Eastern Newt (salamanders) Food Habitats

Notophthalmus, the genus comprising the eastern newts, inhabits eastern North America. A different genus, Taricha, comprises the western newts along the Pacific coast of North America. Unlike other salamanders, the skin of newts is rough-textured, not slimy. Eastern newts are primarily aquatic; western newts are terrestrial.

The life cycle of eastern newts is complex. Females deposit their eggs into shallow surface waters. After hatching, the larvae remain aquatic for 2 to several months before transforming into brightly colored terrestrial forms, called efts. Post larval migration of efts from ponds to land may take place from July through November.

But the timing varies between populations. Efts live on land (forest floor) for 3 to 7 years. They then return to the water and assume adult characteristics. In changing from an eft to an adult, the newt develops fins and the skin changes to permit aquatic respiration.

Occasionally newts omit the terrestrial eft stage, especially in the species located in the southeast coastal plain and along the Massachusetts coast. These aquatic juveniles have the same adaptations (i.e., smooth skin and flattened tail) as the aquatic adults but are not sexually mature.

Under favorable conditions, adults are permanently aquatic; however, adults may migrate to land after breeding due to dry ponds, high water temperatures, and low oxygen tension. The life cycle of western newts does not include the eft stage.

The eastern newt (Notophthalmus viridescens) has both aquatic and terrestrial forms. The aquatic adult is usually yellowish-brown or olive-green to dark brown above, yellow below. The land-dwelling eft is orange-red to reddish-brown, and its skin contains tetrodotoxin, a neurotoxin and powerful emetic.

There are four subspecies of eastern newts:

1. N. v. viridescens (red-spotted newt; ranges from Nova Scotia west to Great Lakes and south to the Gulf states).
2. N. v. dorsalis (broken-striped newt; ranges along the coastal plain of the Carolinas).
3. N. v. louisianensis (central newt; ranges from western Michigan to the Gulf).
4. N. v. piaropicola(peninsula newt; restricted to peninsular Florida).

Neoteny occurs commonly in the peninsula and broken-striped newts. In the central newt, neoteny is frequent in the southeastern coastal plain. In the red-spotted newt, neoteny is rare. Adult eastern newts usually are 6.5 to 10.0 cm in total length. In North Carolina, N. v. dorsalisefts ranged from 2.1 to 3.8 cm snout-to-vent length (SVL).

That excludes the tail, and adults ranged from 2.0 to 4.4 cm SVL. The aquatic juveniles 1 year of age to range from 2.0 to 3.2 cm SVL. Adult eastern newts weigh approximately 2 to 3 g. Whereas the efts generally weigh 1 to 1.5 g. Neotenic newts are mature and capable of reproduction but retain the larval form, appearance, and habits.

Habitat

Larval and adult eastern newts are found in ponds, especially those with abundant submerged vegetation, and in weedy areas of lakes, marshes, ditches, backwaters, and pools of shallow slow-moving streams or other unpolluted shallow or semi-permanent water. Terrestrial efts inhabit mixed and deciduous forests and are found in moist areas, typically under damp leaves, brush piles, logs, and stumps, usually in wooded habitats. Adequate surface litter is important, especially during dry periods, because efts seldom burrow.

Eastern Newt Food Habits

Adult eastern newts are opportunistic predators that prey underwater on worms, insects and their larvae (e.g., mayfly, caddisfly, midge, and mosquito larvae), small crustaceans and mollusks, spiders, amphibian eggs, and occasionally small fish. Newts capture prey at the surface of the water and on the bottom of the pond, as well as in the water column.

The shed skin (exuvia) is eaten and may comprise greater than 5 percent of the total weight of food items of both the adult and eft diets. Snails are an important food source for the terrestrial eft. Efts feed only during rainy summer periods. In late August and September, efts often were found clustered around decaying mushrooms feeding on adult and larval dipterans. In a northern hardwood-hemlock forest in New York, the most prey of adult migrants and immature efts were from the upper litter layer, soil surface, or low vegetation.

Temperature regulation and daily activities

Adult newts are often seen foraging in shallow water, and efts are often found in large numbers on the forest floor after it rains. Efts may be found on the open forest floor even during daylight hours, but they rarely emerge if the air temperature is below 10C.

Hibernation

Most adults remain active all winter underwater on pond bottoms or in streams. Some adults overwinter on land and migrate to ponds during the spring to breed. If the water body freezes to the bottom, adults may be forced to hibernate on land or to migrate to another pool. Efts hibernate on land, burrowing under logs and debris. It is observed that efts migrated to ponds for the first time in the spring and fall.

Breeding activities and social organization. In south-central New York, breeding takes place in late winter or early spring, usually in lakes, ponds, and swamps. Ovulation and egg deposition occur over an extended period. Females overwintering on land can store sperm for at least 10 months.

Spawning underwater, the female deposits eggs singly on leaves of submerged plants, hiding and wrapping each in vegetation. The time to hatching depends on temperature. Smith (1961) found typical incubation periods to be 14 to 21 days in Illinois, whereas the incubation period observed 21 to 56 days.

Growth and metamorphosis

In late summer or early fall, the larvae transform into either aquatic juveniles or terrestrial efts that low larval density stimulated neoteny in larvae under experimental conditions. Larval growth rates were higher in ponds with low larval densities. Growth rates for aquatic juveniles are highest in the spring; however, maximum seasonal growth for the terrestrial efts occurs between June and September when the temperature is optimal for active foraging.

Home range and resources. For adult newts, the distance between capture and recapture sites to be about 7 m, indicating small home ranges. It did not find any defined home range or any territoriality for males. Most efts around a pond in Pennsylvania remained within 1.5 m of the shore. The home range for terrestrial efts in a Massachusetts woodland to be 270 m² and located approximately 800 m from the ponds where the adults and larvae were located.

Population density. Populations of aquatic adults may reach high local densities, whereas terrestrial efts exhibit lower population densities. Recorded population densities for terrestrial efts range from 34 per hectare (ranging from 20 to 50 efts per hectare) in a North Carolina mixed deciduous forest to 300 per hectare in a Massachusetts woodland. The density of 1.4 adult newts per m² (14,000 adult newts per hectare) in a shallow pond in North Carolina in the winter, whereas the summer population density was only 0.2 adults per m² (2,000 adults per hectare).

Many populations of the eastern newt reach sexual maturity when the eft stage returns to the water and changes to the adult form. However, under certain conditions such as low larval density, most of the larvae present have been shown to metamorphose directly into adults or even into sexually mature larvae.

In experimental ponds, densities of 22 larvae per m² resulted in metamorphosis to eft by the majority, while a density of 5.5 larvae per m²resulted in metamorphosis directly to the adult form or sexual maturation without metamorphosis (Harris, 1987). Adult density also influences reproduction.

The doubling adult density resulted in a reduction of offspring produced to one-quarter that produced by adults at the lower density (i.e., from 36 offspring per female in tanks containing 1.1 females per m² to 9.7 offspring per female in tanks containing 2.2 females per m²). The adult life expectancy 2.1 breeding seasons for males and 1.7 breeding seasons for females. Amphibian blood leeches (ectoparasites) are likely to be a primary source of mortality for adults; they also prey directly on larvae.

Similar Species

The black-spotted newt (Notophthalmus meridionalis) is similar in size (7.5 to 11.0 cm) to the eastern newt. It has large black spots and is found in south Texas in ponds, lagoons, and swamps. There is no eft stage.

The striped newt (Notophthalmus perstriatus) is smaller (5.2 to 7.9 cm) than the eastern newt and ranges from southern Georgia to central Florida. It is found in almost any body of shallow, standing water.

The western newts (Taricha) are found along the Pacific coast. They do not undergo the eft stage but rather transform into land-dwelling adults that return to the water at breeding time.

Other small salamanders are similar but vary by having slimy skin and conspicuous costal grooves. They differ in life history, however; in the family Plethudontidae, all are lungless and breathe through thin, moist skin. Many are completely terrestrial.

Raccoon (raccoons, coatis, ringtails)

Procyonids are medium-sized omnivores that range throughout much of North America. Raccoons, coatis, and ringtails feed on insects, small mammals, birds, lizards, and fruits. Ringtails are much smaller and slenderer than raccoons and consume a higher proportion of animal matter. Coatis are slightly smaller than racoons and are limited in their distribution in the United States to just north of the Mexican border.

The raccoon (Procyon lotor) is the most abundant and widespread medium-sized omnivore in the North America. They are found throughout Mexico, Central America, the United States. Except at the higher elevations of the Rocky Mountains, and into southern Canada. During the last 50 years, raccoon populations in the United States have increased greatly.

Raccoon Nocturnal

In suburban areas, they frequently raid garbage cans and dumps. Raccoons are preyed on by bobcats, coyotes, foxes, and great horned owls. Twenty-five subspecies are recognized in the United States and Canada.

However, most investigators do not identify the subspecies studied because different subspecies inhabit essentially nonoverlapping geographic ranges. Though raccoons are mainly nocturnal, they do often get some stuff done during the day. Hence traditionally they come out only during the nighttime hours to scrounge for food. Moreover, many humans hear raccoon noises at night due to their nocturnal habits.

Body Size

Raccoons measure from 46 to 71 cm with a 20 to 30 cm tail. Body weights vary by location, age, and sex from 3 to 9 kg. The largest raccoons recorded are from Idaho and nearby states, while the smallest reside in the Florida Keys. Juveniles do not reach adult size until at least the end of their second year. 

In the autumn, fat reserves account for 20 to 30 percent or more of the raccoon's weight.

The juveniles gained weight almost linearly until mid-November, after which they began to lose weight until April. Weight loss in adults and yearlings can reach 50 percent during the 4 months of winter dormancy (e.g., 4.3-kg loss for a 9.1-kg raccoon). Raccoons are active all year, winter weight losses are less, 16 to 17 percent on average.

Habitat

Raccoons are found near virtually every aquatic habitat, particularly in hardwood swamps, mangroves, floodplain forests, and freshwater and saltwater marshes. They are also common in suburban residential areas and cultivated and abandoned farmlands and may forage in farmyards. The permanent water supply, tree dens, and available food are essential. Raccoons use surface waters for both drinking and foraging.

Food Habits

The raccoon is an omnivorous and opportunistic feeder. Although primarily active from sunset to sunrise. The raccoons will change their activity period to accommodate the availability of food and water.

The salt marsh raccoons may become active during the day to take advantage of low tide. Raccoons feed primarily on fleshy fruits, nuts, acorns, and corn but also eat grains, insects, frogs, crayfish, eggs, and virtually any animal and vegetable matter.

The proportion of different foods in their diet depends on location and season, although plants are usually a more important component of the diet. They may focus on a preferred food, such as turtle eggs, when it is available.

They also will feed on garbage and carrion. Typically, it is only in the spring and early summer that raccoons eat more animal than plant material. Their late summer and fall diets consist primarily of fruits. In winter, acorns tend to be the most important food, although raccoons will take any corn or fruits that are still available.

Temperature Regulation and Molt

From the central United States into Canada, raccoons undergo a winter dormancy lasting up to 4 months. It is not a true hibernation, however, and they can be easily awakened. Animals in the south are active year-round. Snow cover, more than low temperatures, triggers winter dormancy. The raccoon's annual molt begins early in spring and lasts about 3 months.

Breeding activities and social organization

Although solitary, adult raccoons come together for a short time during the mating period. Which begins earlier (January to March) in their northern range than in their southern range (March to June). Male and female home ranges overlap freely, and each male may mate with several females during the breeding season.

The most common group of raccoons is a mother and her young of that year. Further north in their range, a family will den together for the winter and break up the following spring. Males are territorial toward one another but not toward females; females are not territorial.

Home Range and Resources

The size of a raccoon's home range depends on its sex and age, habitat, food sources, and the season. Values from a few hectares to more than a few thousand hectares have been reported, although home ranges of a few hundred hectares appear to be most common.

In general, home ranges of males are larger than those of females, the home range of females with young is restricted, and winter ranges are smaller than ranges at other times of the year for both sexes. During the winter, raccoons commonly den in hollow trees.

They also use the burrows of other animals such as foxes, groundhogs, skunks, and badgers. These sites are used for sleeping during warmer periods. After wintering in one den, the female will choose a new den in which to bear her young. The cubs leave the den, the family will not use it again that year.

Population Density

Population density depends on the quality and quantity of food resources and den sites. Values between 0.005 and 1.5 raccoons per hectare have been reported, although 0.1 to 0.2 per hectare is more common.

Populations exceeding one raccoon per hectare have been reported in residential areas. Although raccoons may prefer tree dens over ground dens, particularly for raising young. The raccoon densities in an area with few tree dens but numerous ground dens.

Males generally are not sexually mature by the time of the first regular breeding season following their birth, but they may mature later that summer or fall. Females may become pregnant in their first year. In a review of several studies, that up to 60 percent of both wild and captive females’ mate and produce litters in their first year.

The pregnancy rates of yearlings from 38 to 77 percent. After their first year, almost all females breed annually. Females produce only one litter each year, and the female alone cares for the young. With some exceptions the larger litter sizes usually occur in the raccoon's northern range.

Some juveniles of both sexes disperse from the areas where they were born during the fall or winter of their first year, while others stay and raise young within their parents' home range. The highest mortality rates occur within the first 2 years; the age structure of populations in Alabama suggests that mortality is higher for subadults than for juveniles.

Raccoon Noises

Raccoon is famous to make different type of sounds, i.e., purring, low grunt, loud purr, chittering, growling, snarling, whimpering, hissing, and screeching like owl’s whistle. However, juvenile raccoon sounds consist of crying, whining, and mewing. Raccoon make growl noise when they feel any danger indicate the presence to home owner.

Similar Species

1. The coati (Nasua nasua) is slightly smaller than the raccoon (4 to 6 kg) but with a much longer tail (51 to 64 cm). Ranging throughout Central America from Panama to Mexico. The coati is rare in the United States where it inhabits open forests of the southwest, near the Mexican border.

It forages primarily for grubs and tubers but also feeds on fruits, nuts, bird eggs, lizards, scorpions, and tarantulas. Coatis roll arthropods on the ground to remove wings and scales.

2. The ringtail (Bassariscus astutus) is smaller (36 to 41 cm; 0.9 to 1.13 kg) than the raccoon, with a tail equal to its body length. It ranges throughout the southwestern United States into northern California and Oregon, inhabiting chaparral, rocky ridges, and cliffs near water.

Ringtails are omnivorous like the raccoon but consume a higher proportion of animal matter, feeding mainly on small mammals, insects, birds, and lizards as well as fruits. They den in caves or crevices along cliffs, hollow trees, under rocks, and in unused buildings. Although ringtails sometimes live in colonies, mated pairs are more common. More nocturnal than the raccoon, the ringtail is only active at dawn and dusk.

Lifespan of Raccoons

In everyday life, Raccoons must fight with proper food, escape predators and life-threatening endeavors. The combination of these facts diminishes the lifespan in wild to 2 to 3 years. The high death rate make negative affects the lifespan of Raccoons. In some odd cases, Raccoons lifespan extend to 5 to 6 years.

The Bullfrog Facts

There are typical frogs with adults being truly amphibious. They tend to live at the edge of water bodies and enter the water to catch prey, flee danger, and spawn. The bullfrog's (Rana catesbeiana) natural range includes the eastern and central United States and southeastern Canada.

However, it has been introduced in many areas in the western United States and other parts of North America. It is continuing to expand its range, apparently at the expense of several native species in many locations.

Size of Bullfrog

The bullfrog is the largest North American ranid. The adults usually range between 9 and 15 cm in length from snout-to-vent length (SVL) and exceptional individuals can reach one half kilogram or more in weight. The males are usually smaller than females. Frogs exhibit indeterminate growth, and bullfrogs continue to increase in size for at least 6 years after metamorphosis.

Habitat

The Adult bullfrogs live at the edges of ponds, lakes, and slow-moving streams large enough to avoid crowding and with sufficient vegetation to provide easily accessible cover. Small streams are used when a better habitat is lacking. Bullfrogs require permanent bodies of water because the tadpoles generally require 1 or more years to develop prior to metamorphosis. Small frogs favor areas of very shallow water where short grasses or other vegetation or debris offer cover. Larger bullfrogs seem to avoid such areas. Tadpoles tend to congregate around green plants.

Food habits

The adult R. catesbeianaare indiscriminate and aggressive predators, feeding at the edge of the water and among water weeds on any available small animals, including insects, crayfish, other frogs and tadpoles, minnows, snails, young turtles, and occasionally small birds, small mammals, and young snakes.

Bullfrogs often focus on locally abundant foods (e.g., cicadas, meadow voles). Crustaceans and insects probably make up the bulk of the diet in most areas. Moreover, Bullfrog tadpoles consume primarily aquatic plant material and some invertebrates, but also scavenge dead fish and eat live or dead tadpoles and eggs.

Temperature regulation and daily activities.

Bullfrogs forage by day. They thermoregulate behaviorally by positioning themselves relative to the sun and by entering or leaving the water. the body temperatures measured in bullfrogs during their normal daily activities averaged 30C and ranged from 26 to 33C. At night, their body temperatures were found to range between 14.4 and 24.9C.

Tadpoles also select relatively warm areas, 24 to 30C. Despite this narrow range of temperatures in which bullfrogs normally maintain themselves, they are not immobilized by moderately lower temperatures. The metabolic rate of bullfrogs increases with increasing body temperature. Between 15 and 25C.

Hibernation

Most bullfrogs hibernate in mud and leaves underwater beginning in the fall, but some bullfrogs in the southern states may be active year-round. They emerge sometime in the spring, usually when air temperatures are about 19 to 24C and water temperatures are at least 13 to 14C. Bullfrogs emerge from hibernation later than other ranid species.

Breeding activities and social organization.

Bullfrogs spawn at night close to shorelines in areas sheltered by shrubs. The timing and duration of the breeding season vary depending on the location. In the southern states, the breeding season extends from spring to fall, whereas, in the northern states, it is restricted to late spring and summer.

Males tend to be territorial during the breeding season, defending their calling posts and oviposition sites (i.e., submerged vegetation nearshore). However, the female visits to the pond tend to be brief and sporadic. Some males mate with several females whereas others, usually younger and smaller males, may not breed at all in a given year. Females attach their eggs, contained in floating films of jelly, to submerged vegetation. Adults are otherwise rather solitary occupying their own part of a stream or pond.

Tadpole and metamorphosis.

Eggs hatch in 3 to 5 days. Temperatures above 32C have been shown to cause abnormalities in tadpoles and above 35.9C to kill embryos. Tadpole growth rates increase with increasing oxygen levels, food availability, and water temperature. Tadpole gill ventilation at 20C can generate a branchial water flow of almost 0.3 ml/g-min. Metamorphosis from a tadpole to a frog can occur as early as 4 to 6 months in the southern parts of its range; however, most tadpoles metamorphose from 1 to 3 years after hatching, depending on latitude and temperature.

Range

The species' home range includes its foraging areas and refugees in and around aquatic environments. Home range size decreases with increasing bullfrog density, and males tend to use larger home ranges than females. Bullfrogs tend to stay in the same pools throughout the summer months if the water level is stable.

During the breeding season, adult males establish territories that they defend against conspecific males. During the non-breeding season, found no evidence of the territorial defense. Males often do not return to the same pond the following spring.

During the breeding season, each breeding male may defend a few meters of shoreline. The densities of females and non-breeding males vary with time of day and season and are difficult to estimate. Tadpoles can be present locally in extremely high densities.

The sexual maturity is attained in about 1 to 3 years after metamorphosis, depending on latitude. Only females that are at least 2 years past metamorphosis mate during the early breeding season. The males and females 1-year past metamorphosis may breed during the later breeding periods.

Also, some older females have been observed to mate and to lay a second clutch during the later breeding period estimated the minimum breeding length for females to be 123 to 125 mm SVL. Mortality of tadpoles is high, and adult frogs are unlikely to live beyond 5 to 8 years post metamorphosis.

In some areas, snapping turtles may be responsible for a large component of adult bullfrog mortality. The pig frog (Rana grylio) is smaller than the bullfrog (8 to 14 cm) and is found in South Carolina to south Florida and south Texas. The remaining ranid species are more similar in size to the green (or bronze) frog.

Read More – The Snapping Turtles (Chelydra serpentina)

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Northern Short Tailed Shrew

Most species are primarily vermivorous and insectivorous, but some also eat small birds and mammals. The northern short-tailed shrew (Blarina brevicauda) ranges throughout the north-central and northeastern United States and into southern Canada.

Northern Short Tailed Shrew Diet

It eats insects, worms, snails, and other invertebrates and also may eat mice, voles, frogs, and other vertebrates. Because they prey on other vertebrates, shrews can concentrate DDT (and presumably other bio accumulative chemicals) to levels 10 times higher than either Peromyscus and Clethrionomys. Shrews are an important component of the diet of many owls and are also prey for other raptors, fox, weasels, and other carnivorous mammals.

Body size.

Short-tailed shrews are 8 to 10 cm in length with a 1.9 to 3.0 cm tail. The short-tailed shrew is the largest member of the genus, with some weighing over 22 g. Some studies have found little or no sexual dimorphism in size, while other reports show that males are slightly larger than females.

Metabolism.

Short-tailed shrews are active for about 16 percent of each 24-hour period, in periods of around 4.5 minutes at a time. The shrew's metabolism is inversely proportional to the ambient temperature, within the range of 0 to 25C. Sleeping metabolism is half that associated with normal, exploring activity.

However, the overall metabolism for shrews spending equal amounts of time sleeping and exploring as a function of ambient temperature. A linear increase in standard (near basal) metabolism with decreasing temperature that is similar to that for interrupted sleep. The thermoneutral zone, the standard metabolic rate of the short-tailed shrew is approximately 190 percent the metabolic rate predicted from body weight.

Habitat.

Short-tailed shrews inhabit a wide variety of habitats and are common in areas with abundant vegetative cover. Short-tailed shrews need cool, moist habitats because of their high metabolic and water-loss rates.

Food Habits

The short-tailed shrew is primarily carnivorous. Stomach analyses indicate that insects, earthworms, slugs, and snails can make up most of the shrew's food, while plants, fungi, millipedes, centipedes, arachnids, and small mammals also are consumed.

Small mammals are consumed more when invertebrates are less available. Shrews can prey on small vertebrates because they produce a poison secretion in their salivary glands that is transmitted during biting. The short-tailed shrew stores food, especially in the autumn and winter.

The short-tailed shrews cached most of the prey captured. Short-tailed shrews consume approximately 40 percent more food in winter than in summer. The shrew must consume water to compensate for its high evaporative water loss, even though it obtains water from both food and metabolic oxidation.

The short-tailed shrew's evaporative water loss increases with increasing ambient temperature even within its thermoneutral zone. Short-tailed shrews' digestive efficiency is about 90 percent.

Temperature Regulation and Molt

The short-tailed shrew does not undergo torpor but uses non-shivering thermogenesis (NST) to compensate for heat loss during cold stress in winter. The short-tailed shrew exhibits three molts.

Two are seasonal molts, the first in October and November replaces summer with winter pelage and occurs in first- and second-year shrews. The spring molt can occur any time from February to October. The third molt occurs in post juveniles that have reached adult size.

Breeding Activities and Social Organization

The short-tailed shrew probably breeds all year, including limited breeding in winter even in the northern portions of its range. In Illinois, males were found to be most active from January to July, females from March to September.

There are two peak breeding periods, in the spring and in late summer or early fall. The home ranges of short-tailed shrews in summer overlap both within and between sexes. Although females with young do exhibit some territoriality. Nomadic shrews are either young of the year or adults moving to areas with more abundant prey.

Home Range and Resources

Short-tailed shrews inhabit round, underground nests and maintain underground runaways, usually in the top 10 cm of soil. But sometimes as deep as 50 cm. In winter, nonbreeding home ranges can vary from 0.03 to 0.07 ha at high prey densities to 1 to 2.2 ha during low prey densities with a minimum of territory overlap. In the summer, ranges of opposite sex animals overlap, but same sex individuals do not; females with young exclude all others from their area.

Population Density

Population densities vary by habitat and season. In east-central Illinois, population density was higher in bluegrass than in tallgrass or alfalfa. In all three of these habitats, the short-tailed shrew exhibited annual abundance cycles, with peak densities ranging from 2.5 to 45 shrews per hectare, depending on the habitat. The peaks occurred from July to October (12.9/ha average for all three habitats), apparently just following peak precipitation levels.

In winter mortality up to 90 percent has been reported for the short-tailed shrew. however, mortality rates in winter may be closer to 70 percent, which is similar to the average monthly mortality rate he found for subadult animals. Several litters, averaging four to five pups, are born each year.

Similar Species

The masked shrew (Sorex cinereus) (length 5.1 to 6.4 cm; weight 3 to 6 g) is smaller than the short-tailed shrew and is the most common shrew in moist forests, open country, and brush of the northern United States and throughout Canada and Alaska. It feeds primarily on insects.

Merriam's shrew (Sorex merriami) (5.7 to 6.4 cm) is found in arid areas and sagebrush or bunchgrass of the western United States and is smaller than the short-tailed shrew.

The Smokey shrew (Sorex fumeus) (6.4 to 7.6 cm; 6 to 9 g), smaller than the short-tailed, prefers birch and hemlock forests with a thick leaf mold on the ground to burrow in. It uses burrows made by small mammals or nests in stumps, logs, and among rocks. Range is limited to the northeast United States and east of the Great Lakes in Canada.

The southeastern shrew (Sorex longirostris) is 5.1 to 6.4 cm; 3 to 6 g prefers moist areas. Found mostly in open fields and woodlots, its range is limited. to the southeastern United States. It nests in dry grass or leaves in a shallow depression.

The long-tailed shrew (Sorex dispar) is 7.0 cm; 5 to 6 g inhabits cool, moist, rocky areas in deciduous or deciduous-coniferous forests of the northeast, extending south to the North Carolina and Tennessee border.

The vagrant shrew (Sorex vagrans) is 5.9 to 7.3 cm; 7 ± g inhabits marshy wetlands and forest streams. Its range is confined to the western United States, excluding most of California and Nevada. In addition to insects, it also eats plant material.

The Pacific shrew (Sorex pacificus) (8.9 cm) is slightly larger than the short-tailed shrew. It is limited to redwood and spruce forests, marshes, and swamps of the northern California and southern Oregon coasts.

The dwarf shrew (Sorex nanus) (6.4 cm) is rare throughout its limited range in the western United States.

The least shrew (Cryptotis parva) (5.6 to 6.4 cm; 4 to 7 g) is easily distinguished from other shrews by its cinnamon color. It inhabits grassland and marsh; its range is like the short-tailed shrew but does not extend as far north.

The desert shrew (Notiosorex crawfordi) (Gray shrew) (5.1 to 6.6 cm) is rarely seen and is found only in the arid conditions, chaparral slopes, alluvial fans, and around low desert shrubs of the extreme southwest. It nests beneath plants, boards, or debris.

American Woodcock (Scolopax minor)

This inland member of the sandpiper family has a stocky build, long bill, and short legs. However, their habitats and diet are distinct. Woodcock inhabit primarily woodlands and abandoned fields. Whereas snipe is found in association with bogs and freshwater wetlands. Both species use their long bills to probe the substrate for invertebrates. The woodcock and snipe are similar in length, though the female woodcock weighs almost twice as much as the female snipe.

The American woodcock (Scolopax minor) breeds from southern Canada to Louisiana throughout forested regions of the eastern half of North America. The highest breeding densities are found in the northern portion of this range, especially in the Great Lakes area of the United States, northern New England, and southern Canada.

Woodcock winter mainly in the southeastern United States and are year-round residents in some of these areas. Woodcock are important game animals over much of their range. Woodcock are large for sandpipers 28 cm bill tip to tail tip. But the females weigh more than males. Most young are full-grown by 5 to 6 weeks after hatching.

Habitat

Woodcock inhabit both woodlands and abandoned fields, particularly those with rich and moderately to poorly drained loamy soils, which tend to support abundant earthworm populations. In the spring season, the male bird uses early successional open areas and woods openings, interspersed with low brush and grassy vegetation.

Thus, for singing displays at dawn and dusk. Females nest in brushy areas of secondary growth woodlands near their feeding areas, often near the edge of the woodland or near a break in the forest canopy. During the summer season, both sexes use second-growth hardwood or early successional mixed hardwood and conifer woodlands for diurnal cover.

At night, they move into open pastures and early successional abandoned agricultural fields, including former male singing grounds, to roost. During the winter, woodcock use bottomland hardwood forests, hardwood thickets, and upland mixed hardwood and conifer forests during the day. At night, they use open areas to some degree, but also forested habitats. Diurnal habitat and nocturnal roosting fields need to near be useful for woodcock.

American Woodcock Diet

Woodcocks feed primarily on invertebrates found in moist upland soils by probing the soil with their long prehensile-tipped bill. Earthworms are the preferred diet, but when earthworms are not available, other soil invertebrates are consumed. Some seeds and other plant matter may also be consumed.

During summer most, feeding was done in wooded areas prior to entering fields at night. But other studies have indicated that a significant amount of food is acquired during nocturnal activities.

During the winter in southern Louisiana, woodcock exhibited three feeding periods: early morning in the nocturnal habitat, midday in the diurnal habitat, and at dusk. However again in the nocturnal fields; earthworms and millipedes were consumed in both habitat types. Most of the woodcocks' metabolic water needs are met by their food.

But captive birds have been observed to drink. The chicks leave the nest soon after hatching but are dependent on the female for food for the first week after hatching. Moreover, American Woodcock molt twice annually. The prenuptial molt involves body plumage, some wing coverts, scapulars, and tertials and occurs in late winter or early spring. The complete postnuptial molt takes place in July or August.

Migration

Fall migration starts at the end of September and continues until December. But often following the first heavy frost. The migration may take four to six weeks. Some woodcock winter in the south Atlantic region, while those that breed west of the Appalachian Mountains winter in Louisiana and the other Gulf States.

American Woodcock are early spring migrants, leaving their wintering grounds in February and arriving on their northern breeding grounds in late March to early April. The dates of woodcock arrival at their breeding grounds can change from year to year depending on the timing of snowmelt. The spring and fall migration dates by States from numerous studies.

Courtship Display

From their arrival in the spring, male woodcock performs daily courtship flights at dawn and at dusk, defending a site on the singing grounds to attract females for mating. Often several males display on a single singing ground, with each defending his own section of the area.

Females construct their nests on the ground, usually at the base of a tree or shrub located in a brushy area adjacent to an opening or male singing ground. Females are responsible for all the incubation and care of their brood. The young chick leaves the nest soon after hatching and can sustain flight by approximately 18 days of age.

Range

The home range of woodcocks encompasses both diurnal cover areas and nocturnal roosting areas and varies in size depending on the season and the distribution of feeding sites and suitable cover. During the day, movements are usually limited until dusk, when woodcock fly to nocturnal roost sites.

In the Spring and summer diurnal ranges to be only 1 to 10 percent of the total home range. Movement on the nocturnal roost sites also is limited; however, during winter, woodcock is more likely to feed and move around at night.

Singing

Singing males generally restrict their movements more than non-singing males, juveniles, and females. The annual singing-ground survey conducted by the United States and Canada provides information on the population trends of woodcock in the northern states and Canada during the breeding season.

The singing-ground estimates to vary from 1.7 male singing grounds per 100 ha in Minnesota to 10.4 male singing grounds per 100 ha in Maine. Although this is appropriate for assessing population trends, flushing surveys, telemetry, and mark-recapture are better methods for estimating woodcock densities because there are variable numbers of females and non-singing males associated with active singing grounds.

The 2.2 singing males per 100 ha in a wildlife refuge in Maine, But summer densities of 19 to 25 birds per 100 ha in the same area. Woodcocks attempt to raise only a single brood in a given year but may re-nest if the initial clutch is destroyed. Survival of juveniles in their first-year ranges from 20 to 40 percent and survival of adults ranges from 35 to 40 percent for males to approximately 40 to 50 percent for females.

The adult survival rates 0.88 to 0.90 for both sexes between June and October in Maine, indicating that adult mortality may occur primarily in the winter and early spring. The lower summer survival rates for young woodcock between fledging and migration than for adults during the same months, with most losses of young attributed to predation.

Similar Species

The common snipe (Gallinago gallinago) is similar in length only 27 cm to the woodcock, although lighter in weight. Snipe are primarily found in association with bogs and freshwater wetlands and feed on the various invertebrates associated with wetland soils.

Snipe breed mainly in boreal forest regions and thus are found slightly north of the woodcock breeding range, with some areas of overlap in the eastern half of the continent. The breeding range of the snipe, however, extends westward to the Pacific coast and throughout most of Alaska, thus occupying a more extensive east-west range than the woodcock.

The American woodcock (Scolopax minor) breeds from southern Canada to Louisiana throughout forested regions of the eastern half of North America. 

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