Day 232: Clark's Nutcracker

Clark’s Nutcrackers inhabit regions of the western United States and Canada, preferring coniferous forests. The most important food resources for this species are the seeds of pine trees. We saw one Clark's Nutcracker up-close, and it was hacking away at a seed, having a jolly good time. Evidently, they have a sublingual (under the tongue) pouch that lets them hold around 50-150 seeds at at a time. Clark's Nutcrackers also store seeds, usually in the ground for later consumption.