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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…

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…

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

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

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

A quiet, modest, unobtrusive little bird that must be sought to be seen in its shady retreats, this little-studied species can easily be overlooked. It is typically associated with oaks and mixed woodlands, where it hops along the foliage hunting for insects. In winter it forages with flocks of chickadees, kinglets, and nuthatches. This is Oregon's only resident vireo. Although it is sometimes referred to as non-migratory, some seasonal movement has been observed. Similar in appearance and behavior to the more common and widespread Ruby-crowned kinglet. Hear the song of the Hutton's vireo Photo by Greg Gilson

The long-legged myotis lives in forests and comes out early in the evening to hunt. It is a fast flier and will chase insects for a long distance. One baby is born in the summer, and the species hibernates in winter. In general, the long-legged myotis is a species associated with montane coniferous forests, but it also occurs in some desert and riparian habitats. The long-legged myotis is an Oregon Conservation Strategy Species in these ecoregions: Blue Mountains, Coast Range, East and West Cascades, Klamath Mountains, and Northern Basin and Range. Photo by ©Michael Durham

With its long, decurved bill, the black and cinnamon Virginia rail probes the mud for much of its food. Its narrow body is specially designed for slipping through a densely vegetated marsh, so it rarely has to move away from cover. Known for its staccato kidik, kidik call, this rail also contributes grunts, clicks, churs, squeaks, skeeuws, and quack-like noises to the marsh chorus. In Oregon, this is a rare to locally abundant breeder. In western Oregon it breeds in freshwater and brackish marshes. In eastern Oregon, large marshes in Klamath, Lake, and Harney counties host numerous breeders each year…

Wigeon drakes are beautifully marked with white pate, green eye stripe, purplish breast and flanks, white belly and wing covert patch, and iridescent black/green speculum. The grayish hen shows white on the wing covert patch. Drakes give a three-note whistle and get progressively noisier as spring approaches and courting flights begin. Medium sized flocks are common in fall and winter, and like geese, will be found grazing pastures, park lawns, and golf courses. It is a rare to locally common breeder in eastern Oregon and rare in summer in western Oregon. It is a common to abundant migrant and wintering…

This seabird, the most abundant in Oregon, has recently suffered severe declines or significant population shift in the eastern North Pacific. Similar in shape to thin, long-winged gulls, sooty shearwaters are dark sooty gray with limited amounts of white on the underwing coverts. They glide on wind currents along wave troughs on stiff wings. Gregarious, they form huge loose flocks in migration, often passing for hours within site of land-based observers. In Oregon, it is an abundant summer visitor and transient offshore on the inner shelf and is most numerous three to six miles offshore. Hear the call of the…

Wide open spaces generally surround these sparrow-sized, ground dwelling birds. The upperparts are mostly brownish and the underparts are generally buffy with varying amounts of yellow on the throat. There is black on the breast and side of the head, but the most unique features are small black "horns." Females and immature birds are duller. Interesting behavior includes aerial displays and "flight songs" during courtship, and the propensity to forage and loaf along dirt and gravel roads. In western Oregon, it breeds in small, scattered populations throughout the Willamette Valley, with concentrations in the central valley on and near Basket…

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 small owl is unusual in that it nests in earthen burrows in open shrub-steppe regions and grasslands. This habit is even more curious in Oregon since most burrows used for nesting were previously excavated by badgers, a major predator of Burrowing owl eggs and young. These long-legged, short tailed owls are generally brownish buff with spots across the back and barring across the front. Males are usually lighter colored than females, possibly because they spend more time exposed to the elements. Males also average five percent larger than females, a situation rare among owls. The Burrowing owl is a…

The chat's coming in the spring is like the arrival of a brass band. Male chats are loud, continuous singers, sometimes heard through the night. Chats inhabit lowland tangles and thickets along rivers and floodplains. It is the largest of North American warblers. In western Oregon, the chat is an uncommon to common summer resident of the interior Rogue Valley. It is a locally uncommon summer resident in the interior Umpqua Valley. In the Willamette Valley it is a locally rare to uncommon summer resident, and rare east to Oakridge. In eastern Oregon, the chat is a rare spring migrant…

Bobolinks summer in Oregon's eastern grasslands and meadows, singing what has been described as a bubbling delirium of ecstatic music that flows from the throat of the bird like sparkling champagne. The yellow-brown female, juvenile or non-breeding male may at first appear to be a sparrow, but the breeding male has an astonishing and diagnostic backwards tuxedo pattern of buff on the nape and white rump and scapulars on an otherwise black body. The Bobolink is a regular, locally common breeder at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and a few scattered pairs occur in northeast Oregon. West of the Cascades…

The Golden eagle is the largest soaring raptor inhabiting open country and mountainous terrain in eastern Oregon. A powerful and skillful hunter, the Golden eagle has become the National icon of the American West. A very large, dark raptor, the nape golden in all plumages, the females are slightly larger. Juvenile birds show white patches at the base of the primaries and a white tail with a broad dark terminal band. They are common residents in all Oregon counties east of the Cascade range. The Golden eagle inhabits shrub-steppe, grassland, juniper, and open ponderosa pine and mixed conifer/deciduous habitats. It…