. Birds of Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks . Birds; Birds. CLARK'S NUTCRACKER (Nucitraga coiuniDiana) The nutcracker is a handsome, curious bird, which seems to incorporate in form or in manner the characteristics of the crow, the woodpecker, and the jay. More than any other bird, this noisy, good-natured mountaineer symbolizes the high country. Drawn to the hiker by its limitless curiosity, the nutcracker utters its harsh, grating call as if to remind the hiker that he is not alone in the wilderness. The nutcracker derives its name from the fact that it is very adept at extracting
. Birds of Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks . Birds; Birds. CLARK'S NUTCRACKER (Nucitraga coiuniDiana) The nutcracker is a handsome, curious bird, which seems to incorporate in form or in manner the characteristics of the crow, the woodpecker, and the jay. More than any other bird, this noisy, good-natured mountaineer symbolizes the high country. Drawn to the hiker by its limitless curiosity, the nutcracker utters its harsh, grating call as if to remind the hiker that he is not alone in the wilderness. The nutcracker derives its name from the fact that it is very adept at extracting pine nuts from cones. The bird accomplishes this by employing its long bill in the fashion of a pick and a crowbar. When pine nuts are out of season, the nutcracker varies its diet with ants, beetles, grasshoppers, moths, grubs, and butterflies, which are caught both on the ground and in the air. Nutcrackers are common in both Yellowstone and Grand Teton. However, fluctuations in seed crops can dramatically affect the population of these birds from year to year. Mountain Ch. Dilley MOUNTAIN CHICKADEE (Parus gambeli) Chickadees are tame, friendly, hyperactive birds. They are constantly on the move, searching among the twigs, foliage, and bark for caterpillars, plant lice, and insect eggs. Even in bitterly cold weather, small flocks of chickadees flit among the conifers undaunted by the weather. The moun- tain chickadee, more common at higher elevations than its counterpart, the black-capped chickadee, is distinguished from the latter by a narrow white line which interrupts the black cap, running from the bill over and behind the eye. These agile, acrobatic birds nest in cavities in rotten stumps, laying 7 to 9 spotted eggs and raising as many as 2 or 3 broods each summer. The Cheyenne and Blackfeet Indians, which occupied or traversed much of the country in and around what has become the Yel- lowstone and Grand Teton Parks, revered the chickadee and referred to it as "the b
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