Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
forest and then those of the lakeshore. Some of these species are also seen in the river valley
and mountain pass ecosystems.
I
N THE
F
ORESTS AND ALONG THE RIVERS
You're in for a treat if you find an
American dipper
(Cinclus mexicanus
—formerly called wa-
ter ouzel) feeding on insects in cold mountain streams. Author Owen Wister observed in 1887
that “the spectacle of a little gray bird, like a fat catbird, skimming along the river like a bullet
and suddenly dropping below the surface where it was shallow, and walking along the bottom
with its tail sticking out in the air, filled me with such elation that I forgot the geysers and
watched him.” This year-round resident sometimes sings like a canary.
Gray jay
