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These elegant shorebirds are found as often in dry or damp upland areas as they are on mudflats or beaches. The plain brown immature birds of autumn become spangled with black and gold as breeding approaches. It is an occasional to uncommon migrant in western Oregon (mainly coastal) and locally rare, irregular migrant in eastern Oregon, with most reports at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, in the Klamath Basin (summer) and in Umatilla County. Hear the call of the American golden-plover Photo by Mark Peck, Flickr

This small, remarkably delicate long-legged wader can be found in migration across most of Oregon. It is speckled gray and white with some variation by season and is typically noticed mincing about in shallow pools and in the water adjacent to mudflats or on seasonally flooded fields, as well as in small isolated ponds. It is an uncommon to common migrant, most birds in fall. In the eastern one-third of Oregon, it usually outnumbers Greater yellowlegs in fall. Hear the call of the Lesser yellowlegs Photo by Dave Budeau, ODFW

This colorful bird of coniferous forests and mixed woods is a common breeding species of eastern North America. It winters in the West Indies and Middle America and occasionally in California and the southern United States. It is a regular migrant in very small numbers in spring and irregular in summer and fall in the southwestern United States to California and Oregon and is occasionally found elsewhere in the West. The majority of Oregon records are from late April to late June, mostly from the east of the Cascades. Hear the song of the Northern parula Photo by Jeff Bryant…

The Common nighthawk is a migrant to Oregon with one of the longest migration distances of any North American bird. It is also one of the last to arrive in Oregon. Long, slender wings are marked by a white patch on the "hand" visible in flight from great distances. When perched on the ground, the cryptic brown, gray, and black mottling makes the bird almost invisible. This bird breeds and migrates at all elevations through the state. Its nesting habitat is characterized by open landscapes with little ground cover and is most abundant in sagebrush and rocky scablands and rimrock…

As the winter day turns to dusk, White-tailed kites drop into their roosts and Short-eared owls rise to take their place on the local hunting grounds. White-tailed kites in Oregon often roost communally in winter, but they disperse in early spring and are more difficult to find during the breeding season. By day, they are conspicuous as they hover over rural fields searching for prey, in part because of their pale appearance. The tail is entirely white, as are the head and the underparts. Dark crescents on the underwing can be seen when a bird is flying or hovering. Above…

The Cordilleran flycatcher was recently designated a species distinct from the Pacific-slope flycatcher with which it was formerly lumped under the name Western flycatcher. The two species are almost identical in appearance, and the population in eastern Oregon is in some respects vocally intermediate between the Cordilleran and Pacific-slope types, so the distribution and status of the Cordilleran n Oregon is unclear. This species generally occurs in drier, higher elevation forests than the Pacific-slope flycatcher and is more closely associated with riparian zones. Hear the song of the Cordilleran flycatcher Photo by Julio Mulero, Flickr

This small greenish flycatcher is easily overlooked in the moist, shady forests where it makes its summer home. It is a common to abundant breeder in forests of the Coast Range and west Cascades below about 4,000 feet and a common transient in western Oregon. The Pacific-slope flycatcher is most easily detected and identified by voice, but there is incongruence between published descriptions of vocalizations and some birds heard in the field lessens the certainty of identification to species, especially those in eastern Oregon. Hear the sounds of the Pacific-slope flycatcher Photo by Trish Gussler, Flickr

Familiar to anyone from the eastern United States and Canada, this sparrow is much less common in Oregon. Adults show both a white-striped and tan-striped morph, while first year birds resemble tan-striped adults but are typically more heavily streaked underneath. Even the dullest first-year birds have a distinct rectangular white throat patch, often set off with a partial black border. The White-throated sparrow is an uncommon migrant and winter visitor, mainly in western Oregon. Hear the call of the White-throated sparrow Photo by ©Keith Kohl, ODFW

These tiny finches brighten the winter landscape of northeastern Oregon in some years. Their tan and ivory streaked with brown is plain enough, but the red forehead, black chin, and breast suffused in pink add a spot of color to snow-covered trees and shrubs. The Common redpoll is an uncommon to rare, irregular winter visitor, mainly in lowlands of the eastern Blue Mountain ecoregion. In peak years, this species can be locally common in Union, Wallowa, and Baker counties but in other years, it is essentially absent. It is an irregular visitant to Umatilla and Grant counties and in all…

This is a large, pale bat with huge ears, large eyes and a dog-like face. Its wing beat is slower than most bats. It emerges late at night to feed primarily on the ground, eating large beetles, crickets, and even scorpions. Pallid bats can walk on the ground and are immune to a scorpion’s sting. The pallid bat is uncommon and is found mostly in arid regions in canyons in southwestern and eastern Oregon. It's an Oregon Conservation Strategy Species in the Blue Mountains, Columbia Plateau, East Cascades, Klamath Mountains, and Northern Basin and Range ecoregions. Photo by ©Michael Durham

The Northern shoveler's specialized bill earned it in the nickname "spoonbill" among waterfowl hunters. The drake is strikingly handsome with a dark head, white breast, reddish belly, blue wing coverts and an iridescent green speculum. Brown hens also have blue wing patches similar to that of the cinnamon and blue-wing teal. This duck is locally common in summer in eastern Oregon and uncommon in western Oregon. It is a common spring and fall migrant statewide. Hear the call of the Northern shoveler Photo by Kathy Munsel, ODFW

The Snowy egret is intermediate in size between Great and Cattle egrets, and much more common in Oregon than the latter. Adults have a black bill and legs and bright yellow feet; immatures show yellow on the back of their legs. In the breeding season, plumes are present on head and breast, and curve upwards on the back. The Snowy egret breeds regularly, in varying numbers, primarily in eastern Oregon. It is uncommon to fairly common spring through fall in the Klamath Basin and occasional in the northeast Malheur County. On the south coast it is rarely found in summer…

This medium-sized shorebird is the most common dowitcher in eastern Oregon and inland locations, where it sometimes gathers in large flocks feeding in shallow water. It is also the only dowitcher in the state that regularly winters. Although breeding plumage adults are reddish below and heavily patterned above, most birds seen in Oregon are duller postbreeding adults or browner immatures. During winter, when shorebirds are hard to find, a small flock of chattering dowitchers, even in plain gray basic plumage, often brightens a day in western Oregon. In migration, it can be found at almost any shallow water site in…

The Ermine is the smallest member of the genus in Oregon. It has a long, cylindrical neck and body and short legs, but the tail is relatively short. The head is flattened and somewhat triangular, the eyes are small and slightly protruding, and the ears are rounded. The summer pelage is brown dorsally, usually white or yellowish ventrally; in some individuals the throat and belly are splotched with brown or are entirely brown. In some populations east of the Cascade Range, ermines replace brown summer pelage with a white winter pelage. The tip of the tail remains black at all…

The canyon bat weighs less than one quarter of an ounce! Its fur is pale yellow to brownish gray with a dark face mask. It lives in eastern Oregon, likes rocky canyons and outcrops and flies early in the evening when it feeds on swarms of flying insects. Photo by ©Michael Durham

This fragile-looking bird with bold black-and-white plumage and exaggerated, long, reddish legs is often associated with American avocets at shallow inland ponds and lakes. Very noisy and aggressive in protection of its nest and young, using a variety of distraction displays, including an impressive broken-leg act to lure away interlopers. The Black-necked stilt is a locally uncommon to fairly common summer resident of Klamath, Lake, Harney and Malheur counties. The largest Oregon breeding colony is at summer Lake. It has become a regular spring and fall migrant through eastern Oregon and irregular spring and casual fall migrant through western Oregon…