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The Bald eagle is one of eight species of sea-eagle worldwide, and the only sea-eagle found throughout North America. It is one of the most studied North American birds. Large size, wingspan of six-and-a-half to eight feet, and the contrast of white head and tail, and yellow eyes, beak, and leg, to dark brown body and wings make the adult Bald eagle one of our most distinctive raptors. Six age-related plumages have been recognized; adult plumage is acquired at four-and-a-half to five years of age. Sexes have similar plumages, but females are larger than males, and the sex of individuals

The Sharp-shinned hawk is North America's smallest and most migratory accipiter. As a hunter of songbirds (and sometimes young chickens) it historically endured harsh reproach, and was often depicted as a blood-thirsty villain, even by some ornithologists. Across the U.S., many thousands were shot in the first half of the 20th century. But prevailing attitudes have changed, and today a glimpse of this slender, secretive hawk darting through the treetops is more likely to elicit admiration than malice. Adult plumage, nearly identical to the slightly larger Cooper's hawk, consists of slate gray back and wings, breast and sides barred with

Features: The Pacific sanddab is left-eyed, meaning both eyes are on the left side of the body. The eyed-side is dull light brown, mottled with brown or black, and sometimes yellow or orange. The blind-side is off-white to tan. They have an oval shaped body with large scales. They can grow to be 16-inches long and up to 2 pounds, though most weigh less than 1/3 pound. Habitat: As you probably guessed, sanddabs like to hang out on sandy bottoms. They are most abundant at depths of 20-50 fathoms, and are common in shallow coastal waters from British Columbia to

The Long-tailed weasel is the larger of the two weasels in Oregon, but smaller than the other member of the genus, the mink. Males are considerably larger than females. The head is flattened and somewhat triangular; the body and neck are elongate and almost cylindrical; the legs are short, and the tail is long. The summer pelage is brown dorsally; the venter is yellowish to orangish except for a white chin and sometimes one or more scattered brown spots. The tip of the tail is black. The pelage is molted twice annually. In the Cascade Range and eastward through the

A thick body, small head and coloration similar to a killer whale make this dolphin easy to recognize. Dall’s porpoise is mostly black with a large white patch on the belly and flanks. The small dorsal fin is partly white and the trailing edges of the tail are frosted white. About seven feet long and weighing around 400 pounds, Dall’s live only in the north Pacific. Dall’s are the fastest of all small cetaceans and can swim at up to 35 miles per hour, almost as fast as a killer whale. When swimming at the surface they create a characteristic

The American marten is weasel-like with a long body and pointy face. The legs are short; the toes, including the pads, are completely furred; and the nails are semiretractile. The tail is bushy and long. The pelage in winter is luxuriant, with a dense underfur and sparse covering of guard hairs. The color varies, but usually is a golden brown shading to dark brown on the feet and tail; the head is lighter. The throat and chest are splotched with orange or yellow. A small dark stripe extends upward from the medial corner of each eye, giving the appearance of

The Short-eared owl is one of our most conspicuous owls owing to its use of open country and crepuscular habits. It is often seen hunting low over the ground across marshes, fields, and other open areas on its buoyant, long wings, flying slowly and irregularly like a giant moth. This owl also differs from most other owls as it seldom vocalizes and is more often seen than heard. It was named for its inconspicuous "ear" tufts arising from the center of the forehead, though field observers rarely see these tufts. Distinguishing characteristics include a pale buff facial disk and a

The kit fox is the smallest canid that occurs in Oregon. It has the typical canid conformation: the body is slim, the legs are long and thin, and the ears are large and erect. The tail is about 40 percent of the total length and is tipped with black, but has no dark mane on the dorsal surface. The feet and legs are whitish interiorly, light rusty-brown posteriorly. The dorsum is grizzled brownish-gray medially blending to grizzled gray then to light buff laterally and finally to white on the chest and venter. The head and posterior surface of the ears

The Canada lynx is only slightly larger than the bobcat. Nevertheless, long legs and long fur produce the illusion that the lynx is considerably larger than it actually is. Documented accounts of wild lynx are rare and lynx are not expected to currently reside in Oregon. However, if lynx were to be observed, it is likely to occur at higher elevations such as in the Cascade Range, Blue Mountains or Wallowa Mountains. Habitats used by lynx often are defined in terms of habitats used by their primary prey species, thus good snowshoe hare habitat usually is considered to be good