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The snowshoe hare is the smallest member of the genus in Oregon. Individuals in populations east of the Cascade Range, and some individuals in the Cascade Range, become white in winter and are brown in summer. This hare is associated with dense thickets of young conifers, especially those with lower branches touching the ground and especially firs and western larch interspersed with small clearings vegetated by grasses and forbs. Photo from ODFW

The red fox has a beautiful orange-red coat, black feet, and black-tipped ears. The belly is usually white or light grey, the muzzle is narrow and pointed, and the ears are pointed. It is an opportunistic carnivore, eating what is available including small mammals, birds and their eggs, reptiles, amphibians, fruit and some insects. The red fox is territorial and mates for life Red foxes occur throughout much of Oregon.

This lizard prefers humid areas, such as the edges of meadows in coniferous forests, and is also found in riparian zones. This is the only lizard found in the cool coastal forests of northern Oregon. The Northern alligator lizard eats small invertebrates (termites, beetles, ticks, spiders, millipedes, and snails), and occasionally takes small birds, mammals, and other lizards. Photo by Simon Wray

This snake is most common in thick vegetation along water bodies, but ranges into farmland, chaparral, and deciduous and mixed coniferous woodlands in the Rogue and Umpqua river valleys of southwestern Oregon. Common kingsnakes usually feed on other snakes, but have been known to take small turtles, birds and their eggs, frogs, lizards, reptile eggs, and some small mammals. Photo by Alan Schmierer, Flickr

In the Northwest, this snake is found in grasslands, sagebrush flats, rocky stream courses, and canyon bottoms. Elsewhere it also frequents juniper and pine-oak woodlands. In southwestern Oregon, it is found in dry bushy areas close to rocks. Young striped whipsnakes feed primarily on lizards and insects. Adults also take snakes, small mammals, young birds, and insects. Photo by Bryn Hamilton, Flickr

The American bullfrog is a non-native invasive frog that survives and reproduces very successfully in Oregon. Bullfrogs aggressively compete for food and living space with our native frogs. They eat many types of native wildlife including other frogs, young pond turtles, and ducklings. Bullfrogs can lay almost 10 times more eggs than native frogs and can quickly out number them. Photo by Kathy Munsel

These delicate and truly golden plovers that pass through Oregon in fall are always a delight to find on an open beach or grassy coastal plain. The Pacific golden-plover feeds mainly in the open. A rare to uncommon migrant; most birds occur in fall on the outer coast. They are very rare to rare in winter on the coast and in the Willamette Valley. Hear the call of the Pacific golden-plover Photo by Dave Budeau, ODFW

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.

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 mournful, drawn-out coo, coo, coo vocalization of a male Mourning dove advertising for a mate is a familiar sound to suburbanites and country-dwellers alike. Annual sunflower is a popular food in Oregon. This species is abundant in spring, summer, and early fall statewide in open landscapes, except along the coast and in the higher elevations of the east Cascades. Hear the call of the Mourning dove Photo by Charlotte Ganskopp

This species breeds in upland deciduous and mixed forests with dense understory from southeastern Canada south to Georgia. It winters in the Caribbean and Middle America and casually in the United States. It migrates primarily along the east coast and regularly in small numbers along the west coast. It is rare but regular in Oregon during the fall from early September to mid-November. Hear the song of the Black-throated warbler Photo by Kenneth Schneider, Flickr

This warbler of the boreal forest breeds in Alaska and across northern Canada to the east coast and south to Pennsylvania. It migrates along the east coast to winter in South America. It is a regular transient elsewhere east of the Rocky Mountains and in California. In Oregon it is reported in small numbers almost annually with most records being immatures from Harney County and along the immediate coast. Hear the song of the Blackpoll warbler Photo by D. Faulder, Flickr

California myotis is an acrobatic flyer. It is dark brown to blond with dark ears, and feeds on moths and flies. Early in the summer, a female joins a maternity or nursery colony where she gives birth to one offspring. In winter, these bats roost in mines, caves and buildings. The California myotis is an Oregon Conservation Strategy Species found throughout the state except for the Columbia Basin. Photo by ©Michael Durham

This bat is commonly found in attics and buildings during summer months in maternity colonies. It weighs about half an ounce and has a wingspan of nine to 11 inches. It prefers to live in forests near water. One baby is born in spring or summer. In winter, this bat hibernates in caves. The little brown myotis occurs throughout Oregon in a wide variety of habitats, but seems especially prone to establish residence near a lake, pond, or stream. Photo by ©Michael Durham

This is a colonial species that uses rocky islands or spits in large freshwater marshes, lakes, and rivers for nesting. It may fly at least five miles from the nest to forage in marshes, rivers, pastures, or other open habitats. There are colonies of Ring-billed gulls at marshes of southeastern Oregon and on islands in the Columbia and Snake rivers. There has been a colony near Baker City for over 20 years. Hear the call of the Ring-billed gull Photo by Kathy Munsel, ODFW

This delicate warbler rewards a diligent observer with a stunning black-and-orange vision hidden among the leaves (adult males) or a more subtle gray-and-gold (females and immatures) in riparian areas within the open forests of northeastern Oregon. A spars, unpredictable and probably declining breeder in the state, it is sometimes seen at "vagrant traps" such as desert oases and isolated coastal copses during migration. Hear the song of the American redstart Photo by Dan Pacamo, Flickr

The Common yellowthroat is one of North America's most widespread warbler species and its witchity-witchity-witchity song is also among the most easily recognized. This skulker may breed in any suitably damp brushy or weedy habitat throughout the state, and can be abundant in extensive marshy habitat. They are rare in winter in western Oregon in interior valleys and along the coast. Hear the song of the Common yellowthroat Photo by Kathy Munsel, ODFW

The water shrew is a large shrew with a very dark gray to black dorsal pelage, a white venter and throat, and a sharply bicolored tail. It occurs, in Oregon, as disjunct populations in the Wallowa, Blue, Ochoco, Strawberry, Steens, and Hart mountains and in the High Cascade Range west and downslope to McKenzie Bridge, Lane county. It is almost always found near water. Undercut banks, exposed tree roots, and boulder-strewn streamsides vegetated by willow, willow-grass, or willow-alder associations seem to be prime habitat. Photo by Charlie Marshall, Flickr