typed field notes, in park files. Wildlife ranger's monthly reports, Sequoia National Park. MSS in park files, one for each month. Notes in park files taken by Augustine on comments made on December 7,1939, by Jay Bruce at a meeting of park rangers. [In] Monthly report of the superintendent, Sequoia National Park, for October. MS in park files and in National Park Service files, San Francisco. Extensive typed field notes, in park files in Sequoia National Park. Wildlife ranger's monthly reports, Sequoia National Park. MSS in park files, one for each month. Wildlife ranger's monthly reports, Sequoia National Park. MSS in park files, one for each month, January to July, inclusive. Wildlife observations of fur bearers, Sequoia National Park, April 1, 1941. MS in park files and in National Park Service files, San Francisco (with 13 sketches of tracks).

FLORENCE

1928.

MERRIAM

Birds of New Mexico. New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, xxiv - f 807 pp., 79 plates, 136 figs.

B A R C L A Y , B . S . , AND B .

1937.

BARNES, W I L L

1926.

E.

JAMISON

Revised check-list of birds of General Grant National Park, December 1, 1937. MS in park files. C.

The story of the range. U. S. Senate, 69th Cong., 1st sess., reprinted from Part 6 of Hearings before a sub-committee on public lands and surveys. 66 pp. 469

470

BIRDS AND MAMMALS

BEEN,

FRANK

1937.

Handwritten notes by the park naturalist. MS in park files.

B E N T , ARTHUR

1932. 1937. 1939. 1912. 1946. 1948.

CLEVELAND

Life histories of North American gallinaceous birds. U. S. National Museum Bulletin 162. xi + 490 pp., 93 plates. Life histories of North American birds of prey, order Falconiformes (Part 1). U. S. National Museum Bulletin 167. viii + 409 pp., 102 plates. Life histories of North American woodpeckers. U. S. National Museum Bulletin 174. viii + 334 pp., 39 plates. Life histories of North American flycatchers, larks, swallows, and their allies. U. S. National Museum Bulletin 179. xi + 555 pp., 70 plates. Life histories of North American jays, crows, and titmice. U. S. National Museum Bulletin 191. xi + 495 pp., 68 plates. Life histories of North American nuthatches, wrens, thrashers, and their allies. U. S. National Museum Bulletin 195. xi + 475 pp., 90 plates.

B L A N K S , H . B . , H . S . P A U L , AND R . N E I L G R U N I C E N

193S.

Memorandum for the chief ranger. Copies in park files and in National Park Service files, San Francisco.

B O Y E R , RICHARD

H.

1943.

Weasel versus squirrel in Sequoia National Park. Journal of Mammalogy, Vol. 24, pp. 99-100. 1948. Wildlife ranger's monthly reports, Sequoia National Park. MSS in park files and in National Park Service files, San Francisco, one for each month. 1949 a. Mountain coyotes kill yearling black bear in Sequoia National Park. Journal of Mammalogy, Vol. 30, p. 75. 1949 b. Wildlife ranger's monthly reports. MSS in park files and in National Park Service files, San Francisco, one for each month. 1949 c. Annual wildlife census report, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. MS in park files and in National Park Service files, San Francisco. 1950 a. Wildlife ranger's monthly reports. MSS in park files and in National Park Service files, San Francisco, one for each month. 1950 b. Annual wildlife census report, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. MS in park files and in National Park Service files, San Francisco. B R A D L E Y , HAROLD

1911.

C.

The passing of our mountain meadows. Sierra Club Bulletin, Vol. 8, pp. 39-42.

471

OF T H E SIERRA NEVADA BRYANT, HAROLD

C.

1940 a. The spotted owl nesting in the sequoia belt. Condor, Vol. 42, p. 307. 1940 b. Check-list of mammals, Kings Canyon National Park, California, September, 1940. MS in park files and in National Park Service files, San Francisco. 1941. Check-list of birds of Kings Canyon National Park. July 7, 1941. MS in park files (contains records from 1940 and 1941 field observations).

CAHALANE, VICTOR

1947.

CARLSON, O .

1947.

W.

Memorandum for the director, July 28, 1947, from the assistant superintendent. Copies in park files and in National Park Service files, San Francisco.

CLAWSON,

MARY

COOK, L .

F.

1948.

1933.

Annual wildlife survey and census—1933 [for Sequoia], MS in park files and in National Park Service files, San Francisco.

1938. 1943.

A.

Observations of California pine grosbeak at southern limit of range. Condor, Vol. 46, p. 90.

DIXON, JOSEPH

1935.

MONTGOMERY

Golden eagle attacks young deer. Yosemite Nature Notes, Vol. 27, pp. 107-109.

DILL, WILLIAM

1944.

H.

Mammals of North America. New York, The Macmillan Co. x + 682 pp.

S.

Nesting of the black swift in Sequoia National Park. Condor, Vol. 37, pp. 265-267. Records of Allen and rufous hummingbirds in the Sierra Nevada, California. Condor, Vol. 40, p. 264. Birds of the Kings Canyon National Park area of California. Condor, Vol. 45, pp. 205-219.

D I X O N , J O S E P H S . , AND C A R L T O N M .

1945.

DOWNS,

FRANCES

1949.

L.

List of instances where park personnel and visitors have seen wolverines in Sequoia National Park, as compiled from park files. MS in park files.

DRURY, NEWTON

B.

ERICKSON, M A R Y

M.

1947.

1937.

HERMAN

Studies on the condition of California mule deer at Sequoia National Park. California Fish and Game, Vol. 31, pp. 3-11.

This wildlife business. Transactions of the Twelfth North American Wildlife Conference (Wildlife Management Institute, Washington, D.C.), pp. 160-165. A jay shoot in California. Condor, Vol. 39, pp. 111-115.

472

BIRDS AND MAMMALS

ERRINGTON, P A U L

1936. EVANS,

BERGEN

1946. FRIEDMANN,

1929.

FRY,

L.

What is the meaning of predation? Smithsonian Institution Report for 1936, pp. 243-252. Don't monkey with the platypus. Harper's Magazine, Vol. 193, pp. 492-497. HERBERT

The cowbirds: A study in the biology of social parasitism. Springfield, 111., and Baltimore, Md., Charles C. Thomas, xvii + 421 pp., 28 plates, 13 figs.

CLARENCE

1930. 1935. 1941 a.

W.

Handwritten notes in Sequoia National Park files. Handwritten notes in Sequoia National Park files. Wildlife ranger's monthly reports, Sequoia National Park. MSS in park files, one for each month, August to December, inclusive. 1941 b. Annual wildlife census report for Sequoia National Park. MSS in park files and in National Park Service files, San Francisco. 1942 a. Wildlife ranger's monthly reports, Sequoia National Park. MSS in park files; each report covers one month usually, but occasionally more. 1942 b. Annual wildlife census report for Sequoia National Park. MS in park files and in National Park Service files, San Francisco. 1943 a. Wildlife ranger's monthly reports, Sequoia National Park. MSS in park files; each report covers one month usually, but occasionally more. 1943 b. Annual wildlife census report for Sequoia National Park. MS in park files and in National Park Service files, San Francisco. 1944 a. Wildlife ranger's monthly reports, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. MSS in park files; each report covers one month usually, but occasionally more. 1944 b. Annual wildlife census report for Sequoia National Park. MS in park files and in National Park Service files, San Francisco. 1945. Annual wildlife census report for Sequoia National Park. MS in park files and in National Park Service files, San Francisco. 1946. Annual wildlife census report for Sequoia National Park. MS in park files and in National Park Service files, San Francisco. 1947. Annual wildlife census report for Sequoia National Park. MS in park files and in National Park Service files, San Francisco.

O F THE SIERRA NEVADA FBY.

WALTER

1922 a.

1922 b.

1923 a. 1923 b. 1923 c. 1924 a. 1924 b.

1924 c.

1925 a.

1925 b. 1926. 1929. 1931 a.

473

King rodent destroyer in Sequoia—least weasel. Sequoia Nature Guide Service ( a mimeographed leaflet issued at irregular intervals by the park), July 23,1922. Copies in park files and in National Park Service office, San Francisco. The hay-makers of the High Sierra—conies. Sequoia Nature Guide Service (a mimeographed leaflet), August 24, 1922. Copies in park files and in National Park Service office, San Francisco. Is the wolverine worth while? Sequoia Nature Guide Service (a mimeographed leaflet), June 28,1923. Copies in park files and in National Park Service office, San Francisco. The wolverine. California Fish and Game, Vol. 9, pp. 129134. The Columbia gray squirrel. Sequoia Nature Guide Service (a mimeographed leaflet), July 24,1923. Copies in park files and in National Park Service office, San Francisco. The Sierra white-tailed jackrabbit. California Fish and Game, Vol. 10, pp. 172-175. Mountain beaver population increasing in Sequoia. Sequoia Nature Guide Service (a mimeographed leaflet), June 27, 1924. Copies in park files and in National Park Service office, San Francisco. Sequoia National Park threatened by invaders. Sequoia Nature Guide Service ( a mimeographed leaflet ), December 10, 1924. Copies in park files and in National Park Service office, San Francisco. The California great blue heron. Sequoia Nature Guide Service (a mimeographed leaflet), October 28, 1925. Copies in park files and in National Park Service office, San Francisco. The California ring-tailed cat. Sequoia Nature Guide Service (a mimeographed leaflet), December 24, 1925. Copies in park files and National Park Service office, San Francisco. The California badger. Sequoia Nature Guide Service (a mimeographed leaflet ), January 8, 1926. Copies in park files and in National Park Service office, San Francisco. The water ouzel. Sequoia Nature Guide Service (a mimeographed leaflet), August 14, 1929. Copies in park files and in National Park Service office, San Francisco. The pileated woodpecker—cock-of-the-woods. Sequoia Nature Guide Service ( a mimeographed leaflet ), December 23, 1931. Copies in park files and in National Park Service office, San Francisco.

474

BIRDS AND MAMMALS

1931 b. 1932 a.

1932 b.

1932 c. 1933.

1934 a. 1934 b. 1934 c.

The blue-fronted jay. Sequoia Nature Guide Service ( a mimeographed leaflet), December 2, 1931. Copies in park files and National Park Service office, San Francisco. A twenty-five year survey of the animals of Sequoia National Park—1906-1931. Sequoia Nature Guide Service (a mimeographed leaflet), March 1, 1932. Copies in park files and in National Park Service office, San Francisco. A twenty-five year study of the bird life in Sequoia National Park—1906-1931. Sequoia Nature Guide Service (a mimeographed leaflet), March 28, 1932. Copies in park files and in National Park Service office, San Francisco. Elk in Sequoia National Park. Sequoia Nature Guide Service (a mimeographed leaflet), March 14, 1932. Copies in park files and in National Park Service office, San Francisco. The Sierra crossbill in Sequoia National Park. Sequoia Nature Guide Service (a mimeographed leaflet), March 30, 1933. Copies in park files and in National Park Service office, San Francisco. The bushy-tailed wood rat. Sequoia Nature Guide Service (a mimeographed leaflet), February 20,1934. Copies in park files and in National Park Service office, San Francisco. The Pacific nighthawk. Sequoia Nature Guide Service ( a mimeographed leaflet), June 22, 1934. Copies in park files and in National Park Service office, San Francisco. Check-list of birds of the Sequoia and General Grant National Parks. ( A mimeographed leaflet, undated. ) Copies in park files and in National Park Service office, San Francisco.

GABRIELSON, IRA N . , AND STANLEY C .

1940. GRIFFIN,

DONALD

1950 a. 1950 b. GRINNELL,

1918. 1933. 1935. 1936.

JEWETT

Birds of Oregon. Corvallis, Oregon State Agricultural College. xxx + 650 pp.; 19 plates, 20 figs, in text, map. R.

Measurements of the ultrasonic cries of bats. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, Vol. 22, pp. 247-255. The navigation of bats. Scientific American, Vol. 183, pp. 52-55. JOSEPH

Six new mammals from the Mohave Desert and Inyo regions of California. University of California Publications in Zoology, Vol. 17, p. 429. Review of the recent mammal fauna of California. University of California Publications in Zoology, Vol. 40, pp. 71-234. A revised life-zone map of California. University of California Publications in Zoology, Vol. 40, pp. 327-330,1 map. Uphill planters. Condor, Vol. 38, pp. 80-82.

OF THE SIERRA

G R I N N E L L , J . , J . S . D I X O N , AND J . M .

1930.

G R I N N E L L , J., AND A . H .

1944.

1924.

The deer of California. California Fish and Game, Vol. 13, pp. 233-259. Mammals of Nevada. Berkeley and Los Angeles, University of California Press, xi + 710 pp., 1 plate, 485 figs. M . , AND J .

1919. 1942.

1940. HOWELL,

1938.

HUBBARD,

1943. HUXLEY,

1949. 1950.

G.

List of birds of Kings Canyon National Park. Compiled from personal observations in the months from May to October, 1942. MS in park files.

HILDEBRAND,

1935.

GRINNELL

Life-zone indicators in California. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, Vol. 9, pp. 37-67.

HANSEN, CHARLES

HOPPING,

STORER

RAYMOND

1946.

1948.

1.

Animal life in the Yosemite. Berkeley, University of California Press, xviii -f- 741 pp., 60 plates, 65 figs., 2 maps.

1927.

HALL, H .

MILLER

The distribution of the birds of California. Berkeley, Cooper Ornithological Club, Pacific Coast Avifauna No. 27. 608 pp., 1 pi., 56 figs, in text.

G R I N N E L L , J., AND T .

E.

LINSDALE

Vertebrate natural history of a section of northern California through the Lassen Peak region. Berkeley, University of California Press, v + 594 pp., 181 figs, in text Fur-bearing mammals of California. Berkeley, University of California Press. 2 vols., xii + 777 pp., 13 plates, 345 figs.

1937.

HALL,

475

NEVADA

MILTON

An altitudinal record for the great blue heron in California. Condor, Vol. 50, p. 133. GUY

Superintendent's monthly report for September, 1935, General Grant National Park. MS in park files. Annual wildlife report for Kings Canyon National Park, 1940. MS in National Park Service files, San Francisco. ARTHUR

H.

Revision of the North American ground squirrels. U. S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Biological Survey [now Fish and Wildlife Service], North American Fauna No. 56. 256 pp., 32 plates, 20 figs. DOUGLASS

H.

Fisher abroad in daylight. Journal of Mammalogy, Vol. 24, pp. 268-269. JULIAN

The double crisis. Science News Letter, March 26, 1949, pp. 199-202. Population and human destiny. Harper's Magazine, Vol. 201, pp. 38-46.

476

BIRDS AND MAMMALS

INGLES, L L O Y D

1947.

GLENN

Mammals of California. Stanford, Stanford University Press, xx + 256 pp., 41 plates, 57 figs.

JACKSON, H A R T L E Y H .

1928.

H.

JOHNSON, DAVID

1943.

JONES, F R E D

1950 a. 1950 b.

KLYVER, F .

1931.

Systematic review of the chipmunk (genus Eutamias) of California. University of California Publications in Zoology, Vol. 48, pp. 63-148, pi. 6,12 figs. L.

Recent records of the wolverine (Gulo Itiscus luteus) in California. California Fish and Game, Vol. 36, pp. 320-322. A survey of the Sierra Nevada bighorn. Sierra Club Bulletin, Vol. 35, pp. 29-76. D.

Major plant communities in a transect of the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. Ecology, Vol. 12, pp. 1-17.

LEACH, FRANK

1925.

T.

A taxonomic review of the American long-tailed shrews. U. S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Biological Survey [now Fish and Wildlife Service], North American Fauna No. 51. vi + 238 pp.

A.

Communism in the California woodpecker. Condor, Vol. 27, pp. 12-19.

LEOPOLD, ALDO

1949.

Wildlife in American culture. Pacific Discovery Magazine, Vol. 2, pp. 12-15.

LEOPOLD, A . S . , L . K . SOWLS, AND D . L . SPENCER

1947.

A survey of over-populated deer ranges in the United States. Journal of Wildlife Management, Vol. 11, pp. 162-177.

LINSDALE, J E A N

1946.

LOFBERG, L I L A

1928.

M.

The California ground squirrel. Berkeley and Los Angeles, University of California Press, xi + 475 pp., 140 figs. M.

Bird banding at Florence Lake, 7,340 feet altitude. Condor, Vol. 30, pp. 308-314.

LOVERIN, W E S L E Y

E.

M C C A B E , ROBERT

A.

1940.

1949.

Weekly wildlife notes, Giant Forest District. Memoranda to District Ranger J. G. Sinclair, June 22-September 7, in park files. The scream of the mountain lion. Journal of Mammalogy, Vol. 30, p. 305.

M C L E A N , DONALD

1934.

D.

Predatory animal studies. California Fish and Game, Vol. 20, pp. 20-36.

477

OF T H E SIERRA NEVADA M C M I L L A N , IAN

1949.

I.

The concentration of band-tailed pigeons in central California in 1949. Condor, Vol. 51, pp. 234-240.

MARSHALL, JOE T . ,

1939.

JR.

Territorial behavior of the flammulated screech owl. Condor, Vol. 41, pp. 71-78. Food and habitat of the spotted owl. Condor, Vol. 44, pp. 66-67.

1942. M A Y , JOHN

RICHARD

1935.

The hawks of North America. New York, The National Association of Audubon Societies, xxxii + 140 pp., 41 illus.

MICHAEL, CHARLES

1936.

W.

Some CCC activities in Yosemite Valley. Condor, Vol. 38, p. 37.

M I L L E R , ALDEN

1942.

H.

Field notes on birds of Kings Canyon National Park, May, 1942. MS in files of Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley.

M I L L E R , J . S . , AND G L O V E R M .

Mum,

JOHN

1894. MURIE,

Mountains of California. New York, The Century Co., xv + 381 pp., 53 illus.

ADOLPH

1952.

Wolverine trails at Denali. Living Wilderness, Vol. 16, No. 39, pp. 13-20.

N A T I O N A L PARK

1950.

1940.

E.

1931.

1942.

B.

Common salt as a curative for cannibalism among game birds in captivity. Wildlife Leaflet BS-163, U. S. Department of Agriculture Bureau of Biological Survey [now Fish and Wildlife Service]. H.

The mountain sheep of California. California Fish and Game, Vol. 17, pp. 27-39.

OBERHANSLEY,

1940.

SERVICE

A survey of the recreational resources of the Colorado River basin, Washington, D.C., U. S. Government Printing Office. 242 pp., 119 illus., 16 maps.

NESTLER, RALPH

OBER,

ALLEN

The American bats of the genera Myotis and Pizonyx. U. S. National Museum Bulletin 144, Washington, D.C.

1928.

F.

R.

California mule deer a host for nematode eye worms in Sequoia National Park. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, Vol. 96, p. 542. Longhand comments, written directly on Dixon's Sequoia MS in April, 1942.

478

BIRDS AND MAMMALS

1943 a.

Bird notes from lists, 1939-1942, inclusive. Handwritten MS in National Park Service files, San Francisco. Memorandum for the superintendent, February 8, 1943, from the Park Naturalist. Copy in park files.

1943 b.

O D U M , EUGENE P . , AND T H O M A S D .

1946. ORR, ROBERT

1940.

OSBORN,

1948.

T.

The rabbits of California. Occasional papers of the California Academy of Sciences, No. 19. 222 pp.

FAIRFIELD

Our plundered planet. Boston, Little, Brown, and Co. xiv -f217 pp.

OSGOOD, W I L F R E D

1909.

PECK, J .

BURLEIGH

Southward invasion in Georgia. Auk, Vol. 63, pp. 388-401.

A.

1941.

PLCKWELL,

H.

Revision of the mice of the American genus Peromyscus. U. S. Dept. of Agriculture, Bureau of Biological Survey, North American Fauna No. 28. 314 pp.

Weekly [ranger] reports. MSS in park files. GAYLE

1933.

Birds of Giant Forest and immediate vicinity. Observations of June 18-25,1933. MS in park files.

P R E B L E , EDWARD

PRESNALL, C .

1930.

C.

Skunk and bear eat together. Yosemite Nature Notes, Vol. 9, pp. 71-72.

PRIDDY, R A L P H

1949.

B.

Jumping mouse, underwater swimmer. Journal of Mammalogy, Vol. 30, p. 74.

RICHARDSON, W .

1937.

ROWLEY, J.

1928.

A.

Revision of the jumping mice of the genus Zapus. U. S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Biological Survey, North American Fauna No. 15. 41 pp.

1899.

B.

Distribution of mammals in Tulare County, California, with consideration of some of the limiting factors. MS in University of California Library (M.A. thesis). STUART

Western winter wren found breeding in Tulare County, California. Condor, Vol. 30, pp. 160-161.

R U S S E L L , SIR JOHN

1949.

E.

The way out. Science News Letter, April 2, 1949, pp. 215218.

SCOYEN, E .

1940.

T.

Memorandum for the regional director, from the park superintendent, November 18, 1940. Copies in park files and in National Park Service files, San Francisco.

479

OF T H E SIERRA NEVADA

1942.

Memorandum for the regional director, from the park superintendent, April 7, 1942. Copies in park files and in National Park Service files, San Francisco. Memorandum for the regional director, from the park superintendent, May 6, 1948. Copies in park files and in National Park Service files, San Francisco.

1948.

SHAW, W .

T.

1936.

A provisional check-list of birds of General Grant National Park, California. MS in park files.

SINCLAIR, J .

G.

1941.

Weekly [ranger] reports. MS in park files.

STORER, TRACY

1926. SUMNER,

1935.

IRWIN

Range extensions by the western robin in California. Condor, Vol. 28, pp. 264-267. LOWELL

A life history study of the California quail, with recommendations for conservation and management. California Fish and Game, Vol. 21, pp. 168-256; 277^342.

SUMNER, L . ,

AND RICHARD M .

1947. SWARTH, H .

S.

1916.

Field notes, 1916. MS in files of Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley. Revision of the avian genus Passerella, with special reference to the distribution and migration of the races in California. University of California Publications in Zoology, Vol. 21, pp. 75-224, pis. 4-7, 30 figs, in text.

1920.

WAGNER, CLAUDE A . ,

1938. WETMORE,

ALEXANDER

The avifauna of Pleistocene Florida. Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, Vol. 85, pp. 1^5.

W H I T E , JOHN

WILLIAMS,

1933.

JR.

[Annual] Report of wildlife conditions in Sequoia National Park. MS in park files and in National Park Service files, San Francisco.

1931. 1946.

LEONARD

Protecting mountain meadows. Sierra Club Bulletin, Vol. 32, pp. 53-62.

R.

Memorandum for the regional director, from the park superintendent, April 10, 1946. Copies in park files and in National Park Service files, San Francisco. (Encloses clipping from the April 7 issue of the Fresno Bee summarizing the operations of a State trapper in the vicinity of the parks. ) LAIDLAW

Some birds of interest seen in Sequoia National Park, California. Handwritten MS submitted to Dixon; in National Park Service files, San Francisco.

480

BIRDS AND MAMMALS OF THE SIERRA NEVADA

Woods, C. N. 1944. Range deterioration not yet fully stopped. Journal of Forestry, Vol. 42, pp. 881-886. Yeager, W. W a r d 1943. Memorandum for the regional director, from the chief ranger, April 12, 1943. Copies in park files and in National Park Service files, San Francisco.

Index

Badger, 3 3 6 - 3 4 0 Balance of nature, 2 Baldpate, 267 Bat, big brown, 2 9 0 - 2 9 1 California, 289 canyon, 2 8 9 - 2 9 0 little brown, 2 8 5 - 2 8 7 long-eared, 288 long-legged, 2 8 8 - 2 8 9 Mexican free-tailed, 2 9 1 - 2 9 2 Yuma, 2 8 7 - 2 8 8 Bear, black, 6, 2 9 3 - 3 0 3 grizzly, 463 Beaver, 4 6 5 mountain, 4 2 0 - 4 2 2 Bighorn, 4 5 4 - 4 6 2 Blackbird, Brewer, 2 1 4 - 2 1 6 red-winged, 2 1 1 - 2 1 2 yellow-headed, 275 Bluebird, mountain, 1 7 8 - 1 7 9 western, 176-178 Bobcat, 3 6 4 - 3 6 7 Boundary problems, 7, 8, 9 Buffle-head, 268 Bunting, lazuli, 2 2 2 - 2 2 3 Bush-tit, 146-147 Butcherbird, 189, 190

Condor, California, 3 1 - 3 5 Cony, 4 3 0 - 4 3 1 Coot, American, 6 0 - 6 1 Cormorant, double-crested, 2 6 6 - 2 6 7 Farallon, 2 6 6 - 2 6 7 Cougar, 3 5 3 - 3 6 4 Cowbird, 2 1 6 - 2 1 9 Coyote, 3 4 6 - 3 5 3 Creeper, brown, 1 5 2 - 1 5 3 Crossbill, red, 224, 226, 2 3 8 - 2 4 1 Crow, 139 Deer, California mule, 4, 4 2 - 4 3 , 4 3 9 - 4 5 4 Inyo mule, 452, 4 5 3 - 4 5 4 Dipper, 1 5 4 - 1 6 0 Dove, mourning, 6 7 - 6 8 Duck, baldpate, 267 buffle-head, 268 canvas-back, 267 harlequin, 2 7 - 2 8 lesser scaup, 268 mallard, 2 4 - 2 5 redhead, 268 shoveller, 26 wood, 27 Eagle, American, 270 bald, 2 7 0 golden, 41—45 Egret, snowy, 23 Elk, dwarf, 467 tule, 467 Ermine, 3 2 0 - 3 2 1

Canvas-back, 267 Cat, ring-tailed, 3 0 5 - 3 0 7 Chat, 2 0 4 - 2 0 6 Chickadee, mountain, 1 4 2 - 1 4 4 Chickaree, 3 8 7 - 3 9 1 Chipmunk, alpine, 380, 3 8 2 - 3 8 3 Falcon, prairie, 46 lodgepole, 380, 3 8 3 - 3 8 5 Finch, California purple, 2 2 4 - 2 2 7 Merriam, 381, 3 8 6 - 3 8 7 Cassin purple, 224, 225, 2 2 7 - 2 2 8 Say, 381, 3 8 5 - 3 8 6 house, 225, 2 2 9 - 2 3 0 Chipmunks, distinguishing features of, rosy, 224, 226, 2 3 1 - 2 3 4 380-381 481

482 Finches, reddish, distinguishing features of, 224-226 Fisher, 311-317 Flicker, red-shafted, 94-96 Flycatcher, ash-throated, 115-116 Hammond, 119, 120-121, 123 olive-sided, 125-126 Traill, 119-120, 123 western, 119, 122, 123 Wright, 119, 121-122, 123 Flycatchers, Empidcnax, distinguishing features of, 119, 123 Fox, gray, 343-345 red, 340-343 Gnatcatcher, blue-gray, 181-183 western, 181-183 Goldfinch, American, 236-237 < Arkansas, 237-238 green-backed, 237-238 Lawrence, 275 willow, 236-237 Goose, Canada, 24 lesser snow, 267 Gopher, pocket, 398-401 alpine pocket, 401 Goshawk, 35-36 Grebe, eared, 265-266 pied-billed, 266 Grizzly, 463 Grosbeak, black-headed, 220-221 evening, 223-224 pine, 230-231 Grouse, sooty, 50-55 Gull, ring-billed, 64 Hare, Sierra, 431-435 Hawk, Cooper, 36-38 duck, 46-48 marsh, 45 pigeon, 48 red-bellied, 269 red-shouldered, 269 red-tailed, 39-41 sharp-shinned, 38-39 sparrow, 49-50 Swainson, 269-270 Heron, black-crowned night, 23-24 great blue, 20-23 Hummingbird, Allen, 91 Anna, 88-90 black-chinned, 87-88 calliope, 91-93 rufous, 90

INDEX Jay, California, 134-137 pinyon, 140-141 scrub, 134-137 Steller, 131-134 Junco, Oregon, 249-251 Killdeer, 61-62 Kingbird, Cassin, 272-273 western, 113-114 Kingfisher, belted, 93-94 Kinglet, golden-crowned, 183-184 ruby-crowned, 184-186 Kite, white-tailed, 269 Lark, homed, 273 Life zones, 13-19 Linnet, 224, 225, 229-230 Lion, mountain, 4, 353-364 Magpie, yellow-billed, 273-274 Mallard, 24-25 Marmot, 367-369 Marten, pine, 307-311 Martin, purple, 130-131 Meadowlark, western, 210-211 Merganser, American, 28-29 Mink, 322-323 Mockingbird, 166-167 Mole, 278-281 Mouse, big-eared, 409-410 brush, 408-409 California pocket, 401-403 chaparral, 407^108 deer, 405-407 harvest, 403-404 jumping, 423—424 lemming, 419 long-tailed meadow, 416-419 mountain meadow, 415—416 parasitic, 407^108 pinyon, 409-410 white-footed, 405-407 Nighthawk, 78-80 Nutcracker, Clark, 141-142 Nuthatch, pigmy, 151-152 red-breasted, 149-150 white-breasted, 147-148 Opossum, Virginia, 276-278 Oriole, Bullock, 212-214 Osprey, 270 Otter, 464 Ouzel, water, 154, 156, 157 Owl, barn, 271-272 burrowing, 272

483

INDEX flammulated screech, 70-71 horned, 71-74 long-eared, 76-77 pigmy, 74-75 saw-whet, 77-78 screech, 69-70 spotted, 75-76 Pewee, western wood, 124-125 Phainopepla, 188-189 Phoebe, black, 116-118 Say, 118-119 Pigeon, band-tailed, 65-67 Pika, 430-431 Pipit, 186-187 water, 186-187 Poor-will, 80-82 Porcupine, yellow-haired, 425-429 Quail, California, 57-59 mountain, 55-57 Rabbit, brush, 437-439 cottontail, 436-437 jack, 466-467 snowshoe, 465-466 white-tailed jack, 431-435 Raccoon, 303-305 Rail, sora, 59-60 Rat, bushy-tailed wood, 412-415 desert wood, 415 dusky-footed wood, 410-412 pack, 410-412 Raven, 137-139 Redhead, 268 Road-runner, 68-69 Roads, 10 Robin, 169-171 Sandpiper, least, 271 solitary, 62 spotted, 62-63 Sapsucker, red-breasted, 105-106 Williamson, 106-107 yellow-bellied, 105-106 Sheep, mountain, 454-462 Shoveller, 26 Shrew, dusky, 283-284 Trowbridge, 281-283 wandering, 283 water, 284-285 Yosemite, 281-283 Shrike, loggerhead, 189-191 Siskin, pine, 234-236

Skunk, spotted, 334-336 striped, 331-334 Snipe, Wilson, 271 Solitaire, Townsend, 179-181 Sparrow, Alberta fox, 260 Bell, 248-249 black-throated, 247 Brewer, 253 chipping, 251-253 desert, 247 English, 207-210 fox, 258-261 golden-crowned, 257-258 Kodiak fox, 260 Lincoln, 261-262 savannah, 245-246 slate-colored fox, 261 song, 262-263 Stephens fox, 258-260 Valdez fox, 260-261 vesper, 246-247 white-crowned, 254-256 Yosemite fox, 261 Squirrel, Belding ground, 378-380 California gray, 391-395 California ground, 369-375 flying, 395-398 Golden-mantled ground, 375-378 gray, 37 Swallow, barn, 128-129 cliff, 129-130 rough-winged, 273 tree, 127-128 violet-green, 126-127 Swift, black, 84-86 Vaux, 82-83 white-throated, 86-87 Tanager, western, 219-220 Teal, green-winged, 25-26 Thrasher, California, 167-168 Thrush, hermit, 172-175 russet-backed, 175-176 Swainson, 175-176 varied, 171-172 Titmouse, plain, 144—145 Towhee, brown, 243—245 green-tailed, 241-242 spotted, 242-243 Vireo, Hutton, 191-192 solitary, 192-193 warbling, 194-195 Vulture, turkey, 30-31

484 Warbler, Audubon, 38, 1 9 8 - 2 0 0 black-throated gray, 2 0 0 - 2 0 1 Calaveras, 1 9 6 - 1 9 7 hermit, 2 0 2 - 2 0 3 Macgillivray, 2 0 3 - 2 0 4 Nashville, 196-197 orange-crowned, 1 9 5 - 1 9 6 pileolated, 2 0 6 - 2 0 7 Tolmie, 2 0 3 - 2 0 4 Townsend, 2 0 1 - 2 0 2 yellow, 197 Waxwine, cedar, 1 8 7 - 1 8 8 Weasel, long-tailed, 3 1 7 - 3 2 0 mountain, 3 1 7 - 3 2 0 short-tailed, 3 2 0 - 3 2 1 Wildcat, 3 6 4 - 3 6 7 Wilderness, 1, 2, 8, 10, 11 Wildlife management, 1 policies, 2 - 9 , 1 1 - 1 2 Wolf, 4 6 4 - 4 6 5

INDEX Wolverine, 3 2 3 - 3 3 1 Woodpecker, acorn, 1 0 1 - 1 0 3 arctic three-toed, 1 1 2 - 1 1 3 California, 1 0 1 - 1 0 3 downy, 109 hairy, 1 0 7 - 1 0 8 Lewis, 1 0 3 - 1 0 4 Nuttall, 1 0 9 - 1 1 0 pileated, 9 6 - 1 0 1 white-headed, 1 1 0 - 1 1 2 Wren, Bewick, 1 6 2 - 1 6 3 canyon, 1 6 3 - 1 6 4 house, 1 6 0 - 1 6 1 long-billed marsh, 274 rock, 1 6 4 - 1 6 6 winter, 1 6 1 - 1 6 2 Wren-tit, 1 5 3 - 1 5 4

Yellow-throat, 274