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The exuberant bounding flight, musical calls, and flashy yellow and black plumage of the American goldfinch in breeding-season make them one of the most recognized and welcome of Oregon birds. Found in flocks nearly year-round, these goldfinches are a familiar site in riparian woodlands, orchards, weedy fields, and agricultural land. They are among the last of Oregon's songbirds to nest and are highly nomadic in the nonbreeding season. They may form mixed flocks with Lesser goldfinches and Pine siskins at bird feeders and weed patches throughout Oregon, as well as with Common redpolls some years in northeast Oregon. Their diet
![046_american_goldfinch_male_2_budeau.jpg American goldfinch male](/sites/default/files/styles/232x139/public/2023-05/046_american_goldfinch_male_2_budeau_cx.jpg?itok=ORDdVCuk)
So familiar is the American crow that it has been said if a person knows only three species of birds, one of them will be the crow. Recognized by its coal-black plumage, fan-shaped tail, and nasal caw call, it is found throughout most of North America, and its seemingly mischievous character has been immortalized in folk tales and fables. These shrewd birds possess a superior intelligence and an ability to learn and make decisions. They are also sociable, joining together in large roosts, especially in fall and winter. Able to thrive in a wide variety of environments, crows are expanding
![american_crow_lee_jaffe_filickr.jpg American crow](/sites/default/files/styles/232x139/public/2023-05/american_crow_lee_jaffe_filickr.jpg?itok=YH3jilWV)
Features: These crab can be identified by their black-tipped claws, wide fan-shaped carapace (body cover) and deep, brick-red color. Habitat: As the name implies, red rock crab prefer the harder substrate habitats such as rocks, pilings, and other structure. Red rock crab prefer higher salinities than Dungeness crab and therefore are usually found in larger estuaries, close to the ocean. They are most common in Coos, Yaquina, and Tillamook bays where there are plentiful rocky substrates. Red rock crabs are native to Oregon. Techniques: Usually caught in combination with Dungeness crab, using the same techniques.
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Cassin's auklet uses a few offshore lands for breeding in Oregon. It forages in the marine environment and nests in a chamber under rocks or digs its own burrow, two to six feet long, in the soil. This species spends its day at sea and only comes to the burrow at night, perhaps to reduce discovery by predacious Western gulls. Although few Cassin's auklets nest in Oregon, nesting sites are found along the entire coast where offshore rocks provide appropriate habitat. During the non-breeding season this is the most abundant alcid seen at sea in Oregon. They are present offshore
![cassins_auklet_duncan_flickr.jpg Cassin's auklet](/sites/default/files/styles/232x139/public/2023-05/cassins_auklet_duncan_flickr.jpg?itok=RLog9KUv)
This striking songbird is best known for its habit of impaling prey on thorns and barbed wire, or wedging items in a v-shaped branch for easier handling and storage. The Loggerhead shrike breeds in open habitats east of the Cascades where they are rare but regular in the winter, especially at low-elevation sites. They are uncommon and declining in northeast Oregon. West of the Cascades, there are usually a few records each year during fall, winter, and spring in open habitats of the coast and the Willamette, Umpqua, and Rogue valleys. The Loggerhead shrike is an Oregon Conservation Strategy Species
![loggerhead_shrike_usfws_dave_menke.jpg Loggerhead shrike](/sites/default/files/styles/232x139/public/2023-05/Loggerhead%20Shrike%20USFWS%20Dave%20Menke%20mid.jpg?itok=6DBTiHMn)
The thick, dense feathering on its underparts allows this dainty shorebird to float high on the water. Its lobbed toes give it considerable maneuverability while swimming. It is equally at home on the roughest seas and the smallest farm pond. A highly sociable bird and extremely trusting. Smaller size and slender bill separate this species from the Wilson's and Red phalaropes. Offshore it concentrates along tide rips and over upwellings. In shallow waters it stirs the bottom with its feet or spins rapidly to expose the tiny organisms that it picks up with its needlelike bill. An opportunistic forager of
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One of the most impressive sights in the unforested regions east of the Cascades is a Prairie falcon strafing a Belding's ground squirrel colony repeatedly at full speed in hopes of catching one emerging from its burrow at just the wrong moment. Prairie falcons are most common in rimrock country where they nest, but may travel great distances in search of prey. Prairie falcons are large, sandy brown above and off-white with variable amounts of streaking below. The face has a vertical stripe below the eye, as do many falcons. In flight, the long, pointed wings and long tail identify
![4043_prarie_falcon_munsel_odfw.jpg Prarie falcon](/sites/default/files/styles/232x139/public/2023-05/4043_prarie_falcon_munsel_odfw_cx.jpg?itok=qs4hQ1H_)
These chunky medium-small shorebirds are quite colorful in oranges and browns during most of their time in Oregon, where they are found mainly along the coast and locally in muddy areas inland. Their feeding motion has been likened to a sewing machine as flocks move slowly through shallow water and wet mud, probing with long straight bills. They are occasionally seen in marginal areas such as flooded pastures, but less likely than Long-billed to use such upland locations. They are a common to locally abundant coastal migrant, less common and more local in western interior valleys, and rare bur regular
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Rosy-finches are the highest-altitude breeding birds throughout most of their range. They are long-winged and generally dull-looking unless seen at close range, when the pinkish hues and combinations of brown, gray, and black can be seen. Their conical bill is usually dark, during spring and early summer and yellowish especially in fall and winter. These birds usually perch on the ground, but occasionally alight on buildings, trees, bushes, phone, and fence wires. They typically walk rather than hop, but do the latter occasionally. They also swipe with their bill rather than digging with feet as some sparrows and finches do
![gray-crowned_rosy-finch_john_breitsh_flickr.jpg Gray-crowned rosy finch](/sites/default/files/styles/232x139/public/2023-05/gray-crowned_rosy-finch_john_breitsh_flickr_cx.jpg?itok=pXG-GEn9)
A medium-sized hawk, the Red-shouldered hawk has bold black-and-white flight feathers and rusty shoulder patches. Seen in flight from underneath, especially when lit from the sun, its wings show a translucent 'window' near the tips. It relies on perches for hunting and is closely affiliated with wooded wetlands and riparian bottomlands. In the breeding season this hawk is found in moist woodlands with at least a few deciduous trees. It prefers riparian bottoms, especially those near shallow wetlands or open meadows. In winter, it may use more open lands such as found in the Rogue and Willamette valleys, depending on
![2214_red-shouldered_hawk_at_finley_geiger_odfw.jpg Red-shouldered hawk](/sites/default/files/styles/232x139/public/2023-05/2214_red-shouldered_hawk_at_finley_geiger_odfw.jpg?itok=jShar8XF)
A large and colorful member of the sparrow family, the Green-tailed towhee is perhaps more recognizable by its eye-catching chestnut crown than by its less intense green-gray back and olive tail. As a ground forager, it spends most of its time on the ground or in thick cover, scratching about industriously in the leaf litter, and it may go unnoticed. But its catlike mewing call, which it often gives from a brushy perch, is one of the quintessential sounds of the shrublands of the east slope of the Cascades and the Great Basin. It is locally fairly common east of
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Oregon has 15 species of bats, and eight of those are Oregon Conservation Strategy Species. Strategy Species are those having small or declining populations, are at-risk, and/or of management concern. Bats are flying mammals that can reach speeds of 20 to 30 mph. Some of Oregon's species migrate south in winter while some remain here and hibernate. Bats have ecolocation which allows them to make high-pitched sounds then listen to the echo of those sounds to locate where objects are. Echolocation helps them find even the smallest insect. Learn more about Oregon's bats on our Living with Wildlife, Bats page
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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
This mid-sized, pink-legged gull has caused much of the confusion in west coast gull classification and identification. Its plumage characteristics are similar to Herring, Iceland, and some Glaucous-winged hybrids, and great care is needed for correct identification. It differs from the Herring gull in having a much smaller bill, a darker eye, less black in the wing-tips and, often, a more rounded head. Opportunistic feeders, Thayer's gulls regularly concentrate about landfills, food-processing plants, and over fish runs. It is a common migrant and fairly common winter visitor along the coast. The largest wintering numbers are found in the Portland metropolitan
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