ANIMALS OF THE RIVERBOTTOM FOREST

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ANIMALS OF THE RIVERBOTTOM FOREST
Habitat Means Home Grade 4 Curriculum Guide S.
DANGERFIELD Interpretive Planning
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MAMMALS
H A B I T A T M E A N S H O M E M A M M A L S
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BADGER
H A B I T A T M E A N S H O M E M A M M A L S
The badger has a white and brown face with a
white stripe between its eyes. It is a short,
squat and powerful animal. It likes to live in
the woods near rivers. Badgers are good diggers
and live in underground dens. They have great
long claws so look for tracks in the mud. A
badger can take on a bear so stay back if you see
one. It is a carnivore, eating rabbits, moles,
snakes, mice, insects, eggs and snails.
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H A B I T A T M E A N S H O M E M A M M A L S
CHIPMUNK
The little chipmunk is a friendly animal. It is
smaller than a squirrel with a stripe on either
side of its back. You can see them darting
through the forest with their cheek pouches full
of seeds or nuts. Chipmunks are herbivores. They
live in burrows underground. Chipmunks hop so
look for their tracks as four small prints close
together.
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H A B I T A T M E A N S H O M E M A M M A L S
COYOTE
Coyotes are about the size of a German shepherd
dog, a grey-brown colour with a bushy tail. You
may not see a coyote but listen for their yipping
and barking at night to know if they are in your
area. Coyotes are carnivores that eat mice,
voles, frogs, birds and even grasshoppers. Look
for dog-like tracks.
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H A B I T A T M E A N S H O M E M A M M A L S
RED FOX
The red fox is common in the riverbottom forest.
It is part of the dog family but smaller than a
coyote. Foxes are most often red with a white tip
on the tail and black socks. They can also be
black or grey. The fox is an omnivore 75 of
its food is plants. It also eats mice, birds and
rabbits. Its tracks look like a medium-size
dogs.
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H A B I T A T M E A N S H O M E M A M M A L S
JACK RABBIT
The jackrabbit is a fast runner. Its long feet
help it run fast especially in snow. It turns
white in the winter. If you see a rabbit that is
brown in the winter it is probably a cottontail
bunny. It feeds on bark, twigs and other plants.
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H A B I T A T M E A N S H O M E M A M M A L S
STAR-NOSED MOLE
The star-nosed mole is not easy to find because
it lives underground most of the time. Look for
little piles of earth where it has been digging
burrows. If you do see one look for the funny
star-shaped nose. This furry little creature eats
worms and insects.
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H A B I T A T M E A N S H O M E M A M M A L S
DEER MOUSE
A deer mouse is very small when born it weighs
less than a penny. It mostly comes out at night.
During the day it hides in other animals burrows
or logs or in old buildings. Deer mice are brown
with a white belly. The tail is 5cm long. They
eat seeds and plants.
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H A B I T A T M E A N S H O M E M A M M A L S
MUSKRAT
Muskrats are mostly found in the water,
especially where there are lots of cattails
which they use to build their house. A muskrat is
brown and smaller than a beaver with a skinny
tail. Muskrats are omnivores. They eat water
plants, snails and small fish. Look for a V-shape
on the water when the muskrat is swimming.
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H A B I T A T M E A N S H O M E M A M M A L S
RACCOON
You can always recognize a raccoon by the black
mask it wears and the black rings on its tail. It
looks like a really big grey house cat. Raccoons
are omnivores they eat plants like berries and
animals like crayfish, turtles, mice and frogs.
They are nocturnal that means they come out at
night. They sleep in trees during the day.
Riverbottom forest is their favourite place to
live.
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H A B I T A T M E A N S H O M E M A M M A L S
RED GREY SQUIRRELS
There are many kinds of squirrels in the forest.
Red and grey squirrels are the ones you will
likely see. Flying squirrels only come out at
night. Red squirrels are smaller than grey
squirrels and are red with a white belly. They
often chatter at you for being in their
territory. Grey squirrels are bigger and
grey-coloured with a white belly and bushy tail.
Both are herbivores. Look for a red squirrel nest
of sticks and leaves in the trees. Another sign
of a squirrel is a pile of seed or nut shells.
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H A B I T A T M E A N S H O M E M A M M A L S
SKUNK
Everyone knows the skunk black fur with a white
stripe down its back and big bushy tail. If you
see a skunk you better get out of its way it
sprays a foul perfume if scared. Skunks are
omnivores. They like birds eggs, insects, mice,
plants and even carrion dead animals.
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H A B I T A T M E A N S H O M E M A M M A L S
WHITE-TAILED DEER

• White-tailed deer are large herbivores. You can
  see them eating grass at the edge of the forest.
  They are red-brown in summer and grey-brown in
  winter. Male deer grow antlers over the summer
  that fall off in the winter. Baby deer are the
  size of you. Their mom hides them in the grass
  during the day if you find one just leave it
  alone, because mom is close by but hiding. The
  best time to see deer is early morning and
  sundown. Look for their tracks in mud or snow
  along trails.

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H A B I T A T M E A N S H O M E B I R D S
BIRDS
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H A B I T A T M E A N S H O M E B I R D S
BALD EAGLE
The bald eagle is a big bird with a brown body,
white head and tail, and yellow feet. You can
often see it migrating along the river valleys in
spring and fall. It feeds mainly on fish and
carrion dead animals. Bald eagles are
scavengers. Their call sounds like
kleek-kik-ik-ik-ik.
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H A B I T A T M E A N S H O M E B I R D S
BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE
These plump little birds flit around in a gang.
They look like they are wearing black motorcycle
helmets. Chickadees stay all winter long and will
come to bird feeders if you put seeds out. They
often call their name chick-a-dee-dee-dee.
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H A B I T A T M E A N S H O M E B I R D S
CROW
The big black crow is one of our most common
birds. It likes riverbottom forest where it feeds
on mice, turtles, snakes, frogs, even eggs and
young birds. Crows make stick nests in trees.
They call caw-caw-caw.
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H A B I T A T M E A N S H O M E B I R D S
DOWNY HAIRY WOODPECKERS
Downy and hairy woodpeckers are similar. They are
both black and white and the males have a red
patch on the back of their head. The hairy
woodpecker is a little bigger. They peck at trees
to find eggs, cocoons, larvae and adult insects
under the bark. They will come to suet feeders in
the winter.
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H A B I T A T M E A N S H O M E B I R D S
FLICKER

• The flicker is another kind of woodpecker. You
  can see it hopping around on the forest floor
  looking for ants and other insects. It has a buff
  face and grey head with a red crescent on the
  back. Its body looks speckled. When it flies you
  can see yellow underneath its wings. The flicker
  nests in holes in trees. Sometime it calls its
  name flick-a, flick-a.

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H A B I T A T M E A N S H O M E B I R D S
GREAT HORNED OWL

• The great horned owl hunts in the riverbottom
  forest at night. It likes to eat mice, birds,
  snakes and frogs. This is one of the few animals
  that will eat a skunk. It is a big owl that is
  light grey-brown with black stripes on its chest.
  It has feather tufts that look like ears on top
  of its head and big yellow eyes. It calls hoo,
  hoo-oo, hoo, hoo.

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H A B I T A T M E A N S H O M E B I R D S
KINGBIRD
The western kingbird likes riverbottom forest
where it hunts for insects when flying. It eats
bees, wasps, butterflies, moths, grasshoppers and
flies. It has a grey head and back with dark grey
wings and tail, and a yellow tummy. Kingbirds
have a chatty call whit-ker-whit.
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H A B I T A T M E A N S H O M E B I R D S
KINGFISHER
The kingfisher is a squat bird with a head that
looks too big for its body. It is blue-grey and
white with a long dagger bill it uses for
fishing. It eats small fish and frogs. It nests
in holes in the riverbank. The kingfishers call
sounds like a rattle.
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H A B I T A T M E A N S H O M E B I R D S
WOOD DUCK
The male wood duck is very colourful a dark
green with white stripes on its head and shiny
multi-coloured body. He looks like he is wearing
a helmet. The female is mostly brown and white
with a white eye patch. Wood ducks perch in trees
and lay their eggs in a nest in a hole of a tree.
When the young are old enough they leave the tree
and live on the river.
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H A B I T A T M E A N S H O M E A M P H I B I
A N S R E P T I L E S
AMPHIBIANS REPTILES
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H A B I T A T M E A N S H O M E A M P H I B I
A N S R E P T I L E S
GARTER SNAKE
Garter snakes are not poisonous but will bite if
scared. They are green and black and as much as a
metre long. They hibernate in the winter, then
migrate to marshes and riverbottom forests for
the summer. They are carnivores and eat frogs,
mice, baby birds and even fish. They are good
swimmers.
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H A B I T A T M E A N S H O M E A M P H I B I
A N S R E P T I L E S
LEOPARD FROG
Leopard frogs got their name because of the spots
on their backs. They have green and brown bodies
with black spots. They like to eat grasshoppers,
crickets and spiders. Leopard frogs spend the
winter at the bottom of the river. A leopard frog
call sounds like a long croak followed by a few
grunts.
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H A B I T A T M E A N S H O M E A M P H I B I
A N S R E P T I L E S
PAINTED TURTLE
You can often see the painted turtle basking on a
log or the bank of the river. Its body has green
with yellow stripes. Its shell is orange, green
and yellow. The bottom shell is very colourful.
It is an omnivore, eating plants, small fish and
snails. If you find one away from the water leave
it alone it may be going to lay its eggs.
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H A B I T A T M E A N S H O M E A M P H I B I
A N S R E P T I L E S
SNAPPING TURTLE
This turtle is a snapper so watch out. It has no
teeth but a hard beak that can hurt. Its shell
and body are dark brown or green, sometimes with
moss on its back. It is most active at night and
eats plants and animals it can find in the water.
Snapping turtles can live to be 50 years old.
They spend the winter in the mud at the bottom of
the river.
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H A B I T A T M E A N S H O M E A M P H I B I
A N S R E P T I L E S
TOAD
Unlike frogs, toads have dry skin. It is thick
and warty so they can live farther away from
water than frogs can. Their colours vary grey,
brown, red, yellow or green. They eat insects
they catch with their tongue flies, spiders,
mites and beetles. Their call sounds like a trill
that lasts for two to eight seconds.
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H A B I T A T M E A N S H O M E A M P H I B I
A N S R E P T I L E S
WOOD FROG
The wood frog wears a black mask across its eyes
from its nose to the edge of the mouth. Its body
can be green, brown and black. It catches insects
with its sticky tongue. The wood frog call in
spring sounds like a frog pretending to be a
quacking duck.
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H A B I T A T M E A N S H O M E I N S E C T S
, B U G S O T H E R T H I N G S
INSECTS, BUGS OTHER THINGS
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H A B I T A T M E A N S H O M E I N S E C T S
, B U G S O T H E R T H I N G S
ANTS
Ants can be black, red or brown and some are two
colours. They are busy little insects that live
in a colony. You may see an ant trail across the
path, where thousands of tiny little ant feet
have worn a trail. They eat other insects and
sometimes nectar from flowers. Careful not to
step on the anthill it is their house and they
may get mad and bite.
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H A B I T A T M E A N S H O M E I N S E C T S
, B U G S O T H E R T H I N G S
BEETLES
Beetles have a hard case covering their wings on
their backs. There are lots of ground beetles in
the riverbottom forest. Most are active at night
so look for them under rocks or leaves during the
day. Put the rock back carefully after you have
had a look. Beetles eat lots of things like roots
or leaves of willow and cottonwood trees. Draw
pictures of the beetles you find so you can name
them later.
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H A B I T A T M E A N S H O M E I N S E C T S
, B U G S O T H E R T H I N G S
CENTIPEDE
Centipedes are carnivores, predators that hunt
other insects. They look like a flat red-brown
worm with lots of legs. Their name means a
hundred legs but they dont really have that many
legs. Their bite is poisonous to paralyze their
prey.
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H A B I T A T M E A N S H O M E I N S E C T S
, B U G S O T H E R T H I N G S
DRAGONFLIES
Dragonflies are fierce carnivores both as larvae
in the water and flitting about eating mosquitoes
as adults. There are lots of kinds of dragonflies
that are identified by their colours and wing
patterns. Draw pictures of the dragonflies you
find so you can name them later.
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H A B I T A T M E A N S H O M E I N S E C T S
, B U G S O T H E R T H I N G S
FLIES
There are lots of different kinds of flies. Flies
have two wings. Bluebottle flies are big and
hairy. They taste food with their feet. Because
they lay their eggs on garbage and dead things
they make good composters.
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H A B I T A T M E A N S H O M E I N S E C T S
, B U G S O T H E R T H I N G S
LADYBUG BEETLE
Ladybugs are also called ladybird beetles. They
have red, yellow, black or orange shells with
black spots that cover their wings. The red warns
predators that they are poisonous to eat. The
spots do not tell you how old they are but they
tell you what kind they are. There are more than
350 kinds of ladybugs. Be sure to draw any
ladybug you see with the correct number of spots.

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H A B I T A T M E A N S H O M E I N S E C T S
, B U G S O T H E R T H I N G S
MILLIPEDE
Millipedes are scavengers. They eat dead plants.
Like the centipede they look like a worm with
lots of legs 115 pairs on the common millipede.
They are a reddish-brown colour. You can find
them munching on dead plants under logs or piles
of leaves. They lay tiny eggs in a nest that the
mom millipede guards.
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H A B I T A T M E A N S H O M E I N S E C T S
, B U G S O T H E R T H I N G S
MONARCH
You may know the monarch butterfly because of its
orange and black wings. The caterpillar has
white, yellow and black stripes. Because the
caterpillar eats the poisonous milkweed leaves it
too becomes poisonous so predators wont eat it.
Monarch butterflies migrate to Mexico and back,
but it takes several generations .
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H A B I T A T M E A N S H O M E I N S E C T S
, B U G S O T H E R T H I N G S
MOSQUITO
Did you know there are 57 different kinds of
mosquitoes in our area? These little carnivores
love to suck our blood. They lay their eggs in
the water of the river and the larvae hatch into
the water. Mosquito larvae and pupae are
important food for lots of ducks, fish and other
animals. Adult mosquitoes are important food for
frogs and birds.
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H A B I T A T M E A N S H O M E I N S E C T S
, B U G S O T H E R T H I N G S
SPIDERS
Spiders come in different shapes, sizes and
colours. Some spin webs and wait for their prey
while others hunt for dinner on the forest floor.
They are carnivores, eating insects and even
small fish. If you find a spider be sure to draw
a picture of it and note if it is hunting or
sitting in a web.
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H A B I T A T M E A N S H O M E I N S E C T S
, B U G S O T H E R T H I N G S
SPITTLE BUG
Spittlebug larvae have a very smart way of hiding
from predators. They make white foam that looks
like spit, on the stem of a plant, and hide
inside it. If you wipe away the spit you find a
tiny green bug. As an adult the spittlebug hops
around from plant to plant like a tiny frog.
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H A B I T A T M E A N S H O M E I N S E C T S
, B U G S O T H E R T H I N G S
SWALLOWTAIL
The swallowtail caterpillar is disguised to look
like a snake. It eats the leaves of the giant
cottonwood trees in the riverbottom forest. The
adult butterfly is a beautiful yellow with black
stripes like a tiger. It is called a swallowtail
because it has long tail-like pieces from the
bottom of its wings.
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H A B I T A T M E A N S H O M E
THANK YOU