Oregon’s forests are home to an array of wildlife. This interactive guide provides a snapshot of the variety of forest-dwelling animals found in the state.
Protecting forestland from development is a great way to minimize habitat loss for species that rely on forests. Forest landowners can also use forest management techniques to maintain, enhance and even create habitat for birds, mammals and amphibians while still managing lands for timber production.
Range
The American black bear can be found throughout the state of Oregon.
Description
A male black bear can weigh up to 300 pounds and stand 3 feet at the shoulder and 7 feet from nose-to-tail. Females are slightly smaller at between 150 and 250 pounds, 2 to 3 feet tall at the shoulders and 4 to 5 feet from nose-to-tail. Both genders are typically uniform in color except for a brown muzzle.
Diet and habitat
American black bears are omnivores, consuming a diet of plants, fruits, nuts, insects and honey, as well as salmon, small mammals and carrion. The black bear occurs mostly within forested areas in riparian, mixed conifer, lodgepole pine, aspen, white oak and mixed conifer-hardwood forest types. Dens are often in large stumps or hollow logs.
Predators and threats
They have few predators, although adult male black bears are a threat to young black bear cubs.
Reproduction
American black bears mate during the summer and typically only reproduce every second year. Gestation is 63 to 70 days, usually producing two cubs, which will remain with the mother for at least 1.5 years.
Range
Anna’s hummingbird is among the most common hummingbirds along the Pacific Coast of Oregon. It is the only hummingbird to spend the winter in northern climates.
Description
Barely bigger than a golf ball, they average 3 to 4 inches in length and have a bronze-green back, a pale grey chest and belly, and green flanks. Its bill is long, straight and slender. Males have a rose-pink head and throat.
Diet and habitat
They hover before flowers looking for nectar and insects. Anna’s hummingbirds are common in yards, parks, residential streets, riverside woods and coastal scrub.
Predators and threats
They have a wide variety of predators for such a small bird, including snakes and western scrub jays.
Reproduction
The female raises the young without the assistance of the male. The female bird builds the nest in a shrub or tree, or in vines or on wires.
Range
The bald eagle can be spotted throughout Oregon’s large inland lakes, marshes and other areas that provide tall trees or cliffs suitable for nesting. Frequent sightings of breeding pairs occur in Upper Klamath Lake, along the Columbia River and at the Crane Prairie and Wickiup reservoirs.
Description
Bald eagles are not actually bald. Its name comes from an older term meaning of "white headed.” The adult is mainly dark brown with a white head and tail. The sexes are identical in look, but females are larger than males. Their beak is large and hooked. Adults average between 28 and 38 inches in length, with an average wingspan of 80 inches. They weigh about 6 to 13 pounds.
Diet and habitat
Though the bald eagle is an opportunistic feeder, it prefers fish. Other prey includes large birds, mammals and carrion. It prefers forested areas near large bodies of water for breeding, and requires large trees for nesting.
Predators and threats
Gulls, ravens, crows, black bears, raccoons, hawks, owls and bobcats prey upon young.
Reproduction
It breeds in January and produces a clutch size of one to three eggs. Parents alternate incubating the clutch for 35 to 46 days, and the chicks usually fledge at three months old. The adult breeding pair will reuse the large platform nest for many years.
Range
Willamette Valley, Klamath Mountains, West Cascades and Coast Range.
Description
A mature black-tailed deer is about 66 inches in length and weighs between 100 to 200 pounds (females are smaller than males). They are distinguished by their triangular tail with a dark brown or black top and a white underside.
Diet and habitat
Their diet consists of many plant species including trailing blackberry, thimbleberry, red huckleberry, red alder, Douglas-fir, western redcedar, hazel, vine maple and lichens. They are found primarily in western Oregon and inhabit riparian, mixed conifer, ponderosa pine and white oak forest types, preferring young forest stands for feeding and fawning and older stands for hiding and thermal cover. They are often seen in parklands, grasslands, and urban areas as well.
Predators and threats
Primary predators include mountain lions, bobcats, bears, coyotes, dogs and people.
Reproduction
Females will give birth to one to two fawns per year, and young are able to travel with the mother shortly after birth.
Range
Bobcats are found throughout Oregon in riparian, mixed conifer, lodgepole pine, ponderosa pine, aspen, white oak and mixed conifer-hardwood forest types.
Description
It is typically 17 to 23 inches tall and 25 to 41 inches long, weighing 16 to 28 pounds, with females being considerably smaller than males. In general, it is yellow with gray overtones in winter and reddish overtones in summer, reflecting the two annual molts. The ears are black with a large white spot, and the tail is black-tipped.
Diet and habitat
It hunts rabbits and hares, but also birds and small mammals such as mice and mountain beaver.
Predators and threats
Humans pose the greatest threat to the bobcat, through forest habitat conversion to development and farmland.
Reproduction
Mating season is usually in late winter, with the kittens born in early spring after a gestation lasting 50 to 70 days. Kittens leave their mother’s territory at between 8 and 11 months old.
Range
The coyote is fairly uniformly distributed throughout Oregon.
Description
Adults are about 50 pounds, 2 feet tall and 41 to 53 inches long. Its coat can be grayish, buff, pinkish-cinnamon, brownish, or a combination of those colors, but will typically have black-tipped hair on the ears, muzzle and feet.
Diet and habitat
It feeds on small mammals, birds, insects, fruit and carrion. It occurs in habitats ranging from grasslands to dense forests, and from remote wilderness to highly urbanized areas.
Predators and threats
People pose the greatest risk to coyotes. However, hawks and eagles may take pups.
Reproduction
Coyotes usually have one litter a year and around seven pups per litter, born in an underground den, where they remain for several weeks.
Range
The deer mouse has one of the broadest distribution of any species, and occurs throughout Oregon.
Description
This species has white feet, usually white undersides, and brownish upper surfaces. Their tails are relatively long, sometimes as long as the head and body, producing an overall length of up to 7 inches.
Diet and habitat
Deer mice are omnivorous, feeding on seeds, fruits, arthropods, leaves and fungi. It occupies nearly every type of habitat within its range, from forests to grasslands. Below the tree line, it occurs as part of essentially all communities.
Predators and threats
Deer mice serve as a main food item for all predators that eat mice, including snakes, coyotes, hawks and owls.
Reproduction
Deer mouse breeding tends to be determined more by food availability than by season. It breeds throughout the year. Typical litters are composed of three to five young. Most female deer mice have more than one litter per year. The young may begin breeding at two months of age.
Range
The Coast Range, Willamette Valley, Klamath Mountains, West Cascades, East Cascades, Basin and Range, and Blue Mountains.
Description
Adults are about 14 inches in length including the tail, and weigh between 150 and 300 grams. Their appearance varies according to the season. In the summer, they are grayish with pale orange on the chest and belly. In the winter, the coat is browner and the underside is grayer.
Diet and habitat
They mostly eat seeds of conifer trees, but also consume nuts, fruit, sap, bird eggs, insects and fungi. Unlike many other types of tree squirrels, they lack cheek pouches in which to hold food. Widespread in western Oregon, they inhabit mixed conifer, lodgepole pine, ponderosa pine, white oak and mixed conifer-hardwood forest types.
Predators and threats
Douglas squirrels are preyed upon by hawks, owls, the American marten, bobcats and house cats.
Reproduction
They produce one to eight young per year.
Range
Fender's blue butterfly can be found in Oregon’s native grasslands and upland prairies. The Willamette Valley, Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge and Willow Creek Main Preserve are home to the largest remaining populations.
Description
They are a relatively small butterfly with a wingspan of approximately 1 inch. The wings of the males are brilliant blue with a black margin and a white fringe of scales. The wings of the females are brown with a white fringe.
Diet and habitat
Native wildflowers, including wild onion, flax and pink checkermallow, are the main source of nectar for adults.
Predators and threats
They are preyed upon by songbirds, lizards and frogs. Populations are threatened with habitat loss from human development, livestock and agricultural uses, tree planting and invasive weeds.
Reproduction
It lays eggs that hatch and remain active as larvae from May through June. In fall and winter larvae hibernate, and by the following May they emerge as mature adult butterflies.
Range
Garter snakes are some of the most common reptiles in much of their ranges, including the Coast Range, Klamath Mountains, Willamette Valley, West Cascades, East Cascades, Columbia Plateau and Blue Mountains.
Description
Oregon has four types of garter snakes: the common, western aquatic, western terrestrial and northwestern garter snake. Scales come in a wide range of colors, but there is usually a yellow or yellow-green stripe running down the backbone. Their length is highly variable, but typically about 48 inches long.
Diet and habitat
Garter snakes are carnivorous. Their diets consist of slugs, earthworms, leeches, lizards, amphibians, ants, frog eggs and toads. They are widespread in Oregon, found in riparian, mixed conifer, lodgepole pine, ponderosa pine, aspen, white oak and mixed conifer hardwood forest types, as well as parklands.
Predators and threats
Hawks, owls, cats, raccoons, and minks prey on garter snakes.
Reproduction
During mating season, the males mate with several females. Gestation is 2 to 3 months. As few as three or as many as 80 snakes are born in a single litter. The young are independent upon birth.
Range
The giant Pacific salamander can be found along Oregon’s west coast.
Description
The coastal giant salamander can grow up to 14 inches long. It has a wedge-shaped head, smooth dark brown to dark grey skin with a brown or tan marbling on the dorsal area. The chin and belly are pale grey or cream. It is one of only a few salamanders that make a croaky sound similar to that of a barking dog.
Diet and habitat
Adults are generally terrestrial foragers, and will consume any prey that can be overpowered including beetles, spiders, slugs, shrews, mice and other salamanders. Its larvae feed on aquatic invertebrates such as tadpoles, small fish and occasionally each other. They live in damp areas at the edge of pools, lakes and streams. On land, they can be found under rotting logs or leaves, or in mossy crevices.
Predators and threats
Toxins from skin glands are used as a defense against many predators.
Reproduction
Females lay their eggs on the leaves and stems of aquatic plants. The eggs will hatch into larvae in 3 to 4 weeks. Larvae, which are totally aquatic, can reach 20 cm and start out in a somewhat tadpole-like state with only a tail, small forelimbs and external gills. In several months they transform into juvenile newts, which soon venture onto land.
Range
Blue Mountains. There are three documented packs located in the northeastern portion of the state.
Description
Although they’re called gray wolves, they can range in color from arctic white to tan and gray to jet-black. Males range in weight from about 45 to 175 pounds. Females weigh slightly less than males.
Diet and habitat
Assuming there is an adequate supply of prey, gray wolves can flourish in any environment. Currently known packs utilize forested and open areas, but it is unknown at this time where wolves will persist in Oregon.
Predators and threats
Wolves in packs have no natural predators. Wolves were originally exterminated from Oregon, but have recently begun dispersing back to Oregon from Idaho.
Reproduction
The breeding season is latitude-dependent and is generally between January and April. Breeding pairs annually produce a litter of about six pups.
Range
The hairy woodpecker is widespread throughout Oregon. It is found primarily in mixed-conifer and ponderosa pine forests, as well as adjacent deciduous stands, especially during the breeding season.
Description
Adults are about 9.5 inches, with a 15-inch wingspan. It has a pale gray-brown back and wings with white spots, a relatively large bill, and a black head with two large white bars on each side.
Diet and habitat
It consumes insects and their eggs, other invertebrates, seeds, nuts and fruit. It resides in forests throughout Oregon, with the exception of southeast Oregon.
Predators and threats
The hairy woodpecker is preyed upon by hawks, weasels and martens.
Reproduction
It produces four eggs, incubated by the male and female alternately for about 12 days.
Range
This bat roosts among the branches of both deciduous and coniferous trees throughout the state and likes to feed around permanent outdoor lights. It migrates north to Oregon in the spring and returns south for the winter.
Description
It is the largest bat in Oregon, with a wingspan of nearly 16 inches, with its body averaging between 4.5 and 6 inches in length and weighing about 1 ounce. The body has dark fur tipped with white.
Diet and habitat
It feeds on flying insects such as flies, moths, mosquitoes, beetles and dragonflies. Foraging activities usually occur over water and brushy areas along forest edges of middle-aged to older stands where nesting and roosting sites are available. It can be found foraging in riparian, mixed conifer, lodgepole pine, ponderosa pine, aspen, white oak or mixed conifer-hardwood forests.
Predators and threats
The hoary bat is preyed upon by hawks, owls, weasels and snakes. It is threatened by habitat loss and degradation, especially of roosting and nursery sites.
Reproduction
It mates in the fall with delayed fertilization until spring, when it usually produces two young per litter.
Range
These seabirds nest on mossy platforms on the limbs of old tree stands, no more than 55 miles inland along Oregon’s Coast Range and Klamath Mountains.
Description
It is typically white underneath with a black crown, nape, wings and back. Adults average 9.5 to 10 inches in length, with an average wingspan of 16 inches and weigh between 9 to 12.5 ounces.
Diet and habitat
It feeds on fish including Pacific sand lance, northern anchovy, Pacific herring and surf smelt, and invertebrates such as mollusks. It prefers older forests, including Douglas-fir, western redcedar, western hemlock and Sitka spruce, that provide large moss-covered tree limbs for nests. It winters at sea.
Predators and threats
The marbled murreletis is preyed upon by falcons and owls, while jays and squirrels consume eggs. Loss of habitat is a concern, as larger older tree stands provide habitat for this species.
Reproduction
It produces one egg by June in a nest lined with moss or conifer needles. The egg is incubated for a period of about 28 days, and the chick fledges by early fall.
Range
The mountain lion can be found throughout Oregon, but primarily western Oregon. East of the Cascade Range the species is probably limited largely to the Ochoco, Blue and Wallowa mountains.
Description
Approximately 2 feet high at the shoulder and 3.5 to 5.5 feet long, the mountain lion is Oregon’s largest feline, typically weighing about 110 to 180 pounds.
Diet and habitat
It feeds on mammals such as deer in forest stands where prey species are most abundant. Although it is possible to observe cougars in almost any habitat type, they are usually found in remote forested areas and often in dense vegetation, especially in winter.
Predators and threats
Young cubs can be preyed upon by other mountain lions.
Reproduction
They are largely solitary mammals except during mating season, and will usually produce one litter per year, typically three cubs per litter.
Range
Mule deer are widespread east of the Cascades (East Cascades, Columbia Plateau, Blue Mountains, Basin and Range).
Description
The mule deer gets its name from its large, distinctive ears. It has an average height of 31 to 42 inches at the shoulders and a nose-to-tail length ranging from 4 to 6.9 feet. Of this, the tail may be 4.5 to 9 inches long and is black-tipped. Adult bucks normally weigh 120 to 330 pounds, with females averaging around 150 pounds.
Diet and habitat
It feeds mostly on forbs and the leaves and twigs of woody shrubs, especially shrubs of young ages following disturbance to vegetation such as fire, storms or logging.
Predators and threats
Mule deer are preyed on by wolves, coyotes and cougars. Black bears may prey on fawns. Threats include habitat degradation, extreme weather, disease, poaching and vehicle collisions.
Reproduction
They breeds in November and produces one or two fawns in mid-June.
Range
In Oregon the northern spotted owl inhabits the older coniferous forests of the Coast Range, Klamath Mountains, Willamette Valley, West Cascades and East Cascades.
Description
The northern spotted owl ranks among the largest owl species in North America, averaging 18.5 to 19 inches in height. It is dark-to-chestnut brown in color and sports round white spots on its head, neck, chest and back. Its flight feathers are also dark brown and barred with light brown or white.
Diet and habitat
Primarily nocturnal hunters, they eat flying squirrels and woodrats, and will occasionally take bats and other owls. They require tree cavities, broken-topped trees or nests built by raptors or squirrels as high as 200 feet above the ground for nesting.
Predators and threats
It is preyed upon by great horned owls, barred owls and northern goshawks. Squirrels, other rodents and jays feed on their eggs. The barred owl and loss of habitat pose the greatest risk to this species.
Reproduction
It begins breeding in March and produces a clutch size of one to three eggs that are incubated by the female. The male remains close by to supply the female with food. Chicks fledge at about six weeks of age.
Range
The Northern Flying Squirrel is found in the Coast Range, Klamath Mountains, Willamette Valley, West Cascades, East Cascades and Blue Mountains.
Description
Light brown or cinnamon fur on their upper body and whitish underneath, this is the smallest tree squirrel in Oregon. A furred flap extends from the ankle to the wrist, which allows it to glide from tree to tree.
Diet and habitat
A major food source for this squirrel is mushroom and fungi of various species, in addition to lichens, insects, seeds, nuts, fruit, sap, and birds and their eggs. It can be found in many forested areas of Oregon, including riparian, mixed conifer, lodgepole pine, ponderosa pine, white oak and mixed conifer-hardwood forest types.
Predators and threats
It is preyed upon by owls, weasels and martens.
Reproduction
It produces a single litter of two to four young each year, typically utilizing a tree cavity for nesting and roosting.
Range
The Pacific banana slug can be found in foggy moist forest habitats of western Oregon.
Description
The Pacific banana slug is the second-largest species of terrestrials in the world, growing up to 10 inches long and weighing up to 4 ounces. They are often bright yellow, although they may also be green, brown or white. Some slugs have black spots.
Diet and habitat
Banana slugs are considered general herbivores that eat all kinds of leaf litter, green plants and fungus. They are common in moist forest habitats.
Predators and threats
Their coloring allows them to camouflage with leaves on the forest floor. This serves as protection from such prey as beetles and raccoons.
Reproduction
They secrete a protective layer of mucus. The slime also contains pheromones to attract other slugs for mating. Females lay up to 75 translucent eggs in logs or on leaves. Slugs mate and lay eggs throughout the year. The adults provide no further care for their eggs, which will hatch in 3 to 8 weeks.
Range
They range throughout Oregon and can live in a variety of habitats, from sea level up to 10,000 feet in elevation.
Description
The Pacific tree frog is approximately 1.5 inches in length, with a dark mask extending from the nostrils to the shoulders. The skin may appear green, brown, reddish, bronze or pale gray. It may often be heard croaking, especially after it rains.
Diet and habitat
It consumes a highly varied diet including algae, ants, flies, centipedes, beetles, spiders, slugs and snails. It makes its home in riparian habitat as well as woodlands, grassland, chaparral, pastureland, and even urban areas including backyard ponds.
Predators and threats
The Pacific tree frog is preyed upon by lizards, snakes, bullfrogs and herons.
Reproduction
Breeding occurs in shallow, vegetated wetlands including forested swamps. It commonly reproduces in seasonal wetlands that dry up before midsummer. Breeding is typically from February to June at low elevations, and not until June or July at higher elevations.
Range
It is found in the Coast Range, Klamath Mountains, Willamette Valley, West Cascades, East Cascades, Blue Mountains and Columbia Plateau.
Description
One of the most striking birds of the forest, it is black with bold white stripes down the neck and a flaming-red crest. Adults are nearly the size of a crow, averaging 16 to 19 inches in length, weighing around 9 to 12 ounces and with an average wingspan of 26 to 29.5 inches.
Diet and habitat
The pileated woodpecker feeds on insects such as carpenter ants, beetles, termites and other invertebrates, plus seeds, nuts, fruit and berries. It prefers nesting in large trees of 2 to 3 feet in diameter, where it excavates large holes. Pileated woodpeckers live in mature deciduous or mixed deciduous-coniferous woodlands of nearly every type.
Predators and threats
It is preyed upon by squirrels, tree-climbing snakes and hawks.
Reproduction
It begins breeding in April and produces a clutch size of one to six eggs that are incubated by both parents for about 12 days. For some time after the chicks fledge, the family group, including the parents and the young birds, remains together.
Range
The raccoon is a familiar animal to most Oregonians, because they are found throughout the state.
Description
They have stiff, long hair, generally gray with yellow or brown. The distinctive tail is typically 12 inches long and has from 5 to 7 rings. They also have a pointed snout and long, flexible fingers with sharp claws.
Diet and habitat
They will catch and eat fish, insects, lizards and amphibians. They will also eat small mammals, eggs, acorns, fruit and grains. Raccoons are nocturnal animals, taking shelter in dens, trees or logs during the day.
Predators and threats
Raccoons have few natural enemies in Oregon. Bobcats, wolves, coyotes and great horned owls may prey on young raccoons.
Reproduction
Females give birth to a litter of one to seven kits that will live with their mother for up to 130 days, after which they will leave to find their own territory.
Range
The red-tailed hawk is one of the most common hawks in Oregon, and occupies open country, scrub, woodlands, rocky canyons, coastlines, prairies and deserts.
Description
Generally, adults have a broad, fan-shaped tail with a red upper surface. Typically, backs and upper wing surfaces are dark gray or reddish brown. The breast is cream-colored and streaked with brown. There may also be a darker band across the belly. Most are about 22 inches, with a 52-inch wingspan.
Diet and habitat
About 75 percent of their diet consists of rodents and other small mammals, but also insects, reptiles and other birds. They can be found throughout Oregon in open areas associated with riparian, mixed conifer, ponderosa pine, white oak, aspen and hardwood forest types, and in grasslands and agricultural areas.
Predators and threats
Their eggs and young sometime fall prey to raccoons and great horned owls.
Reproduction
The red-tailed hawk produces two to three offspring per season. The nest is usually in a tall tree bordering an open area. The male brings food to the female incubating the eggs.
Range
The Willamette Valley, Klamath Mountains, West Cascades and Coast Range of Oregon.
Description
Bulls average between 700 and 1,100 pounds; cows are between 575 and 625 pounds. The average length of a Roosevelt elk is 8 feet, but mature bull elks have been measured up to 10 feet. They are dark brown and have a dark mane and yellow-brown rump.
Diet and habitat
They eat various grasses that are plentiful during typical years, as well as eating foliage from shrubs, trees and bushes including trailing blackberry, huckleberry, salal, vine maple, salmonberry, Douglas-fir, western hemlock and western redcedar. Roosevelt elk are found throughout western Oregon in riparian, mixed conifer and white oak forest types, and in parklands, grasslands and agricultural areas.
Predators and threats
They are threatened by mountain lions, bears and people.
Reproduction
Typically one calf is born between mid-May to mid-June and weighs between 30 and 35 pounds at birth. The calves remain with their mother until just before the breeding season begins in the next year.
Range
Rough-skinned newts are large salamanders that can reach lengths of 8 inches. In Oregon, they extend from sea level to up to 6,250 feet in elevation in the Cascades.
Description
They have large heads with blunt noses. Their back is typically light to chocolate brown in color, while its underside is bright yellow to orange-red. The skin is usually leathery with a granular feel.
Diet and habitat
Newts inhabit woods and forests that contain lakes and ponds with aquatic plants, feeding on small invertebrates such as spiders, worms and various insects.
Predators and threats
Eggs, larvae and the skin of adults contain a powerful neurological poison, tetrodotoxin, which protects them from predators. Garter snakes are significant predators because they have evolved a biochemical defense against the toxin.
Reproduction
They breed in ponds, where the larvae and juveniles often hide in soft bottom sediments.
Range
As one of the largest and most widespread skunk species in North America, it can be found throughout Oregon.
Description
It is easily identified by the two white bands that run the length of its black body from the back of the head to the tip of the tail.
Diet and habitat
The striped skunk consumes insects and other invertebrates, small mammals, birds and their eggs. The striped skunk is a highly adaptable creature and makes its home in a variety of habitats, from dense woodland to the woodpile behind a house. It rarely strays far from water and prefers young to middle-aged forest stands, agricultural lands, meadows and brushy areas where food is plentiful.
Predators and threats
It can spray a foul-smelling liquid from anal scent glands located under the tail; as a result it has few natural enemies. However, it is sometimes preyed upon by great horned owls, barred owls and red-tailed hawks.
Reproduction
It produces from two to 10 young per litter, and one litter per year.
Range
The western bluebird is widespread throughout the state, but more commonly found in the foothills of western Oregon during the breeding season.
Description
They average 6 to 7.5 inches in length, with an average wingspan of 13.5 inches, and weigh about 1 ounce. Males are a very bright purplish-blue with a rust-colored chest and gray belly. Females are similar but not as bright.
Diet and habitat
They feed on insects, including beetles, ants, moth larvae and grasshoppers during the summer and fruits and seeds during the winter. They require either natural tree cavities or vacant woodpecker holes for nesting, and use a variety of materials to build nests, such as grass, straw, conifer needles, fur and bark.
Predators and threats
They are preyed upon by cats and raccoons. The introduction of European starlings and house sparrows created competition with this bluebird for nest sites in western Oregon.
Reproduction
It begins breeding in May and can produce up to two broods per year, with clutch sizes of two to eight eggs. The female incubates the clutch for about two weeks, and the chicks are able to leave the nest at about 17 days old. At this time, the male continues feeding the young while the female prepares for the second brood of the season.
Range
The western toad is found throughout Oregon except most of the Willamette Valley. They live at a variety of elevations, from sea level up to 7,370 feet in the Steens Mountains.
Description
This is a large toad, averaging 4.5 inches in length, with dry, bumpy skin and horizontal pupils. It ranges from reddish-brown to gray to olive green in color, and has a cream-colored stripe that runs down the middle of its back.
Diet and habitat
Tadpoles feed on algae and detritus, and adults feed on small invertebrates including ants, beetles, spiders, earthworms and crayfish. It is found within a wide diversity of habitats, including grasslands, woodlands, forests, mountain meadows and desert flats that provide suitable water sources.
Predators and threats
It is preyed upon by garter snakes, coyotes, raccoons and birds such as ravens, gray jays, spotted sandpipers and mallard ducks. Primary threats include loss of wetlands.
Reproduction
Adult female toads require shallow water for laying clutches of up to 16,000 eggs that hatch in three to 10 days. Tadpoles only take a couple months to reach adulthood.
Range
The western rattlesnake is found throughout Oregon, with the exception of the Coast and Cascade mountain ranges.
Description
It is generally a heavy-bodied snake with large dark spots, a wide triangular head, a distinct eye stripe, and a rattle at the tip of the tail. It averages 31 inches in length.
Diet and habitat
It consumes mice, gophers, squirrels, rabbits, birds, lizards and amphibians. It requires rocks, cliffs and down logs for cover, and south-facing rocky dens that provide access to over-wintering sites.
Predators and threats
It is preyed upon by other snakes, carnivorous mammals and raptors. Local populations are threatened by habitat loss due to various forms of human development.
Reproduction
They breed every other fall after emerging from hibernation. Females produce three to 12 live young.