Field Guides

Birds often lose feathers naturally or in fights.

Sometimes mammals get their fur caught on bushes and twigs as they pass by them.

Some hoofed mammals, such as white-tailed deer, shed their antlers every year.

Like all animals, reptiles shed their skin as they grow. Lizards shed their skin in bits and pieces, and you can sometimes find them with pieces of skin hanging loose. Turtles shed their skin in bits and pieces too, but the pieces usually wash off in water. Their shell is part of their skeleton, so they never shed it! Snakes peel their whole skin off all at once, starting with their nose. They rub against a rough stick or rock until their old skin splits, and then they slowly crawl out of it, leaving behind a complete empty skin turned inside out.

You may also find remains of dead animals, such as bones or complete carcasses.

snail shell (drawing)

many different snail and clam shells (photo)

Snails, as you know, have slimy bodies and spiral shells. Since shells do not decay nearly as fast as their soft bodies do after they die, it is not uncommon to find an empty shell. Other animals, such as turtles, also have shells that get left behind when they die.

For instance, cicadas emerge from the ground when they are ready to transform into adults. They climb out of the old shell they occupied as a pupa, and emerge as a winged cicada.

Near ponds and streams you may also find the shed pupal cases of dragonflies.

The remains of insect chrysalis are similar to shed exoskeletons. When caterpillars change into butterflies or moths they create a case for themselves (a chrysalis) that hangs on a short stem off the bottoms of leaves and stems. While examining plants for chew marks, take a moment to look beneath the leaves - especially garden plants or flowering plants - because you might just find a butterfly or moth chrysalis.