California Fauna: Clergy and Choir Stall Seat Cushions Click here for general background information on this series. Sierra Nevada (mountains and foothills of eastern central California) Place cursor on image to see numbers, which refer to numbers in caption below. 14. Mountain chickadee on pine branch; 15. Northern flying squirrel in flight; 16. Red-breasted nuthatch hanging from pine branch; 17. Great purple hairstreak butterfly flying; 18. Mountain chickadee hanging from branch; 19. Wilson's warbler on branch; 20. Flowering dogwood (non-native) branch; 21. Monarch butterfly flying; 22. Paintbrush checkerspot butterfly flying near dogwood (introduced); 23. Porcupine climbing branch; 24. Western tananger on flowering dogwood branch; 25. Screech owl; 26. Hermit warbler on pine branch; 27. Black-headed grosbeak on pine branch; 28. Mountain bluebird flying; 29. Northern flying squirrel in tree hole nest; 30. Pine white butterfly resting inverted on trunk; 31. Marten on branch. The Sierra Nevada is the great granite mountain range forming the "back fence" of California. The highest peaks rise over 14,000 feet. Its diverse topography, ranges from bare peaks to dense forests, glacial gorges, canyons and chapparal foothills; a great variety of habitats. Large mammals include the black bear, mule deer, coyote and marmot. Smaller mammals are the Audubon's cottontail, porcupine, marten, ringtail, flying squirrel, water shrew and kangaroo rat. Among the many birds are the golden eagle, screech owl, Steller's jay, mountain chickadee, mountain bluebird and rufous hummingbird. The Yosemite toad and king snake are among amphibians and reptiles. Butterflies include the purple hairstreak and Sara orange tip. Drought and habitat reduction threaten the mountain life diversity.