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This medium-sized flycatcher has expanded its breeding range from northern California to southwestern Oregon and continues to expand its range in Oregon. First experiences with the species may bring to mind a Slate-colored Junco behaving like a flycatcher. The Black phoebe is dull, sooty black overall, somewhat paler on the back, with a white belly contrasting with the black breast and sides. Bill, legs, and feet are black. The phoebe dips its tail repeatedly. Black phoebes are associated with water. Slow-flowing, idle, or slack water of large rivers, streams, and creeks, ephemeral and permanent ponds, lake shorelines, irrigation ditches, and…

Adult clouded salamanders are generally brown with brassy patches on their backs and gray bellies. As salamanders age, the brassy color fades. The clouded salamander is one of the lungless salamander species; they breathe through their moist skin. Mature adults can grow to just over five inches in total length. Clouded salamanders prefer forest habitats or burned areas that provide large decaying logs or stumps. They are often found in Douglas fir trees where they can find burrows in the wood, or spaces just under the bark to hide. They may also hide deep in rock crevices during dry and…

The wild turkey is the largest game bird in North American with mature males weighing upwards of 20 pounds and standing 40 inches tall. These large terrestrial birds are generally dark brown to black in appearance but iridescent color in feathers ranging from gold and copper to green and black gives a metallic appearance, particularly in full sunlight. Males and about 10 percent of females sport a unique beard of keratinous filament that protrudes from the junction of the breast and neck. Beards grow continuously but rarely exceed 10 inches in length. Females are smaller and duller in appearance. Densities…

This sturdy-looking bird has a large head, short tail, and massive conical bill adapted for seed eating. The male plumage features bold patches of lemon yellow shading into olive, then brown and black, with white secondaries creating a flashy wing-patch easily seen in flight. The male's bill is chalky white in winter, but changes in early spring to a pale green that matches the new growth at the tips of spruce boughs, where they often nest. Many encounters with this species are of individuals heard flying high overhead, leaving the observer with little else to note. The Evening grosbeak is…

The bright yellow, red, and black plumage of the male Western Tanager, so conspicuous in open situations is very obscure in forested areas where it tends to blend into the shaded foliage. The species perhaps is best known in migration when it visits city parks, orchards, and other open urban and suburban areas. It is attracted to birdbaths but seldom to bird feeders. It breeds in open coniferous forests and mixed coniferous and deciduous woodlands, primarily in mountains. They usually nest in conifers - rarely deciduous trees - at varying heights, usually well out on a branch, often at the…

The body of the Pacific harbor seal is plump but tapers to small rear flippers permanently extended posteriorly. The head is large and rounded, the eyes are large, the limbs are short, and the nostrils sit dorsally on the muzzle. The nostrils can be closed when this seal dives. The tongue is notched at the tip. The pelage consists of long overhairs that overlay short underhairs. Markings are extremely variable, but in general the pelage is gray or brownish gray with numerous small spots of black that may coalesce to form splotches. Pacific harbor seals have been observed ashore at…

Del Norte salamanders are solid brown or black in color. Some individuals, especially younger salamanders, have a reddish-orange to red stripe along their backs, but it generally fades as they mature. As the species’ scientific name suggests, individuals have long bodies in relation to their short limbs. The Del Norte salamander is one of the lungless salamander species that breathes through it’s skin. They can grow to six inches in total length. Del Norte salamanders live in older redwood or Douglas-fir forests and commonly use rocky substrates rubble, talus (rock fragment piles) and rock outcroppings for cover. During hot and…

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…

The gregarious Tricolored blackbird is one of North America's most intensely colonial breeders, forming dense, non-territorial, noisy colonies. A highly synchronized nesting system exploits secure nesting locations and rich food supplies that change from year to year. In Oregon, breeding colonies are scattered and intermittent at specific locations, though sites used during consecutive years may be in the same general area. The Tricolored blackbird breeds most consistently in Klamath and Jackson Counties. Small colonies and summering residents have been found in the Willamette Valley; during fall and winter they are rare. Most retreat south to California in winter, while some…

In grass or sagebrush-dominated habitats throughout the state, the song and striking appearance of the Western meadowlark create one of the most familiar and endearing avian images in Oregon. It's one of Oregon's most recognizable birds with its bold yellow breast and belly with a distinct black V across the chest and its habit of perching on fences along roadsides. Fittingly, it was chosen as Oregon's state bird by a vote of Oregon schoolchildren ratified by the Legislature in 1927. It is one of the most widely distributed open-country species in the arid desert country of eastern Oregon. It can…

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…

Features: Mule deer are larger and lighter in color than black-tails. Mule deer have a thinner “ropelike” tail that is white with a black tip. Their antlers are forked, as opposed to having a main beam. And as their name implies, they have large ears, like a mule, that stand at an angle. Habitat: Mule deer occupy a wide range of habitat types; some live in desert shrub-steppe, some in woodlands, and some in conifer forests. In general, however, mule deer occupy the more open, rugged areas. Although mule deer commonly are considered “browsers," they consume a wide variety of…

Sporting the form of a curlew, this medium-sized marsh wader is almost always found in flocks, flying in formation and quacking like ducks. Their long, down-curved bill complements their long neck and legs. Although their feathers appear black, a closer look will reveal an iridescence of bronze, purple, maroon, and green. They are named for their "white face" which appears in alternate plumage as a narrow border of white feathers along the edge of their reddish-purple facial skin, delineating a mask around the red eye. The White-faced ibis has extended its breeding grounds in Oregon to wetlands in Harney, Lake…

Features: Chukars are brown-gray with a black stripe running across the head, through the eye, and down onto the chest. Their bills and feet are red, and their sides have white and black barring. Habitat: Extensive areas in eastern Oregon provide ideal habitat for chukars. Cheatgrass, an introduced plant species, was already well established through much of eastern Oregon prior to the 1950s, and provides one of the most important year-around food resources for the chukar. Their habitat is generally steep, rocky, dry, and largely unsuitable for development, agriculture or other commercial uses except grazing. Important chukar areas in Oregon…

Features: The color of all trout varies with environment. In general, the rainbow is bluish-green on the back, silvery on the sides and belly, and has a white edge to the dorsal, anal, and pelvic fins. A generous sprinkling of black spots appear along the back, and on the dorsal, adipose and caudal fins. A pinkish band usually extends along the sides. Habitat: Rainbow trout are the most widely stocked and distributed trout in Oregon. They occur naturally in many rivers and streams, and each year ODFW stocks millions more in ponds, lakes and streams. Prime trout waters are clear…

The bobcat is the smallest wild felid in Oregon, with females being considerably smaller than males. The bobcat is about twice the size of a domestic cat, but its legs are longer, its tail is shorter, and its body is more muscular and compact. The feet are relatively small and the bobcat is not well adapted to negotiate deep snow. In general, the variously spotted pelage is yellowish with grayish overtones in winter and with reddish overtones in summer, reflecting the two annual molts. The ears are black with a large white spot and are equipped with short black tufts…

Features: While in the ocean, Chinook salmon often have a purple hue to their backs with silvery sides and bellies, large oblong black spots on the back, and round black spots on both lobes of the tail (note that tail spotting may be obscured in ocean fish by “silver” in the tail). Upon returning to freshwater to spawn, Chinook darken in color and develop red on their bellies and fins. A key identifier is the black gum line on the lower jaw with dark colors both inside and outside of the gum line. Spawning generally occurs from August to early…

Features: When in the ocean coho salmon can look very similar to Chinook salmon . However, coho will have a white gum line on the lower jaw with darker color both inside and outside of the gum line, and will only have spots on the upper lobe of their tails. When coho return to freshwater they become red on their sides and dark greenish on their backs, heads, and fins. Coho adults may reach 25 pounds or more, but rarely exceed 15 pounds. Habitat: Small, relatively low-gradient tributary streams with pea to orange-sized gravel for spawning and juvenile rearing. Coho…

Features: Smallmouth bass are golden green to bronze with dark vertical bars and blotches on the side. The upper jaw does not extend beyond the eye. In some locations, it has a red eye. Somewhat smaller than the largemouth, smallmouth bass in Oregon may reach 23-inches and exceed 7 pounds. Habitat: Smallmouth bass are adapted to flowing waters and do well in warm streams with deep holes and rocky ledges. They also prefer lakes and reservoirs with rocky shorelines and limited vegetation. Adult smallmouth feed mostly on fish and crayfish. Technique: Much of what was written about largemouth bass also…