Clark’s nutcracker on Sulphur Mountain

Friday it was geese. Today, it’s a Clark’s nutcracker:

The Clark’s nutcracker is a beefy alpine corvid (perching birds related to crows) of the American west. It’s a great bird in my mind, because if you’re looking at one, it means you’re up in the high country. It means you’re out where the good stuff happens.

The bird is named for William Clark, of the Lewis & Clark Expedition. There is also a Lewis’ woodpecker named for the other leader of that initiative, Meriwether Lewis.

I spotted this one last summer on top of Sulphur Mountain in Banff National Park, Canada. I’ll be back on that mountain in July, and I’ll keep an eye out for this fellow.

0 thoughts on “Clark’s nutcracker on Sulphur Mountain”

  1. Been feeding a young one @ my house N. of Potlatch ID Mommy is close by in a huge cedar tree. Had to look it up cuz I’ve never seen one before.It has round gray circles on both sides of its head Is it a nutcracker?

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