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Swimming and diving with grace and energy, red-breasted mergansers arrive in fall but save their complex, contorting courtship display for early spring. A ragged-crested dark green head and reddish brown breast mark the male, along with a dark back and gray sides. Females share the ragged crest; their rufous heads and gray bodies may make separation from common merganser females difficult. Their bills, however, are noticeably slimmer. Red-breasted mergansers are common from fall through spring, mostly in coastal bays and estuaries but occasionally on the open ocean. Hear the call of the red-breasted merganser Photo by Jason Badger, ODFW

Small in size and displaying a showy, almost comical alternate plumage, the male ruddy duck is an unforgettable sight. Breeding males are unmistakable with their rich chestnut back, black crown, white cheek, sky-blue bill, and proportionately long stiff tail. Female plumage is drab in comparison, being dusky dark brown with a dark facial strip across the mostly white cheek, quite similar to the male's basic plumage. Known for their peculiar courtship display in which the male draws his head down and slaps his bill against his breast repeatedly in increasing tempo, creating a bubbling in the water and a hollow…

While not as abundant or conspicuous as the more familiar Canada and snow geese, the great white-fronted goose represents one of the first signs of fall. The greater white-fronted goose is gray-brown in body color and has orange feet. Adults have the namesake white forehead, pinkish-orange bill, and black speckled/barred breast and belly. Laugh-like calls from small skeins of these birds are heard high overhead in August through September in the north Willamette Valley and across the Cascades to south central Oregon and northeast California. Hear the call of the greater white-fronted goose Photo by Dave Budeau, ODFW

The emperor is a medium-sized stocky goose with a white head and metallic blue-gray body reminiscent of a blue-morph snow goose. Dark throat and undertail coverts as well as yellow feet distinguish it from the latter. Juveniles are brown with a gray-black head and neck that becomes white with black flecking in late fall. Vocalizations include in-flight kla-ha, kla-ha, kla-ha, and an alarm call a deep ringing u-lugh, u-lugh, u-lugh. The emperor is a rare but regular visitor in Oregon during migration and in winter, most commonly on the coast. Hear the call of the emperor goose Photo from USFWS

This small white goose is similar in plumage to the snow goose in all ages. In mixed flocks, the Ross's smaller size, shorter neck, head and bill profile and more rapid wing-beat may be apparent. They are a common spring and fall migrant through Klamath and Harney basins. During migration and on wintering grounds, the Ross's goose uses lakes and shallow marshes for roosting and agricultural crops and irrigated hay meadows for feeding. They arrive in Oregon around mid-October and leave around mid-November to continue their migration. They are a common spring and fall migrant through Klamath and Harney basins…

With four wing-beats each second pushing them to 62 miles per hour, brant are the fastest and strongest geese in flight and among the swiftest of all large birds. Black brant comprise the vast majority of brant occurring in Oregon. These small geese have smoky black backs and bellies, and dissected white collars and white around the tails provide striking contrast. The black brant can live up to 20 years and are resilient enough to ride out storms on the open ocean. In Oregon, wintering numbers along the coast have seen a 50 percent reduction from previous years due to…

Canada geese, with their distinctive black neck and head and white cheek patches, need little description because they are one of Oregon's most familiar and conspicuous birds. There are 11 subspecies of the Canada goose. As a whole, the species is widely distributed throughout Oregon, with the exception of mountainous and desert areas lacking reservoirs, lakes, or large rivers. Concentrations of wintering and breeding Canada geese occur wherever agriculture and other human developments provide green forage or small grains and water bodies provide sanctuary. Hear the call of the Canada goose Photo by Leise Wease

Pheasants, grouse, quail and turkey are all upland game birds that are chicken-like and ground-dwelling. Wild turkeys are the largest upland game bird in Oregon.

Chukars are ground-loving birds that quickly run uphill or burst from cover with rapid wing-beats and a characteristic whitoo call if alarmed. Introduced by managers wishing to increase hunting opportunities in arid western North America, the chukar is a very successful exotic species that occupies habitats where few other gamebirds exist. It is the most harvested upland bird in Oregon. It is a common permanent resident of eastern Oregon. Populations are distributed in steppe habitats along the breaks of the Columbia, John Day, Snake, Owyhee, Deschutes, Malheur, Burnt and Grand Ronde rivers and lesser watercourses or reservoirs. Hear the call…

Oregon hosted the first successful introduction of the ring-necked pheasant in North America. This exotic game bird, released for sport hunting from China is now widely introduced and distributed throughout North America. Although more likely to run than fly, the ring-necked pheasant will explode into the air if startled, producing a distinctive sound from rapid wing-beats. It inhabits open areas such as grasslands, agricultural fields, and brushy areas, and avoids forested habitats. Hear the call of the ring-necked pheasant Photo by Charlotte Ganskopp

This popular upland game bird is the largest of Oregon's three forest grouse. It is well known for the distinctive hooting call emitted by courting males in the spring. This call is accompanied by an extravagant courtship display involving exposure of blood-engorged, featherless shoulder spots and eye combs, which are reddish to orange. It is a common resident in coniferous forests. Hear the call of the dusky grouse Photo by Jim Dollar, Flickr

An Oregon native, sooty grouse occupy the coniferous forests of western Oregon, the eastern slopes of the Cascades, the Blue Mountains of northeastern Oregon, and the Klamath Basin and South Warner Mountains. Preferred habitat includes timber edges, open timbered slopes and mountain meadows, often adjacent to springs or other sources of water. They are often associated with berry producing areas such as chokecherry thickets. Hear the call of the sooty grouse Photo by ©Keith Kohl, ODFW

This is the largest native quail in North America and one of the least understood. Males and females have identical plumage characterized by distinctive white flank barring and prominent vertical head plumes. Their eastern Oregon range appears reduced from historical accounts. Mountain quail are considered occasional in Union and Wallowa counties. They have also been observed along many of the tributaries of the John Day River in Wheeler and Grant counties and some in Wasco, Jefferson, Deschutes and Crook counties. In western Oregon, they are found in most forested mountainous areas generally above 1,640 feet, but may move to valley…

California quail are the most widely distributed upland game birds in Oregon. Most easily recognized by the comma-shaped, black, plume, or "topknot," which bends forward and is larger on the male. It has been a resident statewide since the early 1900s, except for most forests of the north Coast Range and west Cascades; it is generally absent along the coast north of Coos Bay. California quail is also absent from high-elevation areas of the east Cascade range. They are common residents in rural and even some suburban areas, particularly in eastern Oregon where many coveys gather at feeding stations during…

These diving birds are built for living on the water, floating low on the surface with legs farther to the rear to help propel them underwater. Loons have webbed feet, grebes have lobed toes.

A small loon holding its slender head erect and narrow, upswept bill upward is most always a red-throated. A quick flyer, it can be identified by rapid deep wing-beats, humpbacked body with head and neck extending below the body, and wings appearing far to the rear due to the usual invisibility of the small feet. Often feeding near the surf, it may be spotted by beachcombing humans. It can take flight from a small water area, and can also, if pressed, take flight from land. It is an abundant Oregon nearshore transient from fall through spring. Hear the call of…

This largest of the commonly encountered loons is perfectly built for underwater prey pursuit. Ungainly on land, this may be the price it pays for being a great diver. Large and blocky-headed, with a straight, robust bill, the common loon is separated from the yellow-billed by its straight bill and winter face pattern, and from smaller loons by its more angular head and often-retracted robust neck. Black head, white "necklace," incomplete black-and-white neckband, and white-checkered black back define breeding adults. Dark gray upperparts of winter adults shade to white underparts. Take-off is impossible by land and labored on water, but…

This large loon breeds in the Arctic tundra from Northwestern Russia across Siberia and Alaska through Canada to Hudson Bay. It winters in North America along the coast of South Alaska and British Columbia, and regularly in small numbers south to Baja, California. The majority of Oregon records are of transient birds found between early November and early June. Hear the call of the yellow-billed loon Photo by Mark Peck, Flickr

The pied-billed grebe is an aquatic species that breeds at the edge of open water in freshwater lakes, ponds, sluggish rivers, and marshes. When disturbed, it sinks like a submarine, rather than diving, and re-emerges with only its head above water. This is a brownish grebe with a black vertical bar in the middle of the rather stubby, whitish bill, and jet-black throat patch on both sexes in alternate plumage. It has a surprisingly loud "yelping" call within a marsh. Young have striking stripes on the head. This bird is widespread and common in Oregon. It winters locally in open…

This salt-loving bird is possibly the most abundant grebe in the world. These grebes nest in the large, tule-fringed marshes of southeastern Oregon. They also use almost any open water for feeding after the breeding season. The eared grebe has been reported breeding in nearly every eastern Oregon county, but principal breeding areas are in Klamath, Lake, and Harney counties. It is local elsewhere east of the Cascades. Hear the call of the eared grebe Photo by Dave Budeau, ODFW