With over 226 different species listed in the most recent publication on local birds, it is difficult to give adequate attention to the subject in the limited space of this booklet. Park birds, like our human population, can be classified as visitors and residents. Occasionally a “straggler” appears, far from its usual haunts. Birds, like humans, can be further classified by their preferences as to locale. Just as some people prefer to visit the high peaks and tundras, so some birds prefer these areas. A few people come here only to fish; so does the belted kingfisher. Like most humans, many birds can be seen throughout the park, and the greatest variety and numbers occur in summer. A number of park birds—both resident and migratory—have specific preferences. For instance, if a bird’s diet is mostly seeds from pine cones, it will usually be found in pine forests. Typical park environments and the characteristic birdlife of zones are outlined in Appendix B. Most of the birds nest in these associations. The lower altitudes of the park—ponderosa pine forests and grassy meadows—have a large, varied population of birds in summer. Here lives the STELLER’S JAY, easily recognized by its rich-blue wings, sharp crest, and saucy manner. The BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE, like Steller’s jay a member of the crow family, has a conspicuously long tail, a greenish-iridescent, black-and-white body, and a propensity for scavenging small animals killed by autos. The WILLIAMSON’S SAPSUCKER is always associated with the ponderosa pine in which it pecks its sap holes; and the “red-naped sapsucker”—a subspecies of the YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER—with bright-red throat and crown, is usually seen working on aspens. The GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE nests in the shrubs of the Montane zone during June. RED-EYED VIREOS, characterized by gray cap and black-bordered white stripe over the eye, are found in the forested valleys from June into August. The PIGMY NUTHATCH, a tiny, noisy bird with a brown head and white underparts, wanders in small, noisy flocks through the pine forests in spring and autumn but scatters during the nesting season. There is some migration of pigmy nuthatches to the plains when winter comes. The chickadees—both the MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE, which remains in the park during the winter and has a typical black cap, broken by a white line above the eye, and the BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE, which becomes scarce in the winter—belong to the Montane zone. The VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW is an abundant species in this zone. The MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD arrives in “waves” during April, to leave scattered pairs to nest in holes in aspens or other cavities. It lacks the rufous breast, but has the characteristic azure color its name suggests. The WESTERN TANAGER, the most colorful bird in the park, is mainly black and yellow, with a red face. It is in the park from mid-May until August. [Illustration: The gray jay, or “camp robber,” which often visits motorists during lunch stops.]