IHEA logo Guide to Wildlife Identification

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Wildlife Identification

There are many animal and bird species found in North America. Depending on the hunter education program in your state/province you may be tested on identification of game species. If you choose to go hunting, you must learn how to identify the animals and birds. The information on the following pages contains common game species found in North America. We encourage you to study those species found in your state or province.

By studying the extra information section you should be able to:

1. Identify common terminology used for wildlife
2. Identify common game animals
3. Identify common game birds
4. Identify rare and endangered species

This section is broken into: game animals, game birds, waterfowl, exotics and protected and endangered species.

You may go page by page by clicking on the arrows at the bottom of each page.

Common game animals

list bullet Deer family (Cervidae):deer (blacktailed, mule, white-tail), moose, elk, caribou
list bullet Cat family (Felidae): cougar, lynx, bobcat
list bullet Dog family (Canidae): wolf, coyote, fox,
list bullet Bear family (Ursidae): black, grizzly, polar
list bullet Cattle family (Bovidae): sheep, goats, bison
list bullet Squirrel (Sciuridae): ground squirrel ( woodchuck) tree squirrels (fox squirrel, gray squirrel, red squirrel)
list bullet Hares and rabbits family (Laporidae): snowshoe hare, jackrabbits, cottontail
list bullet Porcupine
list bullet Beaver
list bullet Raccoon
list bullet Muskrat
list bullet Opossum
list bullet Weasel family: wolverine, badger, fisher, marten, mink, shortail weasel, long-tailed weasel, least weasel, river otter, sea otter

Common game birds

list bullet Upland game birds: ptarmigan, spruce grouse, blue grouse, ruffed grouse, sharp-tailed grouse, ring-necked pheasant, gray partridge, chukar, bobwhite quail, california quail, mountain quail, scaled quail, wild turkey

list bullet Upland migratory gamebirds: mourning dove, white-winged dove, band-tailed pigeon, rock dove

Waterfowl:
(note – to learn more about Waterfowl identification, you can get "Ducks at a Distance" FREE from www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/tools/duckdist/duckdist.htm  This colorful guide is full of tips and illustrations to help identify ducks and geese on the wing.  Every duck hunter should have it!)
list bullet Swans: tundra swan, mute swan
list bullet Geese: Canada goose, snow goose, Ross' goose, white-fronted goose, black brant
list bullet Dabbling ducks: mallard, pintail, American wigeon, nothern shoveler, gadwall, wood duck, green-winged teal, blue-winged teal, cinnamon teal
list bullet Diving Ducks: canvasback, redhead, bufflehead, greater scaup, lesser scaup, ring-necked duck, ruddy duck, common goldeneye, Barrow's goldeneye
list bullet Mergansers: common merganser, red-breasted merganser, hooded merganser
list bullet Sea Ducks: harlequin, common eider, king eider, old squaw, white-winged scoter, surf scoter
list bullet Shorebirds and Wading Birds: common snipe, American woodcock, purple gallinule, common moorhen, rails, American coot, sandhill crane

Exotics

Protected, Rare and Endangered Species

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