Scientific: Callipepla californica Spanish: Codorniz de California Mutsun: Heksen
Diet: Seeds, leaves and small insects Habitat: Coastal sagebrush, chaparral, foothills, woodland CaliforniaStatus: Least Concern
California’s State Bird California quail are hardy and adaptable birds found throughout the state. They scratch at the ground foraging for seeds, keeping close to cover in case predators approach. Quail are hunted by Native people for food and for their feathers which can be used to decorate baskets.
Scientific: Lampropletis californiae Spanish: Serpiente rey de California
Diet: Small mammals, other snakes Habitat: Forests, woodlands, chaparral, coastal sage scrub Status: Least Concern
A Royal Snake Kingsnakes of many colors and patterns can be found throughout the country. The Museum’s resident live snake has a brown and white pattern, typical of kingsnakes from coastal California, and is called “Chocolate Phase”.
Can you guess how the kingsnake got its name? Snakes in the genus Lampropletis are called the “kings of snakes” because they eat other snakes. Kingsnakes will eat any kind of snake, including rattlesnakes, whose venom they are resistant to.
Diet: Fish, amphibians, reptiles and small mammals Habitat: Near fresh and saltwater Status: Least Concern
Great blue herons have a six foot wingspan and a long beak, neck, and legs to aid in hunting. Locally they can be spotted year round near water where they hunt on the banks or roost in trees, like the eucalyptus overlooking the San Lorenzo River mouth.
Diet: Wetlands, shoreline Habitat: Fish, amphibians, invertebrates, small mammals Status: Least Concern
These long-legged wading birds can be seen in local wetlands, and are distinguished by their yellow beaks and black feet. Great egrets almost went extinct in the 19th century due to the demand for their feathers, but conservation efforts have helped their populations recover.
Scientific: Schoenoplectus acutus Spanish: Tule Awaswas: Rookush
Tule is a salt-tolerant plant that many wetland animals use for nesting materials and food. Indigenous people also used tule to build houses and an array of items like baskets, mats and even boats. While tule can withstand periods of drought, they do best when the rhizomes are submerged in up to a foot of standing water.
The ocean supports life around the globe – it influences climate, weather and water cycles, and provides food and livelihoods for people worldwide. Although the ocean is vast, humans can play a major role in its health, no matter where they live.
The Monterey Bay is a marine sanctuary that hosts a diversity of life in a variety of interconnected habitats, from tidepools to kelp forests to underwater canyons. At least 36 different species of marine mammals pass through or reside in Monterey Bay. Just like mammals that live on land, they breathe air and must have adaptations to survive the cold ocean habitat.
Redwood forests have existed all over the world for millions of years, but as the global climate has changed, so has their range. In the U.S. these forests now only occupy a coastal belt from Central California into Oregon. Redwood trees have adaptations for capturing moisture directly from the air, and occur in wet canyons and other wind-protected locations cooled by summer fog. The large redwood trees create a cool, densely shaded environment and deep organic litter on the forest floor. Plants and animals that live in these forests are adapted to a dark, damp environment.
The nearby Big Basin Redwoods State Park was California’s first state park, created in 1902. Why might the redwoods and redwood forests have needed protection at that time?
Derived from chaparro, given by Spanish colonists describing its shrubby nature, chaparral ecosystems are composed of a variety of evergreen shrubs. Chaparral plants are often adapted to drought and fire, and respond well to periodic disturbance.
Do you know of ways that plants are adapted to wildfire?
Locally, chaparral can be found on sunny slopes all across the Santa Cruz mountains. There are maritime chaparral and mixed chaparral, distinguished by dominant plants, elevation, and exposure to fog.
Sandhills A unique chaparral habitat found only in Santa Cruz County, the sandhills are home to several rare and endangered plants and animals. Found only on soil formed by ancient sea beds, close to half of their range has been lost to mining and development.
A wide plain of grass and flowers provide critical space for grazing animals, and an open area for hunting predators, such as hawks and coyotes. In grasslands, fast-growing grasses thrive where frequent natural fire and little water keep shrubs and trees from taking over.
California grasslands are a threatened habitat, and over the last two hundred years have been converted into agriculture, and fragmented with roads and other development.
Whether our homes are in woodlands, farms, or cities, other animals live all around us! Some animals are very adaptable, and are able to survive or even thrive near humans. What kinds of wild animals do you see everyday? How do they make a living as a neighbor to humans?
