Montana's Special Birds - Page 4

As the fourth largest state, Montana is blessed with an incredibly diverse array of habitats and birds that live there. In the northwest, near-rainforest conditions shelter Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Varied Thrushes and other birds associated with the Pacific coast. The Rocky Mountains have many unique birds, including specialties like Boreal Chickadee and White-tailed Ptarmigan that barely enter the lower 48. Further east, the Great Plains have localized grassland species such as longspurs and sparrows, and abundant nesting waterfowl. Finally, the riparian habitats near Fort Peck Lake in the northeastern corner have birds like Eastern Bluebird and Field Sparrow near the western edge of their range, as well as wintering gulls on the lake itself.