| I am small but chunky with slate-colored feathers. Most often I hang out along rushing mountain streams of the upper watershed. I walk along the bottom as I search for caddisfly larvae and other aquatic insects. Sometimes I become completely submerged and I “fly” underwater using my powerful wings. I can even do this in water that is rushing too fast for you to stand in! I have very large oil glands and soft, dense feathers to help keep my body dry. I build my nests behind waterfalls or on rocks in the middle of the stream. You may see me bobbing as I wade and look for aquatic snacks. |
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| When I am born, I have a white-spotted fur coat and lie still in tall grass to keep predators from seeing me. I weigh 30 to 40 pounds (13–18 kg). I grow up to 1,000 pounds (450 kg) if I am a male and up to 600 pounds (270 kg) if I am female. My adult body is reddish-brown with a short white tail. The males of my species, called bulls, grow huge racks of antlers and are famous for the bugle call used as an advertisement, a battle cry and a mating call. I feed on grasses and enjoy browsing on riparian willows as I migrate from mountain meadows to lowland river valleys. |
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| My fur can be black, brown, cinnamon, or blond. As an adult male, I can weigh 250 pounds (113 kg) and as a female I am usually around 150 to 180 pounds (65–80 kg). I like to eat berries, rosehips, nuts, insects and honey. I can smell food from a long distance. I usually stay in the mountains, but I also visit lowland streams and river valleys to look for food, or when young are moving to find their own territories. In the winter, I go into a deep sleep, although I may wake up some from time to time. My cubs are born when I am in my winter den. They stay with me through the next winter. |
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| I have long, narrow wings with dark patches at the “wrists,” a dark back, a white underside and a dark stripe through my eyes. I hover high above lakes watching for fish. I can fold my wings and plunge feet-first to scoop up a fish. The best time to see me above New Mexico waters is during spring as I travel north to breed and again in the fall when I fly to southern lands for the winter. I usually mate for life, and my husband fishes for me while I incubate our eggs. As a parent, I am kept very busy fishing for my young. Each chick can eat six pounds (2.7 kg) of fish a day! |
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| My yellowish-green to gray-brown body is covered with scales and peppered with black spots. During breeding season the male’s belly becomes flaming reddish-orange. I am named for the reddish-orange slash in folds on either side of my lower jaw. I mostly live in headwater streams as I prefer cold, fast-moving waters. I eat aquatic insects and insects that land on the water. As an adult I may also eat small fish. My species was once found in all major watersheds on both sides of the Continental Divide and we were the only species of our kind in many New Mexico waters. |
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