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The House finch is the most widespread of Oregon's "red finches." It is a congenial, cheerful singer from urban areas to desert plateaus. The male has a red forehead, throat, eyebrow, rump and varying amounts of red in the breast. It may have small amounts of reddish wash in its otherwise brownish cheek, hindcrown, nape,and streaked back. In some males, red is replaced with red-orange, orange, yellow-orange or yellow. The female is drab grayish-brown, overall, with indistinct streaking above and no red. The House finch is a fairly common resident in lowlands, urban, rural, and agricultural areas throughout Oregon. They…

The rat-sized American pika is characterized by rounded ears, no external tail, bare planter pads, and hind feed scarcely longer than the front feet. The pika requires talus, creviced rock, and other high elevation microhabitats that provide cool microclimates. Adequate forage close to rocky crevices is needed. In Oregon, the species is limited to suitable habitats in the Cascade Range and the Wallowa, Blue, Strawberry, Steens, Hart, and Warner mountains, and at Newberry Crater in Deschutes County and Grizzly and Cougar peaks in western Lake County. The American pika is an Oregon Conservation Strategy Species and is limited by its…

The pelage of this chipmunk is marked with five dark and four light stripes on the dorsum; the middorsal stripe is usually black and nearly always darker than the other four dark stripes. The sides of the face are marked with three brown and two light gray stripes, a patch behind the ear is light gray. The tail is blackish frosted with ochre dorsally and rusty brown ventrally. Allen's chipmunk produces a call of a rapid series of three or four to as many as 10 syllables. In Oregon, it occurs in forested areas along the eastern part of the…

Belding's ground squirrel is a medium-sized ground squirrel without spots, stripes, or splotches. The pelage is smoky gray with some pinkish on the face, feet, and venter, and with a more or less well-defined reddish or brownish band in the middorsal region. The tail is cinnamon on the ventral surface. This squirrel occurs south and east of a line connecting Enterprise, Heppner, Maupin, Wasco Sisters, Diamond Lake, and south to Fish Lake. It may occur in steppe and shrub-steppe area, particularly in meadows; sagebrush flats; and small-grain pasture , and hay-crop fields, and sometimes in openings in woodlands. The Belding's…

The Washington ground squirrel is the smaller of the two short-tailed, spotted ground squirrels in Oregon. The dorsum has squarish grayish-white spots on a background of pale smoky-gray with a pinkish wash to brownish gray. This squirrel is endemic to the Deschutes-Columbia Plateau Province east and south of the Columbia River and east of the John Day River. A colonial species, it emerges from dormancy in January to early March, males before females. At the approach of a potential threat, the Washington ground squirrel produces a soft, lisping whistle. Other members of the colony respond by standing upright, repeating the…

The moose is the largest member of the family Cervidae. The pelage is blackish or dark brownish grading to dark gray or grayish brown on the venter and leg. The muzzle is broad and overhanging, the palmate antlers of adult males are massive, and a "bell" (waddlelike flap of skin on the throat) is present. The first moose to come to Oregon wandered south from Washington or west from Idaho across the Palouse Prairie. They stayed to establish a herd in the Blue Mountains north of Elgin, and today there are an estimated 50 adults and calves in the area…

Adult Cascades frogs have tan, copper or green backs with black spots and yellow bellies. Their skin has small bumps on the back and sides. Females, which grow to three inches in length, are slightly larger than males. Cascades frogs live in a variety of moist habitats including mountain meadows, bogs, seasonally flooded forested swamps and shallow ponds, marshes and lakes. They use woody debris, mud or dense vegetation for cover from predators and spend their winters hibernating in mud. They emerge during the summer and live in wet meadows and bogs or along forested streams and pond edges. The…

Canvasbacks are large; adults in good condition are as heavy as mallards and second in size only to the white-winged scoter among common Oregon ducks. Drakes have a reddish head and neck; black breast, lower back and tail coverts; nearly white back, flank, and belly, and dark gray tail. The hen is grayish brown with a darker brown head, neck, breast and tailcoverts. It is an occasional summer resident in northeast Oregon, nesting locally only at Ladd Marsh in Union County. It is an uncommon spring and fall migrant in northeastern Oregon and regular in winter and spring on the…

Although not as imposing as the Canvasback, the redhead is a large, handsome, fast-flying diver. The drake has a red head, black breast and tail coverts, and steel gray back, flanks and tail. Hens are a medium brown. During courtship, the drake utters a very un-duck-like meow. Known for nest parasitism - laying eggs in the nests of other birds, usually other diving ducks - redhead eggs have also been found in the nests of a variety of species. It is an uncommon summer resident in northeast Oregon, but commonly breeds at Batch and Bogus lakes and locally elsewhere in…

Known as "bluebill" to most hunters, this species is one of the most abundant and widespread of North American ducks. The lesser scaup is similar to the greater scaup in appearance and habits, but is smaller and lacks the white on the primaries. In the field, however, the black-and-white drakes and brown hens are very similar to greater scaups. The common vocalization is the purr call of the female; drakes are usually silent, but utter a low single-note whistle in courtship. In general, the lesser scaup is more apt to be found in interior or freshwater habitats while the greater…

The pied-billed grebe is an aquatic species that breeds at the edge of open water in freshwater lakes, ponds, sluggish rivers, and marshes. When disturbed, it sinks like a submarine, rather than diving, and re-emerges with only its head above water. This is a brownish grebe with a black vertical bar in the middle of the rather stubby, whitish bill, and jet-black throat patch on both sexes in alternate plumage. It has a surprisingly loud "yelping" call within a marsh. Young have striking stripes on the head. This bird is widespread and common in Oregon. It winters locally in open…

Cattle egrets are the smallest of Oregon's three egret species, with short, stout neck and legs, and white body with orange-buff plumes on the head and nape in spring and early summer. They are named for their association with livestock, consuming insects on their backs or stirred up by their hooves. In Oregon, the Cattle egret is a casual transient in spring in the Klamath Basin and rarely in the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. The least widespread of the state's egrets during the breeding season; a rare breeder in the Great Basin and a few pairs occasionally nesting at Malheur…

At first look, the Willet is a rather drab and nondescript medium-sized shorebird found in wetland habitats and nearby uplands. However, further observation reveals subtle patterning in its relatively uniform grayish plumage and birds in flight expose a distinct, bold white wing bar that contrasts with a black border. Sexes are similar in appearance at all times of the year. Willet are present on breeding grounds in Oregon for a short period of time during spring and summer, but displaying birds are conspicuous and emit a loud and persistent "pill-will-willet" call. These vigilant and vocal individuals often hover overhead and…