Charles M. Russell

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge Wildlife List Welcome This goose, designed by J.N. “Ding” Darling, is the symbol of the National Wildlife Refuge System. Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge, located along the Missouri River and scenic Fort Peck Reservoir in Central Montana, is a 1.1 million-acre Refuge that contains native prairie, forested coulees, river bottoms, badlands, and the 250,000-acre Fort Peck Reservoir. Refuge wildlife include mule and white-tailed deer, elk, bighorn sheep, pronghorn, coyote, bobcat, beaver, sharp-tailed grouse, and many species of migratory birds. Common songbirds in spring and summer are the western meadowlark, vesper sparrow, yellow warbler, and lark bunting. Popular shorebirds include the upland sandpiper, long-billed curlew, and mountain plover. Thousands of mourning doves nest on the Refuge. Bald eagles are quite common near the east end of the Refuge during winter and early spring. “vagrants” have been observed only a few times on the Refuge. Please report any additional sightings of vagrants to the Refuge staff. Seasons of Occurrence Sp S F W Spring (March-May) Summer (June-July) Fall (August-November) Winter (December-February) Seasonal Abundance a c u o r v abundant, common species, very numerous common, certain to be seen in suitable habitat uncommon, present, but not certain to be seen occasional, seen only a few times during a season rare, seen once a year or less vagrant, less than five sightings on the Refuge • Other Codes Species known to nest on the Refuge An Auto Tour Route near the west end of the Refuge offers good access to bird watching areas. Most of the Refuge offers bird watching opportunities, but many of the roads and trails become impassable during inclement weather. Visitors should take special precautions when entering remote areas of the Refuge. About this Checklist The 276 species of birds listed in this leaflet have all been observed on or near the Refuge according to the latest edition of Montana Bird Distribution and local bird watchers. All species names are in accordance with the A.O.U. Checklist of North American Birds, 7th edition, 1998, and 42nd supplement (2000) to the checklist. For clarity, some of the former names are shown in parentheses. Those species listed as Sharp-tail grouse Common Bird Name Sp S F Loons Red-throated Loon Pacific Loon Common Loon c u Yellow-billed Loon v r u v Grebes • Pied-billed Grebe Horned Grebe Red-necked Grebe • Eared Grebe • Western Grebe Clark’s Grebe c c c u u r c c c c c c u u u Pelicans American White Pelican c c c Cormorants • Double-crested Cormorant c c c Bitterns, Herons, and Egrets • American Bittern u u u • Great Blue Heron c c c Snowy Egret r Little Blue Heron v Black-crowned Night-Heron c o Ibises and Spoonbills White-faced Ibis r New World Vultures Turkey Vulture o W Common Bird Name Sp S F • Redhead c u c Ring-necked Duck o o • Lesser Scaup c u c Surf Scoter o White-winged Scoter r r Black Scoter Long-tailed Duck (formerly Oldsquaw) r Bufflehead c u c Common Goldeneye c u c Barrow’s Goldeneye o o Hooded Merganser u u • Common Merganser c u c Red-breasted Merganser c o o • Ruddy Duck c u c r Osprey, Kites, Hawks, and Eagles • Osprey Bald Eagle • Northern Harrier • Sharp-shinned Hawk • Cooper’s Hawk Northern Goshawk Broad-winged Hawk • Swainson’s Hawk • Red-tailed Hawk • Ferruginous Hawk Rough-legged Hawk • Golden Eagle c c c c a u u o o o r c c a c o u c c c u u c u o o r c a o c c W v o c r c c o c c Falcons and Caracaras • American Kestrel c a c o • Merlin u r u o Gyrfalcon r Peregrine Falcon r r r • Prairie Falcon u u u o Swans, Geese, and Ducks Greater White-fronted Goose o o Snow Goose u u Gallinaceous Birds Ross’ Goose r r • Gray Partridge (introduced) • Canada c c c Goose c c c o • Ring-necked Pheasant (introduced) c c c Tundra Swan o o • Greater Sage-Grouse • Wood Duck c c c o o o • Sharp-tailed Grouse • Gadwall c c c c c c` • Wild Turkey • American Wigeon u u u c c c American Black Duck r r • Mallard Rails a c a c • Blue-winged Teal Virginia Rail r r c a c • Sora • Cinnamon Teal u u u r r r • American Coot • Northern Shoveler c c c c c c • Northern Pintail a c c o • Green-winged Teal Cranes c c c o • Canvasback Sandhill Crane c c c u c c c c c u o Common Bird Name Sp S F Plovers Black-bellied Plover American Golden-Plover Semipalmated Plover • Piping Plover • Killdeer Mountain Plover o r c u u c a u u o r c u c u Stilts and Avocets • Black-necked Stilt • American Avocet r u W Sp S F Sabine’s Gull v Black-legged Kittiwake • Caspian Tern u u u • Common Tern c c u • Forster’s Tern c c u • Least Tern o o Black Tern u u u r u u Sandpipers and Phalaropes Greater Yellowlegs c c c Lesser Yellowlegs c c c Solitary Sandpiper c c c • Willet c u c • Spotted Sandpiper c c c • Upland Sandpiper u o u Whimbrel r r • Long-billed Curlew u u u Marbled Godwit u u u Ruddy Turnstone r r Sanderling u u u Semipalmated Sandpiper u r u Western Sandpiper u u u Least Sandpiper c u c White-rumped Sandpiper r Baird’s Sandpiper c u c Pectoral Sandpiper u r Dunlin r Stilt Sandpiper r r u Buff-breasted Sandpiper v Long-billed Dowitcher c u c • Wilson’s Snipe c c c • Wilson’s Phalarope c c c Red-necked Phalarope u u Skuas, Jaegers, Gulls, and Terns Pomarine Jaeger v • Franklin’s Gull u c a Bonaparte’s Gull u u Mew Gull • Ring-billed Gull c a c • California Gull c a c Herring Gull u r u Thayer’s Gull o o Glaucous-winged Gull o Glaucous Gull Great Black-backed Gull Common Bird Name Pigeons and Doves Rock Dove (introduced) o Band-tailed Pigeon • Mourning Dove a o o v a a Cuckoos and Anis • Black-billed Cuckoo u u c Swifts • Chimney Swift o • White-throated Swift v o o c o o u v a a v o u Typical Owls • Great Horned Owl c c c Snowy Owl o Northern Hawk-Owl v Northern Pygmy-Owl r • Burrowing Owl c c c • Long-eared Owl u u u • Short-eared Owl u u u Northern Saw-whet Owl u u u Nightjars • Common Nighthawk • Common Poorwill W c o u u u a c u u u Hummingbirds Ruby-throated Hummingbird Rufous Hummingbird o v Kingfishers • Belted Kingfisher c c Woodpeckers • Red-headed Woodpecker Red-naped Sapsucker • Downy Woodpecker • Hairy Woodpecker • Northern Flicker u u u r c c c c c c c c c o c u u Common Bird Name Sp S Tyrant Flycatchers • Western Wood-Pewee c Willow Flycatcher o • Least Flycatcher c Dusky Flycatcher Cordilleran Flycatcher o • Say’s Phoebe c Cassin’s Kingbird • Western Kingbird c • Eastern Kingbird c Shrikes • Loggerhead Shrike Northern Shrike F W c u o c c o o c c r c c a c c c o c o u Vireos • Warbling Vireo c Philadelphia Vireo Red-eyed Vireo u c o v o Crows, Jays, and Magpies Blue Jay Pinyon Jay • Clark’s Nutcracker • Black-billed Magpie • American Crow Common Raven o c r c c r o o a c r r a c o c o o Larks • Horned Lark a a a u Swallows • Tree Swallow • Violet-green Swallow • Northern Rough-winged Swallow • Bank Swallow • Cliff Swallow • Barn Swallow c u u c c c c u u a c c c u u c c c Titmice and Chickadees • Black-capped Chickadee Mountain Chickadee c o c o c u a c o Common Bird Name Sp S F W Nuthatches Red-breasted Nuthatch White-breasted Nuthatch c c o c o o r Creepers Brown Creeper o r Wrens • Rock Wren • House Wren Marsh Wren c c r c c c c c r Dippers American Dipper u u Kinglets Golden-crowned Kinglet Ruby-crowned Kinglet o o Thrushes • Eastern Bluebird • Mountain Bluebird Townsend’s Solitaire Veery Gray-cheeked Thrush Swainson’s Thrush Hermit Thrush • American Robin r r r c a c o u r o o o u o u c a c Mimic Thrushes • Gray Catbird Northern Mockingbird • Sage Thrasher • Brown Thrasher c c c r u u u c c c Starlings • European Starling c Wagtails and Pipits American Pipit (Water) • Sprague’s Pipit o o u u o Waxwings Bohemian Waxwing • Cedar Waxwing c c u c o o c c u o o o a o Common Bird Name Sp S F W Wood Warblers Tennessee Warbler r Orange-crowned Warbler u u • Yellow Warbler c c c Magnolia Warbler r Cape May Warbler r • Yellow-rumped Warbler c o u Townsend’s Warbler r Palm Warbler o o Blackpoll Warbler o o o Black-and-white Warbler u r u American Redstart u u u Ovenbird u u u Northern Waterthrush o o Connecticut Warbler v MacGillivray’s Warbler r r r Common Yellowthroat c c c Wilson’s Warbler u c Canada Warbler v Yellow-breasted Chat u u u Tanagers Western Tanager c o Sp S Cardinals, Grosbeaks, and Allies Northern Cardinal Rose-breasted Grosbeak u • Black-headed Grosbeak u • Lazuli Bunting r Indigo Bunting Blackbirds and Orioles Bobolink • Red-winged Blackbird • Western Meadowlark • Yellow-headed Blackbird Rusty Blackbird • Brewer’s Blackbird • Common Grackle • Brown-headed Cowbird • Orchard Oriole • Bullock’s Oriole • Baltimore Oriole c Sparrows and Towhees • Green-tailed Towhee o o • Spotted Towhee c c c American Tree Sparrow c c • Chipping Sparrow c a c • Clay-colored Sparrow c c u Brewer’s Sparrow r r • Field Sparrow u c u • Vesper Sparrow u c u • Lark Sparrow u c u • Lark Bunting a a Savannah Sparrow u c u Grasshopper Sparrow u Baird’s Sparrow u • Song Sparrow c c c Lincoln’s Sparrow o r Swamp Sparrow r White-throated Sparrow o o Harris’ Sparrow c c White-crowned Sparrow c c Golden-crowned Sparrow Dark-eyed Junco c o u McCown’s Longspur o o Lapland Longspur u u • Chestnut-collared Longspur u c u Snow Bunting o Common Bird Name o u u o o c a c a a a c a c r r c a c o c o c c c o o o c c c c c c a W v u u u u u r r Finches Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch u u Pine Grosbeak u • Red Crossbill u c u White-winged Crossbill r Common Redpoll u Hoary Redpoll r Pine Siskin c o o Lesser Goldfinch v • American Goldfinch c a c Evening Grosbeak Old World Sparrows • House Sparrow (introduced) v r F a a o o o u c u r o u a Accessibility Information Equal opportunity to participate in and benefit from programs and activities of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is available to all individuals regardless of physical or mental ability. Dial 7-1-1 for a free connection to the state transfer relay service for TTY and voice calls to and from the speech and hearing impaired. For more information or to address accessibility needs, please contact the Refuge staff at 406 / 538 8706 or the U.S. Department of the Interior, Office of Equal Opportunity, 1849 C Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20240. Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge PO Box 110 Lewistown, MT 59457 406 / 538 8706 cmr@fws.gov http:// www.fws.gov/cmr For state relay service TTY / Voice: 711 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service http://www.fws.gov For Refuge Information 1 800 / 344 WILD April 2003