Article

Color the Trail: Birds of Lewis and Clark

It was August 22, 1805, William Clark was struggling down a canyon. Though his attention was mainly directed toward the topography, he noticed a new bird:

"I saw to day [a] Bird of the woodpecker kind which fed on Pine burs it's Bill and tale white the wings black every other part . . . ."

He was seeing for the first time the bird that would be called Clark's Nutcracker.

President Jefferson instructed Meriwether Lewis to collect information on “the soil & face of the country, [its] growth & vegetable productions… the animals of the country generally, especially those not of the U.S.” In fulfilling these instructions, members of the Expedition were the first to describe for science 134 birds. These coloring pages highlight a few of the bird species seen during the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

We hope you find these useful and fun! Please download, print, and use as needed. Birding happens year-round!