SURE, A ROSE IS A ROSE BUT IS THAT A SWIFT FOX, RED FOX, OR GRAY FOX?

Jacelyn Downey sometimes mimic a rattlesnake’s Photo Dan Lewis/WyomingNaturalist.com Wyoming is home to an amaz- sound and posture when it feels ing collection of animals. Many are threatened? Garter snakes can also large and easy to identify – mistaking be challenging to distinguish, consid- a porcupine for a badger or elk from ering we have the plains, wandering, pronghorn would be hard – but many valley, and red-sided species. other animals can be a bit trickier. Most people see a fox and in- Take rabbits. Most can tell the stantly think, “Oh, it’s a red fox,” but difference between a jackrabbit and depending where, you could be see- a cottontail, but did you know the ing a swift fox or a gray fox. state has three types of cottontail? Birds, especially little brown Wyoming has mountain, desert, and birds, are probably the worst offend- Desert cottontail eastern cottontail species, and they ers to a person’s ability to distinguish one animal from the next. all look, well, like cottontails. half of the state versus the eastern So what’s a person to do? First, Snakes can be tricky as well. half. The time of the year can be an exclude animals not found in your Identifying a rattlesnake is fairly easy, important detail as well, especially area. There is a big difference in the especially if you hear its signature with migratory animals like birds. diversity of species in the western rattle, but did you know bull snakes Stop and really take time to observe

Photo Dan Lewis/WyomingNaturalist.com the animal. Here’s a condensed field guide to identifying some common, often-mis- identified animals that might be lurk- ing just steps from your back porch. Swift fox Swift foxes are found in open country primarily in the eastern part of the state. Swift foxes are nocturnal and not likely seen during the day. They mainly eat small rodents, but also eat birds, lizards, and berries. Coyotes are a main predator. Red foxes have a white-tipped tail, while gray foxes and swift foxes have a black-tipped tail. However, gray foxes are found in forested areas, which Swift fox swift foxes avoid. The red fox and

18 BARNYARDS & BACKYARDS And about that garter snake …

gray fox are nearly twice the size of a learning to listen to their songs and or yellow, it’s usually a plains garter swift fox. All of the foxes use a den, noticing patterns in how they fly or snake. but the swift fox den is usually more other behavioral patterns. Here are some guides to get you complex with multiple openings. started: Wandering garter snake • http://wgfd.wyo.gov/ Of all the garter snakes, the Cottontails wtest/Departments/ The common names of these cot- wandering garter snake is easiest Wildlife/pdfs/WILDLIFE_ tontails are a clue to where they live to identify because it is the only ANIMALATLAS0002711.pdf and can be a big help in determining one that doesn’t have red, orange, • http://wyomingnaturalist.com/ which species you might have in your or yellow coloration. A garter • Mammals of the Rocky Mountains area. Desert cottontails are found in snake with red spotting seen in the by Fisher, Pattie, & Hartson the most arid areas of the state. Both western part of the state is likely a • The Sibley Guide to Birds by the eastern and mountain cottontails valley garter snake. A garter snake David Allen Sibley will have shorter, furry, rounded ears, with red and black checkerboard • http://bit.ly/pocketbird while desert cottontails have just a patterns on the sides is probably • http://www.allaboutbirds.org/ thin amount of hair on their taller, a red-sided garter snake. Lastly, if pointed ears. Like all cottontails, they you just notice a stripe of orange

are a favorite meal for any preda- Photo © Dave Showalter/daveshowalter.com Photo Dan Lewis/WyomingNaturalist.com tor and as such, they are skittish and usually only active from dusk to dawn. Brewer’s sparrow Sparrows can be an extremely dif- ficult group of birds to identify even with binoculars and a field guide. Oftentimes, identification comes down to details like does it have a streaked breast, and what color are its legs and beak? Brewer’s sparrows are tricky because they don’t have the colorful face pattern of the lark spar- row or a dark patch on their chest like a sage sparrow. The most advanced Brewer’s sparrow Wandering garter snake identification techniques involve

Jacelyn Downey works for Audubon Rockies and can be reached at [email protected] when she’s not outside trying to identify every single thing in her path.

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