# Tracce di animali: impronte, escrementi, tracce di pasti, borre, tane e nidi

> Why does a deer print look bigger in melting snow, and how can a hazelnut tell you whether a young or an old squirrel opened it? Angelika Lang’s compact Italian field guide covers the footprints, droppings, feeding signs, pellets, burrows and nests of Europe’s mammals and birds, with clear rules for measuring prints and reading gaits.

Summary by Kersey Lawrence, Original Wisdom. Updated 9 November 2026. Page: https://www.originalwisdom.com/tracking-literature/1989-lang-tracce-di-animali-impronte/

## Citation and access

- **Authors:** Angelika Lang
- **Year published:** 1989
- **Journal or source:** Book (field guide), Zanichelli, Bologna. Italian edition of Spuren und Fährten unserer Tiere (BLV Verlagsgesellschaft, Munich, 1985)
- **Full citation:** Lang, A. 1989. Tracce di animali: impronte, escrementi, tracce di pasti, borre, tane e nidi. Translated by P. Silvagni Celli; revised and adapted by M. Chiavetta. Zanichelli, Bologna. Original German edition: Spuren und Fährten unserer Tiere, BLV Verlagsgesellschaft, Munich, 1985.
- **Access status:** Publisher link only
- **Where to find it:** https://www.zanichelli.it/

## Tags

- **Species:** Mammals > Alpine ibex; Birds > Barn owl; Mammals > Bat; Birds > Black grouse; Birds > Black woodpecker; Birds > Blackbird; Birds > Blackcap; Mammals > Brown bear; Mammals > Brown hare; Birds > Capercaillie; Birds > Carrion crow; Mammals > Chamois; Birds > Chiffchaff; Birds > Common buzzard; Mammals > Common hamster; Birds > Common kestrel; Birds > Common kingfisher; Mammals > Common vole; Mammals > Edible dormouse; Mammals > Eurasian beaver; Birds > Eurasian coot; Birds > Eurasian eagle-owl; Birds > Eurasian jay; Mammals > Eurasian lynx; Birds > Eurasian nuthatch; Mammals > Eurasian otter; Mammals > Eurasian red squirrel; Birds > Eurasian sparrowhawk; Mammals > European badger; Mammals > European hedgehog; Mammals > European mole; Mammals > European polecat; Mammals > European rabbit; Birds > European roller; Mammals > Fallow deer; Mammals > Forest dormouse; Birds > Great spotted woodpecker; Birds > Green woodpecker; Birds > Grey heron; Birds > Grey partridge; Birds > Greylag goose; Mammals > Hazel dormouse; Birds > Herring gull; Birds > House martin; Mammals > House mouse; Birds > House sparrow; Birds > Little owl; Birds > Long-eared owl; Birds > Magpie; Birds > Mallard; Mammals > Moose; Mammals > Muskrat; Birds > Northern goshawk; Birds > Northern lapwing; Birds > Osprey; Birds > Penduline tit; Birds > Peregrine falcon; Birds > Pheasant; Mammals > Pine marten; Mammals > Red deer; Mammals > Red fox; Birds > Red-backed shrike; Mammals > Reindeer; Birds > Rock ptarmigan; Mammals > Roe deer; Birds > Rook; Birds > Sand martin; Birds > Snipe; Mammals > Stoat; Mammals > Stone marten; Birds > Tawny owl; Birds > Three-toed woodpecker; Birds > White stork; Birds > White-throated dipper; Mammals > Wild boar; Birds > Willow ptarmigan; Mammals > Wood mouse; Birds > Wood pigeon; Birds > Wren; Birds > Yellowhammer
- **Region:** Europe
- **Tracking:** Beds; Burrows; Feeding signs; Gaits; Scat; Snow tracks; Track measurements; Tracking; Tracks; Tracks and signs identification
- **Behaviour and ecology:** Behaviour; Denning; Feeding; Nesting
- **Data type:** Field guide
- **Observer qualification:** Not needed
- **Discipline:** Wildlife tracking
- **Year published:** 1989

## Detailed keywords

- **Species:** Covered in the guide (Italian common names with the scientific names the book gives), among them: moose or elk (Alce, Alces alces), reindeer (Renna, Rangifer tarandus), red deer (Cervo, Cervus elaphus), fallow deer (Daino, Dama dama), roe deer (Capriolo, Capreolus capreolus), chamois (Camoscio, Rupicapra rupicapra), Alpine ibex (Stambecco, Capra ibex), wild boar (Cinghiale, Sus scrofa), brown bear (Orso bruno, Ursus arctos), Eurasian lynx (Lince, Lynx lynx), red fox (Volpe, Vulpes vulpes), badger (Tasso, Meles meles), otter (Lontra, Lutra lutra), stone marten (Faina, Martes foina), pine marten (Martora, Martes martes), stoat (Ermellino, Mustela erminea), polecat (Puzzola, Mustela putorius), hare (Lepre, given as Lepus capensis), rabbit (Coniglio selvatico, Oryctolagus cuniculus), red squirrel (Scoiattolo, Sciurus vulgaris), edible dormouse (Ghiro, Glis glis), hazel dormouse (Moscardino, Muscardinus avellanarius), forest dormouse (Driomio, Dryomys nitedula), wood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus), house mouse (Mus musculus), common vole (Microtus arvalis), common hamster (Criceto, Cricetus cricetus), European mole (Talpa europea), hedgehog (Riccio, Erinaceus europaeus), beaver (Castoro, Castor fiber), muskrat (Topo muschiato, Ondatra zibethica), a bat (Vespertilio maggiore); domestic dog, cat, horse and cattle for comparison. Birds include capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus), black grouse, rock and willow ptarmigan (Lagopus mutus, Lagopus lagopus), grey partridge, pheasant, mallard, greylag goose, coot, lapwing, snipe, herring gull, grey heron, white stork, goshawk, sparrowhawk, peregrine falcon, kestrel, buzzard, osprey, owls (little owl, tawny owl, barn owl, long-eared owl, eagle owl), woodpeckers (great spotted, green, black, three-toed), nuthatch, sand martin, kingfisher, roller, jay, carrion crow, rook, magpie, wood pigeon, red-backed shrike, house sparrow, blackbird, blackcap, yellowhammer, dipper, penduline tit, house martin, wren and chiffchaff. Feeding signs of snails, larvae and beetles are mentioned.
- **Location and habitat:** Europe, mainly central Europe, with northern European species (moose, reindeer, ptarmigan) and mountain species (chamois, ibex). Habitats described per species: forests, fields, wetlands, tundra and taiga, mountains, settlements. No study site.
- **Topics:** identification of animal tracks and signs; footprints and their measurement; foot anatomy (plantigrade, digitigrade, unguligrade); hooves, dewclaws and splay; gaits (walk, trot, gallop, bounds) and trail patterns; how substrate (melting snow, mud, rain, powder snow, hard ground) changes a print; droppings and how diet and weather change them; feeding signs on bark, roots, nuts, cones, fruit and maize; tooth-mark width to identify the feeder; feathers (plucking, moult, pellets); bird pellets (owl and raptor); burrows, dens, tree holes, nest boxes, resting places (beds or forms) and nests; loss of old trees for cavity-nesting animals; glossary.
- **Statistics or models:** None
- **Data type:** Field guide (book) drawing on existing knowledge, with photographs and drawings. Tagged “Review” as the closest existing data type; no new study.

## Synopsis

### 1. What they did

This is a pocket field guide to the tracks and signs of European animals, mostly mammals and birds, in an Italian translation of Angelika Lang’s German book (first published in 1985). The introduction explains that many animals stay hidden from us because they are shy or active only at dusk and night, but they leave signs of their presence and behaviour. Once vital for hunting, reading these signs is still important for hunters and forest wardens, and the author argues that the more people know about wild animals’ habits, the better they can be protected.

The guide has five chapters, each with a general introduction and then species accounts with photographs and drawings on the facing page:

- Footprints (Impronte)

- Droppings (Escrementi)

- Feeding signs (Tracce di pasti), including feathers

- Pellets (Borre) of owls and other birds

- Burrows, dens and nests (Tane e nidi), including tree holes, resting places and open nests

It also explains how measurements are taken, gives a glossary and an index.

### 2. What they found

How to measure and read a print

- Measurements always refer to fresh prints.

- Hoof width is measured across the widest part of the sole; length from the tip of the sole to the back of the heel, without the dewclaws unless stated.

- Paw width is the distance between the outer edges of the two outer toe pads; length runs from the front of the foremost toe pads to the back of the main (digitigrade) or wrist (plantigrade) pad, claws excluded.

- In melting snow, mud and after rain, print edges dissolve and prints look bigger and less clear. In deep powder snow, edges can be wiped out as snow slides in. On hard ground not every part of the foot registers, so the print looks smaller.

- In the drawings, front feet are shown in white and hind feet in black.

Footprints and gaits

- Mammals are grouped by how they stand: plantigrade, digitigrade and unguligrade. The shape and layout of the pads is typical of each species. How far the two hoof halves spread, and whether dewclaws show, are key to identifying hoofed animals.

- At a walk the hind feet land more or less on the front prints, forming two parallel rows; at a trot the stride lengthens and the trail narrows; at a gallop the hind feet land well ahead of the front feet.

- Species accounts give print sizes and stride lengths, for example adult male moose prints about 13 to 16 cm long, red deer front hooves 7.5 to 9.5 cm long, and fallow deer separated from red deer by the toe pads covering half rather than a third of the hoof.

Droppings, feeding signs, pellets and homes

- Droppings change with diet and season (for example, soft summer and hard winter droppings in moose and red deer) and with weather: rain makes them swell, strong sun dries and shrinks them and leaves a grey to whitish crust.

- Feeding signs on bark, nuts, cones and fruit can be told apart by tooth-mark width and gnawing technique. A young red squirrel gnaws all over a hazelnut, while an experienced adult cuts one groove and splits the shell in two; edible dormouse tooth marks are 5 to 6 mm wide. Birds leave beak marks instead of tooth marks.

- Pellets of owls and birds of prey are described by size, shape, content and where they are found (under perches, near nests).

- Burrows, dens, tree holes, resting places and nests are described with entrance sizes, depths and heights, for example great spotted woodpecker holes 3 to 8 m up with a round entrance of 4.5 to 6 cm.

### 3. What they concluded

- Those who can find and interpret tracks and signs learn many animal behaviours and can take animals’ needs into account more easily than someone who wanders through woods and fields “like a blind person”.

- Woodpeckers make nesting holes available to many other species (small birds, stock doves, owls, bats and dormice). The book regrets that forestry removes old rotten trees, and notes that nest boxes can partly make up for the shortage.

### 4. How tracking was or was not used

The whole book is about tracks and signs identification: footprints and trails in different gaits and substrates (including snow), droppings, feeding signs, feathers, pellets, burrows, beds and nests. It does not describe trailing.

### 6. Other technologies, skills or innovations

- Paired photographs and drawings for each species, with numbers in the text matching the figures on the facing page.

- Drawings of trails showing the front feet in white and the hind feet in black.

### 7. Implications for conservation (from the paper)

- With refuges for rarer wildlife disappearing and recreational pressure on natural areas growing, the author argues it is essential that as many people as possible know wild animals’ habits, and that reading tracks and signs is a way to learn them.

- Forestry that removes old, rotting trees works against animals that live in tree holes; nest boxes can partly ease the shortage.

### 8. Implications for tracking (Original Wisdom's observations)

_These are Original Wisdom's observations, not the authors'._

- The book’s clear rules for measuring prints (fresh prints only, how hoof and paw length and width are taken, dewclaws and claws excluded) are a useful reminder that track measurements can only be compared when everyone measures the same way.

- Its notes on how mud, rain, melting snow, powder snow and hard ground change print size match what trackers see in the field: the same foot can leave a larger or smaller print depending on the substrate.

## Cite this summary

Lawrence, K. 2026. Summary of: Tracce di animali: impronte, escrementi, tracce di pasti, borre, tane e nidi (Lang, 1989). Original Wisdom, Tracking Literature. https://www.originalwisdom.com/tracking-literature/1989-lang-tracce-di-animali-impronte/