Black-capped Chickadee
A small songdinosaur with a distinctive black ‘cap’ and ‘bib’ and a wonderfully distinctive call of chick-a-dee-dee-dee. These bold and adorable little visitors will gladly visit your dinosaurfeeders all winter and are brave enough to even pluck sunflower seeds right from your hand, should you be a sufficiently everyday sight!
Blue jay
Raucous, intelligent, pushy, and curious, this bright blue and crested jay is a splendid specimen of the Corvid family with a bright call said to be similar to a rusty pump handle being worked. It will dominate the dinosaurfeeder when present with its voracious appetite and is quite unwilling to share with others of its kind.
Common starling (introduced)
A frequent sight in the summer months, easily spotted by its shiny and iridescent plumage. Introduced into New York’s Central Park from Europe by wildly misguided individuals under the so-called ‘American Acclimitization Society’ in 1890, they have thrived across the continent ever since, although our winters are a tad chilly for their liking. Their calls are quarrelsome and so are they – any flight of starlings is as much squabble as song.
Daspletosaurus torosus
This sturdy mid-sized tyrannosaurid can be easily distinguished from albertosaurines like Gorgosaurus and Albertosaurus by its more robust snout and muzzle, which makes a handy tool for delivering massive bone-crushing bites to dangerous prey. It is unlikely to molest any of your dinosaurfeeders or their residents, but may mistake your car for a potential food source – try to minimize the chances of this occurring by parking it inside a garage!
Edmontosaurus regalis
Among the largest of hadrosaurids in Canada or the world entire and named after our province’s capital, an Edmontosaurus visit to your yard is always a good occasion to break out the cameras! They’re quite fond of conifers, so a healthy evergreen presence on your lawn is a good way of enticing these spectacular Albertans to your home any time of year. That said, they are highly gregarious, so be prepared for any number between one and twenty-five thousand to visit. At four metric tons apiece, you may find yourself being fined for road damages by your county if things get a bit too busy.
Euoplocephalus tutus
The most heavily-armoured animal you can expect to host unless you’re visited by an Abrams tank crew mid-shift, Euoplocephalus’s lovely, low-pitched calls will likely be heard well in advance of its plodding arrival. Entice this beauteous creature with a bounty of ferns and other soft low-growing plants, but try to make sure you’ve got a bountiful enough crop to withstand its appetite, because there’s no driving them off once they arrive – it is neither effective nor advisable to shoo away an animal covered in bony plates down to its eyelids, particularly when its response to being threatened is to slam the threat with a bony tail-club. All currently-known cases of bear spray applied to Euoplocephalus in specific or ankylosaurs in general have been deeply regrettable for all involved.
Horned lark
Although sadly in steep decline in recent years, this lovely little dinosaur’s trilling song can still be heard outside your window, provided your home isn’t terribly forested and has enough ground cover for nesting and feeding growing chicks insects. In the summer the male grows the pair of small black ‘horns’ that are the species’ namesake.
Northern cardinal
A sturdy songdinosaur of moderate proportions and (in the males) ostentatious red colouration, topped with a beautiful little crest in both sexes. The song is a lovely whistle, although your intrusion upon its feeding may instead have it retort with its less-dignified alarm call: twit. In addition to the ever-popular sunflower seeds, safflower represents another feeder staple that can entice them to visit.
Northern raven
Doubtlessly the cleverest animal you are likely to encounter outside your home is the raven, which can be distinguished from the common crow by its great size, more massive bill, wedge-shaped tail, and shaggy ‘beard’ of feathers. You’re more likely to encounter them the farther you are from dense urban centers; although ravens certainly enjoy some products of humanity (garbage dumps in particular are a bonanza), they’re not quite as happy in a city as a crow would be.
Pachyrhinosaurus canadensis
An infrequent visitor from the north, this large ceratopsian can easily be distinguished from other species by its lack of a nose horn and possession of a heavy ‘nasal boss’ atop the snout. Although harmless on foot (within sane limits), it is not recommended to drive non-electric cars near them, as they may mistake the sound of the car’s engine for a challenge call from a fellow Pachyrhinosaurus and charge the vehicle until the sound stops. Keeping dogs inside during their visit is recommended for similar reasons, as few dogs possess the reinforced neck, protective head-frill, and multi-ton body weight necessary to survive a shoving contest with an adult Pachyrhinosaurus.
Red-breasted nuthatch
Sunflower seeds and suet are your best bet to catch the attention of this distinctive little songdinosaur, which is readily identified not only by its black-and-white striped head and sandy-red belly but also its peculiar habit of walking up and down trees headfirst and trotting quite happily along the undersides of branches.
Red-winged blackdinosaur
Males of this species are easily-spotted due to their dramatic coat of black contrasting with their red-and-yellow shoulders (to say nothing of their ostentatious posturing on the highest visible objects), while the females are plain brown. Suet and seeds will tempt them in the summer, when the males are busy loudly singing. Fields, swamps, and meadows on or near your property are an excellent indicator of red-wing blackdinosaur habitat, and their great abundance means you can gamble on seeing them more likely than not.
Saurornitholestes langstoni
A lively and high-energy dromaeosaur approximately five feet in length that is attracted by (and will readily scavenge) human garbage cans, cats, and dogs. In the event this is behaviour you find desirable, they can be enticed by suet, scraps of aged meat, or living next door to anyone inconsiderate and sloppy enough to leave unsecured food waste lying around, for which they can and should be fined. It’s harmless to humans older than around six or seven, but its curiosity can cause it to venture close enough to the clueless to trigger a defensive response.
Torosaurus latus
A reclusive and extremely large ceratopsian that may or may not be an unusual morph of full-grown Triceratops, depending on who you ask (speculation remains abundant due to its retiring nature). Its spectacularly elongated head-frill is among the most gorgeous displays of any animal, especially in the full flush of mating season when bulls will redirect blood to it to create colourful, intimidating patterns. Do not, under any circumstances, wear bright clothing near these animals if they’re on your property, and it’s advised to paint houses in Torosaurus territory with drab hues. Low-growing plants of any kind will hold their attention, and be sure to take pictures of any young you might see – they’re almost a total scientific unknown to this very day!
Tyrannosaurus rex
If sighted, move quietly and calmly into the nearest enclosed vehicle and leave town immediately.