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Scat Finder: Identifying Mammal Scat in Eastern North America
Identify mammal and bird scat of the eastern United States and eastern Canada with this pocket-size guide.

Whether you’re hiking with your family, on a camping trip, or spending time in your backyard, you’re sure to come across a variety of animal scat. If you’re interested in tracking or are curious about which critters are crossing your path, then Scat Finder by Dorcas S. Miller is just what you need. With the handy, easy-to-use format, you can identify scat in the eastern half of North America.

Perfect for hikers, campers, beginning trackers, and anyone with an interest in nature, the booklet introduces nearly 50 of the most common and important mammals and birds to know. Information about each critter’s diet, range, signs, and more, as well as tips for scat identification, point you in the right direction. The author’s illustrations help to ensure that you positively identify the scat you see.

This guide is applicable to eastern Canada and the US states of Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Book Features:

  • Beginner’s guide to animal scat identification
  • 40 species of mammals and 9 types of birds
  • Professional illustrations with key markings for identification
  • Small format that fits into a pocket or pack
1145889664
Scat Finder: Identifying Mammal Scat in Eastern North America
Identify mammal and bird scat of the eastern United States and eastern Canada with this pocket-size guide.

Whether you’re hiking with your family, on a camping trip, or spending time in your backyard, you’re sure to come across a variety of animal scat. If you’re interested in tracking or are curious about which critters are crossing your path, then Scat Finder by Dorcas S. Miller is just what you need. With the handy, easy-to-use format, you can identify scat in the eastern half of North America.

Perfect for hikers, campers, beginning trackers, and anyone with an interest in nature, the booklet introduces nearly 50 of the most common and important mammals and birds to know. Information about each critter’s diet, range, signs, and more, as well as tips for scat identification, point you in the right direction. The author’s illustrations help to ensure that you positively identify the scat you see.

This guide is applicable to eastern Canada and the US states of Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Book Features:

  • Beginner’s guide to animal scat identification
  • 40 species of mammals and 9 types of birds
  • Professional illustrations with key markings for identification
  • Small format that fits into a pocket or pack
7.95 Pre Order
Scat Finder: Identifying Mammal Scat in Eastern North America

Scat Finder: Identifying Mammal Scat in Eastern North America

by Dorcas S. Miller
Scat Finder: Identifying Mammal Scat in Eastern North America

Scat Finder: Identifying Mammal Scat in Eastern North America

by Dorcas S. Miller

Overview

Identify mammal and bird scat of the eastern United States and eastern Canada with this pocket-size guide.

Whether you’re hiking with your family, on a camping trip, or spending time in your backyard, you’re sure to come across a variety of animal scat. If you’re interested in tracking or are curious about which critters are crossing your path, then Scat Finder by Dorcas S. Miller is just what you need. With the handy, easy-to-use format, you can identify scat in the eastern half of North America.

Perfect for hikers, campers, beginning trackers, and anyone with an interest in nature, the booklet introduces nearly 50 of the most common and important mammals and birds to know. Information about each critter’s diet, range, signs, and more, as well as tips for scat identification, point you in the right direction. The author’s illustrations help to ensure that you positively identify the scat you see.

This guide is applicable to eastern Canada and the US states of Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

Book Features:

  • Beginner’s guide to animal scat identification
  • 40 species of mammals and 9 types of birds
  • Professional illustrations with key markings for identification
  • Small format that fits into a pocket or pack

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780912550572
Publisher: Wilderness Press
Publication date: 04/08/2025
Series: Nature Study Guides
Edition description: 2nd Revised ed.
Pages: 64
Product dimensions: 5.88(w) x 4.00(h) x 0.20(d)

About the Author

Dorcas S. Miller, founding president of the Maine Master Naturalist Program, has written more than a dozen books, including Berry Finder, Constellation Finder, Scat Finder, Track Finder, and Winter Weed Finder. Her Finder books have sold more than half a million copies.

Read an Excerpt

Dog Family: Canidae Including Wolf, Coyote, Fox

Teeth: Long snout provides room for more cheek teeth than in felines or weasels.
1. Canines long, slightly blunted, oval in cross-section; stable under front–back force, less stable under side-to-side force; good for slashing prey rather than subduing a struggling animal.
2. Cheek teeth for cutting and crushing.

Digestion: Short, simple system
3. Stomach
4. Small intestine
5. Cecum (small)
6. Large intestine

Scat From mammal meal: fur, bones in twisted cord with tapered tip. From fruit: blunt tube.

Scratches at scat site Canids may scuff soil or leaves over area by scratching, using either front or rear leg. (Compare to felines, p. 16.)

Gray Wolf, Canis lupus

Diet Carnivorous: Chiefly animals with hooves supplemented with smaller mammals, carrion; fruit, berries as available.

Contents Fur, bones.

Adjusting for size and weight, the bite force of wolves is 20% greater than that of coyotes, allowing wolves to slice tougher hide, dismember prey larger than themselves, and crack large bones for high-calorie marrow.

Location Prominent places, including along trails and roads.

Range: Canada, northern MN, northern MI

Coyote, Canis latrans

Diet Omnivorous and varied. A coyote will try to eat anything it can wrap its mouth around. As a solo hunter, it can take mammals to rabbit size; larger mammals require a group.

Contents, form Fur, often with cracked bones of cottontail, hare, gray squirrel; bones of rat, mouse less likely. (Coyote digestive system dissolves an average of 91% of the bones of prey species, compared to 99% for bobcats.) Also fruit, berries, seeds in season.

Location Somewhere visible—on an elevated surface, such as a rock or log; often in the middle of a road, game trail, or hiking trail.

Comparing typical scat size in canids
Fox: 0.1–1.6 cm, less than 0.75 in
Too close to call: 1.7–2.0 cm, 0.75 in
Coyote: 2.1–2.4 cm, 0.75–1 in
Wolf: 2.5–3.8 cm, 1–1.5 in

Table of Contents

Scat Warning

Definitions and Abbreviations

Identification Tips

Comparing Carnivores, Omnivores, and Herbivores

Examples to Acquaint You with the Key

Entry Key

Mammals

Birds

Index

Other Books in the Finder Series

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