A highly gregarious species, the Swainson’s hawk forages and migrates in flocks sometimes numbering in the thousands. Its movement through Central America has been described as among “the most impressive avian gatherings in North America, since the demise of the Passenger Pigeon”. Nearly 350,000 Swainson’s hawks have been counted passing over a single point in Panama City in October and November, and up to 845,000 have been counted in a single autumn in Veracruz, Mexico.
Scaled quail populations can fluctuate each year in response to weather in a boom-bust cycle, mainly from a lack of rain or heavy snowfall. These weather events reduce food supplies and cause mortality, but quail population can rebound in years with ample food. They typically have short life spans but high reproductive potential.
Gunnison sage-grouse became officially recognized as a distinct species from greater sage-grouse in 2000, and was the first new bird species recognized in the U.S. since the 1800s! They are geographically isolated from greater sage-grouse populations, found in seven distinct populations in southwestern Colorado and southeastern Utah. There are fewer than 5,000 individual Gunnison sage-grouse, and the species is classified as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
Sharp-tailed grouse were an important source of food for Native Americans, and elements of the birds’ spring breeding display have been incorporated into the traditional dances of some Native American tribes. Some dances, such as the Grouse Dance of the Northern Tutchone people, is still practiced to this day.
Courting male lark sparrows put on a dance that lasts for up to 5 minutes. The dance starts with the male hopping, then spreading his tail and drooping his wings so that they nearly touch the ground, almost like a turkey strutting.
The female Horned Lark selects a nest site on bare ground, apparently with no help from her mate. She uses her bill to loosen soil and flip it aside to dig a cavity, sometimes also kicking dirt out with her feet. She either chooses a natural depression in which to build the nest or excavates the site herself, a process that can take several days.
The white-throated woodrat is also called a packrat. They will live in burrows, caves, or construct elaborate middens of coarse woody debris, vegetation, and cactus joints. Middens or dens are built at the base of trees, shrubs, and cacti using locally available materials such as spiny plant parts from cholla, prickly pear, mesquite, and catclaw, likely as protection from predators. Middens can get as large as 3 ft/0.9 m high and 10 ft/3 m in diameter.
Male prairie mole crickets form aggressions or leks which are easy to locate from the loud call of the males. During the spring mating season, males call to flying females attracting them for mating from specialized acoustic burrows that are shaped like a bicycle horn and greatly amplify the sound of their calls. The male rubs its wings together after positioning itself with its head toward the back of the chamber, starting around sunset and ending at darkness.
Pinyon jays have an excellent spatial memory, likely because they are dependent on pinyon pine seeds for winter survival and an early breeding season. They cache seeds in leaf/needle litter and tree crevices and can find them later in the season without any apparent clues to the human eye. An individual bird can store around 2,600 seeds in the fall, while a flock of 250 birds can store up to 4.5 million seeds! Pinyon jays can also carry up to 40 seeds at a time in their throat to help them cache more seeds for the winter.
Utah prairie dogs reproduce more slowly than other rodents and have high mortality rates. Although females mate and produce litters in their first year, less than half of males mate in their first year. Females give birth to a single litter each year, averaging 3-5 young. However, fewer than 60% survive their first year and 30% survive their second year.
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