Montana, United States: places and wildlife — page 2

Browse the published Explore collection for Montana, United States. Open a discovery for its field guide, practical details, and background.

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Prairie Vole

Small blunt-faced vole hidden within woven runways beneath dense grass, seldom crossing open ground

Bullsnake

Large blotched snake that hisses loudly, imitates a rattlesnake convincingly, but remains nonvenomous

Plains Garter Snake

Striped garter snake with a bold orange-yellow back stripe, especially at home near prairie wetlands

Soapweed Yucca

Soapweed gives western Nebraska an evergreen silhouette and stages one of the prairie’s most intimate partnerships with a tiny moth.

Ponderosa Pine

Ponderosa pine gives the Pine Ridge a western forest silhouette and reaches the eastern edge of its natural continental range in Nebraska.

Limber Pine

A few native limber pines reach east from the Rockies into Kimball County, forming one of Nebraska’s most surprising tree populations.

Rocky Mountain Juniper

Rocky Mountain juniper threads blue-green columns through Nebraska’s western escarpments, where it can meet and hybridize with eastern redcedar.

Paper Birch

Paper birch survives in cool Niobrara canyons as a remnant of a colder climate, far south of its familiar northern forests.

American Black Bear

America’s most widespread bear is often easier to recognize by tracks, clawed logs, and overturned stones than by a direct sighting.

Gray Wolf

Long legs, a broad muzzle, and purposeful travel distinguish a wolf whose family life shapes northern forests and human debate.

Moose

Long legs, a heavy overhanging muzzle, and an appetite for twigs and aquatic plants make the moose unmistakably built for northern country.

Pronghorn

Neither deer nor antelope, the pronghorn pairs extraordinary eyesight and speed with horns that shed their outer sheath.

Grizzly Bear

A shoulder hump, dished face, and long foreclaws distinguish the grizzly, while food and space—not aggression—govern most of its movements.

Black-capped Chickadee

Black cap, white cheeks, small bib, and a curious approach make this year-round northern songbird a foundational backyard identification.

Common Raven

Heavy bill, shaggy throat, and wedge-shaped tail separate the raven from crows as it works cliffs, tundra, forests, and towns.

Ruffed Grouse

Mottled bark-colored plumage, a dark tail band, and the male’s accelerating wing-drumming suit dense young forest better than open lawn.

Hermit Thrush

Spotted breast, plain face, and a reddish tail contrasting with a browner back identify the thrush behind one of Vermont’s clearest woodland songs.

Osprey

Dark eye stripe, kinked long wings, and reversible outer toes identify the fish specialist nesting beside Oregon waters.

Largemouth Bass

A jaw extending behind the eye, deep body, and dark side stripe separate largemouth bass from their smaller-mouthed relatives.

Bluegill

A deep compressed body, dark ear flap, and blue-green cheek identify a widespread sunfish that rewards close looking.

Northern Pike

Duckbill snout, rear-set fins, and pale bean-shaped spots identify the pike waiting almost motionless beside cover.

Monarch Butterfly

Orange wings with heavy black veins identify a migrant whose caterpillars can eat only milkweeds and whose journey outlasts any one summer adult.

Common Green Darner

Large size, bright green thorax, and a dark bull’s-eye on the forehead help identify a darner capable of continental movement.

Big Sagebrush

Three-toothed wedge leaves, silvery foliage, and a resinous scent identify a shrub that shelters far more life than its muted color suggests.

Douglas-fir

Three-pointed bracts protruding from each cone scale make Douglas-fir recognizable even when its immense crown is far overhead.

Silver Buffaloberry

A wind-pollinated plains shrub turns silver foliage and scarlet fruit into valuable food and cover along dry northern waterways.

Western Tiger Swallowtail

A big yellow swallowtail patrols Black Hills streams and canyon edges, often descending to damp mineral-rich ground.

Scarlet Globemallow

Scarlet globemallow places brilliant orange cups only inches above dry prairie soil, often where little else appears lush.

Rocky Mountain Maple

A modest canyon maple supplies vivid autumn color and dense wildlife cover in moist pockets of the otherwise pine-dominated Black Hills.

Piping Plover

A pale plover nests almost invisibly on open northern beaches where changing water and human disturbance can erase a season’s work.

Sharp-tailed Grouse

Spring males stamp, rattle, coo, and pivot on traditional dancing grounds called leks while hens quietly judge the performance.

Pallid Sturgeon

An ancient-looking fish is actually a living specialist of big, warm, sediment-rich rivers whose natural flow has been heavily altered.

Bighorn Sheep

Restored bighorn herds use Black Hills cliffs as escape terrain, but disease carried by domestic sheep remains a serious management concern.

Look first for sandy plover with a white forehead and thin black forecrown in breeding plumage, then confirm it in shortgrass prairie, prairie-dog colonies, and sparsely vegetated fields. Those two clues make Mountain Plover much easier to identify responsibly in Colorado.

Rocky Mountain Columbine

Look first for blue-violet sepals, white petals, and long backward-pointing spurs, then confirm it in montane and subalpine meadows, open woods, and moist rocky slopes. Those two clues make Rocky Mountain Columbine much easier to identify responsibly in Colorado.