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The Western pocket gopher is one of the two small pocket gophers in Oregon. Depending on the region, the pelage of this gopher ranges from pure black with purplish and greenish overtones to brown to hazel to yellowish hazel on the dorsom and from lead colored to buff to ocherous on the venter. The face is lead colored to black. The Western pocket gopher constructs burrows beneath the surface with a vertical tunnel connecting deeper burrows that include the nest. This gopher occurs from the Columbia River to the California-Oregon border in the Coast Range and along the coast. It
The Northern pocket gopher is the other small pocket gopher in Oregon. Its dorsal pelage ranges from a rich brown to a yellowish brown or buffy gray; the venter is lighter and usually washed with buff. This gopher builds extensive burrow systems which consist of both near-surface and deep runways connected by a vertical shaft. The nest cavity is commonly situated in the deep runway with blind tunnels radiating from near the nest that are used for food storage and as a latrine. The Northern pocket gopher occurs throughout Oregon east of the Cascade Range.
This group of rodents includes mice, voles, rats and muskrats of various sizes, but they all share one trait - their dentition is highly specialized for gnawing.
The Little pocket mouse is one of the smallest rodents in North America and certainly the smallest in Oregon. The dorsal pelage is pinkish buff to ocherous buff with overlying blackish hairs; the venter is buff. The tail is bicolored. In Oregon, this mouse occurs in Harney and Malheur counties. They exhibit their greatest activity from spring through autumn and spend a large portion of their lives in burrows below the surface of the ground. In winter, they remain underground continuously, relying on stored seeds for energy. When active on the surface, a large portion of their time is spent
The Great Basin pocket mouse is the largest member of the genus in Oregon. The dorsal pelage of this mouse is pinkish buff or ocherous buff overlain with black hairs; the venter is white to buffy. A lateral line, usually somewhat olive colored, separates the dorsal and ventral pelages. The tail is distinctly bicolored. In Oregon, it occurs thought east of the Cascade Range, except it does not occur in the Wallowa and Blue mountains. The Great Basin pocket mouse constructs burrows below the surface that contain granaries for storage of food, a nest cavity, and several entrances. They spend
The California kangaroo rat is the largest kangaroo rat in Oregon, but is only of moderate size within the genus. It has a moderately broad face, relatively large ears, and awl-shaped lower incisors. The tail is 150 percent of the length of the head and body. It is the darkest-colored kangaroo rat in Oregon. The pelage of the dorsum is composed of hairs with dark-gray bases, a narrow dark-buff band and black terminus. The venter, feet, upper lip,; and base, sides, and tip of tail are white and there is a white spot above each eye and behind each ear
The Chisel-toothed kangaroo rat is an intermediate-sized kangaroo rat with a narrow face, small ears, and flat-faced, nearly square-edged lower incisors shaped like miniature chisels. Among kangaroo rats, the cheek pouches in relation to the size of the head are exceptionally large. The pelage on the dorsum is composed of hairs with medium-gray bases, a buffy band, and a tiny blackish tip, overall a dirty-sand color. The venter, upper lip, feet, and base and sides of the tail are white and there is a white spot above each eye and behind each ear. A black moustache, eyelids, ears and tail
The Ord's kangaroo rat is a medium-sized kangaroo rat with awl-shaped lower incisors. It is the lightest-colored kangaroo rat in Oregon; overall the dorsum is a rich buff with gray overtones. The venter, upper lip, feet and side of the tail are white; there is a white spot above each eye and behind each ear; and a white stripe crosses each thigh. The moustache, eyelids, and ears are blackish. In Oregon, it occurs east of a line connecting The Dalles, Hood River County; Sisters, Deschutes County; and Lakeview, Lake County except in the Ochoco, Blue, and Wallowa mountains. Although occasionally
The Western harvest mouse is the smallest sigmodontine rodent in Oregon. It occurs east of the Cascade Range, except it is absent from the Blue and Wallowa mountains; it also occurs in the southern parts of Josephine and Jackson counties west of the Cascades. The Western harvest mouse commonly uses runways. It is active nocturnally with its greatest activity between sunset and sunrise. They spend periods of inactivity in ball-shaped nests constructed on the surface of the ground; nests are sometimes placed beneath shrubs or debris. Photo by J. N. Stuart, Flickr
The canyon mouse is a moderate to small-sized mouse-like rodent with a long tail, nearly naked ears and a long, lax, and silky dusty gray pelage. In Oregon, most locations where the canyon mouse has been found are in Harney and Malheur counties, but the distribution includes a group of localities in Crook, Jefferson, Wasco, and Wheeler counties and another group in Lake County. There are also records of the species in extreme southeastern Baker County. Rock, primarily rimrock and talus slopes, seems to be the key component of habitats occupied by the canyon mouse. They are usually active nocturnally
The deer mouse is a moderately small mouse-like rodent that exhibits considerable variation in color, tail length and markings. In general, the pelage of adult deer mice is buff to dark brown on the dorsum and white on the venter. The ears are moderately long, essentially naked and usually held erect and directed forward. The eyes are black and beady. The deer mouse has the broadest distribution of any species within the genus and occurs throughout Oregon. Below the treeline, it occurs as part of essentially all communities. It is active nocturnally, the time of onset of activity is cued
The piñon mouse is the largest member of the genus in Oregon. It is characterized by its enormous ears. Hair color varies geographically; overall, in central and eastern Oregon it is a pale-buff color with a wash of black on the dorsum, whereas mice from southwestern Oregon are bright ocherous on the shoulders and flanks and a dirty brown on the dorsum. In Oregon, the piñon mouse has been found in Josephine, Jackson, Klamath, Lake, Deschutes, Jefferson, Grant, Crook, and Harney counties. East of the Cascade Range it is almost always associated with western juniper in rimrocks. In southwestern Oregon
The Northern grasshopper mouse is a stockily built mouse with a thick tail. The dorsal pelage is dark sepia long the midline grading moderately sharply to a light tannish along the sides. The ventral pelage is white. A dark sepia line extends across the face between the eyes. The ears are thinly furred, sepia on the external surface and light grayish-tan on the internal surface. The feet and tip of the tail are white. In Oregon, Northern grasshopper mice have been found in grassland and desert areas in Crook, Deschutes, Gilliam, Harney, Jefferson, Klamath, Lake , Malheur, Morrow, Sherman, Umatilla
The bushy-tailed woodrat is a large rat-like mammal; its squirrel-like tail unique among members of the genus, is gray above and whitish below. The dorsum is buffy gray to dark brownish-black and the venter is white to buff depending on the geographic race. It occurs, statewide in a wide variety of habitats. It is active nocturnally. Sometimes, upon leaving the protection of its den, the woodrat may lie motionless on a rock or limb, watching for a long period before moving forth. Photo from ODFW
The dusky-footed woodrat is a medium-sized rat-like form with large, nearly naked ears, protruding eyes, and a long tail. The dorsal pelage consists of hairs with steel gray bases, a band of ocherous buff, and a tip of black. Hairs on the throat and belly are white. Although variably in extent, a dusky splotch occurs on the dorsal surface of the white feet. In Oregon, this woodrat occurs from the California border northward along the coast to near Bandon, northward inland through the Willamette Valley and other interior valleys to near Mollala and Monmouth, and northward to Brownsboro, Jackson County
The desert woodrat is the smallest member of the genus that occurs in Oregon. The tail is round, short and bicolored and the ears are long and lightly furred. The pelage is long and soft, a mixture of buff and black dorsally and whitish or light buff ventrally; except for he chest, all body hairs have lead-colored bases. The feet and underside of the tail are white. It occurs in Malheur, Harney, and southern Lake Counties. Throughout its range, it tends to be a habitat generalist, but in Oregon it usually occurs in sagebrush habitats, especially those associated with rimrocks
The Norway rat is the largest member of the subfamily in Oregon. This heavy-bodied rat has a scantily haired, scaly tail shorter than the length of the head and body. The ears are membranous and lightly furred. The pelage is course, a grizzled brownish or rusty gray dorsally and dirty white to yellowish gray ventrally. Albino, melanistic, and spotted specimens are known to occur in free-living populations. This rat is distributed throughout the world in association with humans and in Oregon is found in most of the counties west of the Cascade Range and from some counties along the Columbia
The black rat is slightly smaller than the Norway rat, but much larger than the house mouse, the only other members of the subfamily in Oregon. The black rat is similar to other members of the subfamily in that it possesses a scaly, scantily haired tail; membranous, nearly naked ears, and a soft pelage. It differs from the Norway rat in having a tail much longer than the length of its head and body and commonly having a darker-colored pelage. The pelage ranges from black to sandy brown dorsally and from lead colored to nearly white ventrally. The black rat
The house mouse is the smallest member of the subfamily in Oregon and smaller that most other members of the family. The ears are large and membranous; the tail is long, tapering, and scaly; and the soles of the feet are naked. The pelage is short, harsh, and usually grayish brown to nearly black dorsally, lighter brown or buffy ventrally. Albino, spotted, and other colormorphs are known to occur. House mice occur throughout the world in association with humans. In Oregon, this mouse is found in 30 of the 36 counties. House mice are usually more active at night, but
The Western red-backed vole is among the smaller of the voles in Oregon. The pelage consists of a vaguely demarked reddish-brown or chestnut-brown stripe on the dorsum grading to buffy gray to dark gray on the sides and venter; the tail is indistinctly bi-colored, light grayish-brown above and whitish below. This vole occurs from the Columbia River south through the Coast Range. It does not occur in the Willamette Valley or other interior valleys west of the Cascade Mountains. It is a denizen of forest habitats, but tends to be most abundant in closed canopy old-growth forests containing an abundance
