BACKGROUND - Canadian Rockies: Including Banff and Jasper National Parks - page 515

Distinct from all previously listed species is a group of raptors that hunts at night. Best
known as owls, these birds are rarely seen because of their nocturnal habits but are wide-
spread throughout forested areas of the mountains. Most common is the great horned owl,
identified by its prominent “horns,” which are actually tufts of feathers. Also present are
the snowy owl and, in the north of the region, the great gray owl, the largest of the owls,
which grows to a height of 70 centimeters (27.6 inches).
Other Birds
Bird-watchers will be enthralled by the diversity of eastern and western bird species in
the Canadian Rockies. Widespread are magpies, sparrows, starlings, grouse, ravens, and
crows. Blackbirds, finches, thrushes, hummingbirds, woodpeckers, flycatchers, and
28 species of warblers are common in forested areas. Ptarmigan are common in open
meadows above the tree line. A popular campground visitor, the cheeky gray jay is similar
in appearance to the curious Clark's nutcracker.
History
THE EARLIEST INHABITANTS
Human habitation of the Canadian Rockies began at the end of the last ice age, approxim-
ately 11,000 years ago. The descendants of the people who migrated from northeast Asia
across a land bridge spanning the Bering Strait had fanned out across North America, and
as the receding ice cap began to uncover the land north of the 49th parallel, groups of
people moved northward with it, in pursuit of large mammals at the edge of the melting ice
mass. The mountain landscape then was far different than it is today. Forests were nonex-
istent; the retreating ice had scoured the land, and most of the lower valleys were carpeted
in tundra.
The following gives an overview of the people and their cultures. To learn more, plan
on visiting Banff's Buffalo Nations Museum.
The Kootenay
The Kootenay (other common spellings include Kootenai, Kootenae, and Kutenai) were
the first human beings to enter the Canadian Rockies. Once hunters of buffalo on the great
American plains, they were pushed westward by fierce enemies. As the ice cap melted,
they moved north, up the western edge of the Rocky Mountains. This migration was by no