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With its long, forked tail and long wings, it is the most graceful of all land birds and reminds one of the smaller terns not only in shape but in behavior. The Barn swallow has taken so completely to nesting on human-made structures that one forgets they were once restricted to caves and rock crevices. Almost every farm in the state has a pair or two nesting in an outbuilding, and very few bridges do not have a pair or two. It is the best known of the swallows. It is a fairly common to locally abundant summer resident and
Fun little birds to watch, chickadees and nuthatches are common in Oregon. With short, strong bills, they feed on insects and seeds and are often seen in groups.
Noted for its familiar call, chick-a-dee-dee-dee, the Black-capped chickadee is widely heralded as one of Oregon's friendliest and cheeriest residents. Even in the midst of winter, this bird "fairly overflows with good spirits." The Black-capped chickadee is resident at low to moderate elevations in western Oregon from the Willamette Valley and coastal counties to Douglas County and in most of eastern Oregon with the exception of the southeastern corner of the state. Hear the song of the Black-capped chickadee Photo by Dave Budeau, ODFW
An acrobatic flier with a dashing white eye-stripe, the Mountain chickadee is a common year-round resident of Oregon's high-elevation coniferous and mixed forests. This species is distinguished from other North American chickadees by its white eyebrow, gray flanks, and gray undertail coverts and by its drawling, hoarse-sounding chick-a-dee-dee-de call. It is resident in all types of forests from two to 10 miles west of the Cascades summit and east, in the Blue, Siskiyou, Wallowa and Warner mountains and on Hart, Steens and other isolated mountains east of the Cascades. Hear the song of the Mountain chickadee Photo by Simon Wray
Chestnut-backed chickadees are one of the most common species of bird in conifer forests of western Oregon. They are distinguished from other chickadees by their chestnut-colored back, lack of an eye-line, and their wheezy song. Like other chickadees, they are frequently observed performing acrobatic maneuvers such as hanging from branch tips while foraging high in the canopy. They also frequent bird feeders for suet and sunflower seeds, and will nest in boxes if they are placed near groves of conifers. Hear the call of the Chestnut-backed chickadee Photo by Kathy Munsel, ODFW
This species reaches the northern limit of its range in southwest Oregon. Oak and Juniper titmice were formerly in the same species as the Plain titmouse but were recognized as a separate species in 1997. The drab, gray color with distinct crest and chickadee-like calls and behavior characterizes these species. Plumage of sexes is identical. The Oak titmouse is a friendly, high-spirited, and melodious bird of oak-dominated habitats of interior valleys and lowlands. It is a common resident in oak woodlands of the interior Rogue Valley, and a rare but permanent resident in Illinois Valley. Hear the call and song
The Juniper titmouse presents the demeanor of a miniature jay with its crest jutted proudly upright. It is a pale gray bird above and underneath, with little or no brown coloration. Songs and calls are useful in locating hidden titmice. The Juniper titmouse occurs in pinyon pine-juniper woodlands in the bulk of its range. This bird is a cavity nester. The nest is often placed in a crevice of a twisted trunk of large, older junipers. It primarily forages in junipers and juniper seed are important in the winter diet. An Oregon Conservation Strategy Species in the Northern Basin and
A group of twittering, tiny gray birds streaming through bushes and trees and across openings surely are Bushtits. Females' eyes are pale, males' dark. They are highly gregarious except when nesting. The intricately made sock-like nest is unusually large for the size of the bird. Bushtits show a distinct indifference to humans and regularly nest within residential neighborhoods and establish foraging routs throughout many cities. They regularly take suet at bird feeding stations and visit backyard birdbaths. The Bushtit is a fairly common resident throughout Oregon except in Umatilla, Union, and Wallowa counties and at higher elevations of mountain ranges
The Red-breasted nuthatch is a happy, jolly little bird, quick and agile in its motions and seemingly always in a hurry to scramble over the branches. It is distinguished from other nuthatches by white eyebrows, black eyelines and cap, reddish breast, and nasal yank yank song. Although males have a blacker cap and redder breast than females, distinguishing sexes in the field is difficult. During winter, is can be observed foraging in mixed-species flocks with Chickadees, Brown creepers, Kinglets, Townsend's carblers, and Dark-eyed junkos. The Red-breasted nuthatch breeds and winters throughout Oregon where conifer or mixed conifer-hardwood forests are present
Among the largest of the world's nuthatches, White-breasted nuthatches also are noteworthy for an extensive repertoire of unusual behaviors and habits. Unlike most other North American passerines, White-breasted nuthatches maintain close pair bonds over most of the year. In spring, they cement their pair bond by exhibiting a variety of courtship displays. Elaborate display rituals also are used in antagonistic territorial interactions, and distraction displays are used to deter predators. The White-breasted nuthatch is common in western Oregon lowlands. It is most abundant in southwestern interior valleys, with specimens from Salem to Jackson County. It occurs in oak and mixed
A constant chatter of high-pitched staccato tidi tidi tidi or tideet tideet calls coming from the canopy of ponderosa pine forests east of the Cascade Range is a sure sign of the presence of this tiny, highly active, social nuthatch. Measuring only 3.75-4 inches long, this stubby mite is the smallest and plainest of the three western U.S. nuthatches. This is a tree-bark clinger that has a woodpecker-like bill for probing bark, opening seeds, and cavity excavation. The Pygmy nuthatch forages all the tree surfaces from the trunks to the outer- and top-most needles and cones. The Pygmy nuthatch is
Brown creepers are the only North American birds that rely on both the trunk and bark of trees for both nesting and foraging. They are small birds, about five inches in length, and have a long, slender, down-curved bill used to probe for insects hidden in the furrows of tree bark. Their brown back, streaked with white, makes creepers on of the best-camouflaged girds of the forest. They most often forage upward from the base of a tree, using their long, stiff tail for support. The Brown creeper breeds and winters throughout forested areas of Oregon, from the coast to
Secretive little birds, wrens creep through vegetation and take flight in erratic patterns. Kinglets are insectivores.
Even in the most barren and desolate reaches of the Great Basin, the cheerful song of the hardy Rock wren will contradict any notion that the desert is devoid of life. This specialist of cracks and crevices can be found almost anywhere there is exposed rock. One of its most unique features is the mysterious pebble path is constructs from its stone-cave nest to the outside entrance. Drab and pale overall, the gray head and back, white to tawny underparts, and gray tail with buff-tipped corners distinguish this species from other wrens. The Rock wren is a common breeder in
This eloquent wren is admired for its sweet, descending, liquid notes that echo off canyon walls. It is distinguished from other wrens by its gleaming white throat set off by gray head, rusty brown underparts and back, and bright rufous tail. Appreciated as it is, this is one of our least studied birds in part due to its frequently inaccessible habitat: cliffs, rimrock and deep canyon walls. It is a fairly common but local breeder in Oregon east of the Cascade summit; restricted to rocky cliffs or outcrops. It is more dispersed after breeding season west of known breeding range
Salamanders are a group of tailed amphibians with long bodies and short limbs. They often prefer habitats with damp conditions, which allows them to “breathe” better through their skin. Wet and rainy days (typically late fall through spring in Oregon) are the best time to look for salamanders, as the additional moisture from fog and rain allow for increased surface activity. To find salamanders, look in cracks or search under bark, rocks or logs. If you move any debris during your search, remember to put it back where you found it when you’re done—salamanders are sensitive to disturbance and many
Adult tiger salamanders are relatively large with olive-colored blotches outlined in black. They have gray undersides and can grow to 13 inches in total length. As adults, tiger salamanders live almost entirely on land, returning to the water to breed. Terrestrial adults spend a lot of time in burrows that they or other animals have dug. Tiger salamanders are found in grassland and shrub-steppe habitats. It is unknown whether tiger salamanders occurs naturally in Oregon, or whether they were introduced by people after larval salamanders used for bait colonized fishing lakes and ponds. Photo by Matt Reinbold, Flickr
These large-bodied salamanders have solid brown skin that is smooth and moist. Adults can grow to almost 10 inches in total length. Northwestern salamanders live in moist forests or partly wooded areas. Though common in Oregon, adult salamanders are rarely seen because they live underground. Terrestrial adults require moist crevices in logs or rodent burrows in the ground for shelter from weather and predators.
Appropriately named, adult long-toed salamanders have extremely long toes on their hind feet. Adults have black or brown skin that is smooth and moist with a yellow ragged-edged stripe running from its head to the tip of its tail. It is speckled with white or silver dots along its sides and underside. Adults may grow up to more than six inches in total length. Adult long-toed salamanders are seen infrequently, as they spend most of the year in the ground. They find cover in a variety of habitats including grasslands, dry shrub-steppe, pastures, lowland forests, high elevation lakes and ponds
These large salamanders are marbled brown and tan in color when in their rare terrestrial (land-living) adult form. They are brown with yellowish-tan patches on These large salamanders have an aquatic adult stage that is brown with yellowish-tan patches and short gills. The rare terrestrial adult is marbled brown and tan. Larvae of Cope’s giant salamander are smaller with a more narrow head and shorter legs than the coastal giant salamander. Both terrestrial and aquatic adults can grow up to eight inches in total length. Most adult salamanders live in cold, fast-flowing, clear and permanent streams in coniferous forests. Adult
