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ANIMALS OF THE

RIVERBOTTOM FOREST

Habitat Means Home

Grade 4 Curriculum Guide

S. DANGERFIELD

Interpretive Planning

MAMMALS

H A B I T A T M E A N S H O M E • M A M M A L S

BADGER

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.


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.

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.

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 dog’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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

BIRDS

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

kingfisher’s call sounds like a

rattle.

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.

AMPHIBIANS & REPTILES

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

INSECTS, BUGS &

OTHER THINGS

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.

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.

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 don’t

really have that many legs.

Their bite is poisonous to

paralyze their prey.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 won’t eat it. Monarch

butterflies migrate to Mexico and back, but it

takes several generations.

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.

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.

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.

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.

THANK YOU

H A B I T A T M E A N S H O M E

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