Eagles 



These powerful predators combine excel- 

 lent eyesight with noiseless flight and 

 death-dealing talons to dispatch their prey. 

 All eat small mammals as the major part of 

 their diet. 



Golden eagles build their bulky nests on 

 mountain cliffs, adding to them over the 

 years. Usually two eggs are laid early in the 

 spring. Both parents brood (or keep the 

 eggs warm), taking turns at hunting. Rab- 

 bits, birds, and occasionally a fawn deer 

 are their principal foods. The golden eagle 

 and the bald eagle can be distinguished by 

 the striking white head plumage of the bald 

 eagle. Both have wingspreads of up to 7 

 feet. Each fall, Glacier Park is the scene of a 

 gathering of bald eagles when spawning 

 salmon draw them for a feast. (See the pho- 

 tograph in the Water chapter.) 



Hawks: Falconiformes 



Hawks most frequently seen in Montana 

 are the red-tailed hawk, with a wingspread 

 of 4 feet, and the smaller northern harrier, 

 or marsh hawk. The first is more apt to be 

 seen at high elevations, hunting for 

 gophers, marmots, and other rodents, and 

 dropping from great heights in a dazzling 

 power dive. The marsh hawk flies at a more 

 leisurely pace at lower levels, preying on 

 field mice and other inhabitants of moist 

 meadows. 



Falcons (Falconidae) are not common in 

 Montana. The peregrine falcon is widely 

 distributed globally, but rarely seen in the 

 western mountains. Among these slender, 

 swift predators is the kestrel. Prairie 

 falcons also inhabit the eastern parts of 

 Montana. 



The osprey or fish hawk can be seen per- 

 ching along waterways on dead trees. 

 When it sights a fish, it plunges into the 

 water and seizes the fish with its talons. 

 These big birds nest in cottonwoods and 

 other tall trees, as well as building on the 

 crosspieces of power poles. 



Owls: Order Strigiformes 



Owls cover somewhat the same territory 

 as the hawks, but their prey are the noc- 

 turnal rodents. Their downy plumage 

 makes their flight almost soundless. The 

 owls may vary in size from the huge 

 horned owl, which resembles a lynx when 

 perched in a tree, to the tiny pygmy and 

 saw-whet owls. 



The eyes of these night hunters are 

 adapted for darkness by many "rod cells" 

 that are extremely sensitive to light. The 

 eyes do not move in their sockets, so the 

 head must turn instead— in some species 

 the angle of rotation can be as much as 280 

 degrees. 



Horned Owl 



Peggy Todd 



Woodpeckers: Family Picidae 



Several kinds of woodpeckers are com- 

 mon in Montana. Of these the flicker is at 

 home in town and country, tapping noisily 

 on shingle roofs for grubs and competing 

 with robins for worms on lawns. Its rosy 

 underwings and a black shield on its chest 

 make it easily recognized. The small 

 downy woodpecker is identified by its 

 black and white plumage and the red cap of 

 the male. Lewis' woodpecker has a gray 

 back and pinkish underparts. All these 

 birds have stiff tail feathers to support 

 them as they drill holes into bark with their 

 heavy bills. 



Woodpeckers keep larval infestations 

 down as well as providing many tree trunk 

 homes for small birds. Montana's wood 

 duck uses the larger holes left by the 

 flicker for its nesting place. 



12 



