Also See: Table of Contents, Endorsements, and Purchase Information
FOREWORD
Chris Maser is a remarkable person, and it is my privilege to write the foreword for his latest book: "The Natural History of a Canyon and the Surrounding Sagebrush Steppe in Southeastern Oregon." Chris and I first met many years ago in our early years as biologists, and a great working relationship led to a treasured friendship that persists to this day.
We have worked on several projects over the years combining our areas of expertise and love of vertebrate ecology. One of my favorite memories comes from a trip my class and I took with Chris. On our way to the annual meeting of the American Society of Mammologists, he was gracious enough to take us to many of his major collecting spots throughout the state of Oregon. He was an excellent guide as his skills, coupled with his love of nature, made for one of the best field trips my class and I had the opportunity to experience. A particularly bright spot on this trip was the meals. Chris provided all the meat that we cooked in the field. The group ranked the amazing variety of choices from best to worst: (1) mountain lion, (2) elk, (3) bear, (4) deer—it was an old deer, and finally coming in at about number 25 was the bobcat. Neither Chris nor I had tried bobcat before, and it is not something we would do again!
During his earlier years, Chris was a "typical biologist," if there is such a thing. He published many papers on the mammals of Oregon and then brought together his knowledge and unique writing style into books such as: "Trees, Truffles, and Beasts," "Forest Primeval: The Natural History of an Ancient Forest," and "The Natural History of a Mountain Meadow and Its Cirque."
One day, after many years, Chris told me, in not so many words, that he was shifting his emphasis from the biology of various species in order to broaden his focus to encompass the interrelationships between organisms and the environment. What a great decision. Chris has a wonderful way with words and an exceedingly deep understanding of ecology and evolution. He understands the various interactions between organisms and their environment and relays this information in an entertaining, knowledgeable, and thought-provoking manner. His wife, Zane, does much of the editing for him, and he calls her his "best editor." One of the major reasons why Chris does such a remarkable job is that he truly loves the outdoors, nature, and his work (which is not actually work for him, but his passion). Beyond this, he has an uncanny ability to observe the behavior of animals and understand what they are doing within their habitat.
In this book, Chris shares with us some of his observations from his time living in nature working on a job for the US Bureau of Land Management studying the wildlife present in the sagebrush steppe in the Vale District of Malheur County in southeastern Oregon. He begins by explaining the elements that make up a habitat in general and then introduces the vertebrates found in each of the habitats of the canyon discussed in the book. Chris Maser has done it again! His love of nature, unique writing style, and unlimited imagination are demonstrated throughout the book. One example is the descriptive names he has for the various species discussed, such as "Sailors of the Sky" for the white-throated swift and "Hand-Wings of the Night" for bats. As an old-time naturalist, I particularly enjoyed the sections on the bats and the mountain chorus frog. "The Evolutionary Miracle of Birds' Eggs" is exceptionally well done—almost a miracle itself. These are just a few examples of note, as there are too many excellent sections to address in this foreword.
Anyone with a penchant for the outdoors and nature, whether professional or amateur, will learn a great deal from this book. I thought I had quite a bit of knowledge and experience, yet I certainly learned much, both in knowledge and how to accumulate and interpret such knowledge.
John O. Whitaker, Jr.,
Professor Emeritus, Vertebrate Ecology,
Director Emeritus of the ISU Bat Center,
Indiana State University, Terre Haute, IN
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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PREFACE
PART I: MY INTRODUCTION TO A CANYON
CHAPTER 1: UNDERSTANDING THE ELEMENTS OF HABITAT
WATER
SHELTER
SPACE
PRIVACY
CONNECTIVITY
Water
Food
Shelter
Space
THE COMPOUNDING EFFECT OF EDGES
PART II: MEETING THOSE WHO LIVE IN THE CANYON
CHAPTER 2: THE CLIFFS
SAILORS OF THE SKY
BUSHY TAIL THE WOODRAT
MEET THE CANYON'S NAMESAKE
THE HIGH-CLIMBING, ACROBATIC WREN
THE CLIFF-NESTING BIRDS
The Swallow with a Mud Nest
The Widely-Traveled Creator and Trickster
Rock Pidgeons-Surprise Residents of the Canyon
The Golden Predator
A Falcon with a "Tomial Tooth"
The Soaring Sanitation Team
HAND-WINGS OF THE NIGHT
DESERT WOODRAT—"PACK-RAT" OF THE CANYONS
THE ROCKING LIZARD
CHAPTER 3: THE CANYON BOTTOM AND SIDES
THE RUNWAY ARCHITECT
A CHORUS FROG
THE HAWK-OWL FOOD CONTEST
Marsh Hawk—the Circling "Harrier"
Short-Eared Owl—a Stunning Bird by any Measure
THE EVOLUTIONARY MIRACLE OF BIRDS' EGGS
A DEER NAMED FOR ITS "MULE" EARS
THE BOB-TAILED CAT WITH A BOBBING GAIT
BIGHORN SHEEP—A PLEISTOCENE IMMIGRANT
PART III: THE SAGEBRUSH STEPPE
THE MELODIOUS MEADOWLARK
CHAPTER 4: AMPHIBIANS
THE TOAD THAT USES ITS HIND FEET LIKE SPADES
CHAPTER: 5 REPTILES
LIZARDS
Horned Lizards
Desert Horned Lizard
Pygmy Short-Horned Lizard
Leopard of the Sagebrush Steppe
The Lizard Who Wears Two Collars
A Lizard Named for Its Human-Labeled Blemish
Western Whiptail
SNAKES
Understanding the Commonality of Snakes
Smelling with their Tongue
Controlling Body
Temperature—Thermoregulation
Movement
Hinged Jaws and Six Rows of Teeth
Baby Snakes Greet the World
Shedding Their Skin
A Glimpse of the Snakes Individually
The Speedster with a Yellow Belly
A Snake in the Dark
The Snake Whose Namesake is a Leather Whip
A Powerful Constrictor in a Great Basin
An Elegant, Wandering Snake
Great Basin Rattlesnake—Beautiful but Deadly
CHAPTER 6: BIRDS
A TRIO OF SPARROWS
Sagebrush Sparrow—the Spirited Triller
Brewer's Sparrow—a Diminutive Songster
Lark Sparrow
SAGE TRASSIER—A MUSICAL CHIRPER AND WHISTLER
GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE—STRIKINGLY BEAUTIFUL
SAY's PHOEBE
"MAGPIE, My TRUSTING, EURASIAN FRIEND"
NORTH AMERICAN BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE
BROWN-HEADED COWBIRD, AN ORPHAN-CREATING MOTHER
THREE BIRDS DRESSED IN BLACK
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Red-winged Blackbird
Brewer's Blackbird
MALLARDS—THE AQUATIC DABBLERS
A MOURNING DOVE WHO MOURNS NOT
THE MASTER FLYCATCHER
WESTERN KINGBIRD—THE TYRANT FLYCATCHER
THE EXTRAORDINARY "COMMON" NIGHTHAWK
THE OWL THAT DIGS
RED-SHAFTED NORTHERN FLICKER
GREATER SAGE GROUSE—MEMBERS OF ANCESTRAL LEKS
HORNED LARK—A HIGH DESERT-LOVING SONGBIRD
CHAPTER 7: MAMMALS
INSECTIVORES—INSECT EATERS
The Wandering Shrew—a True Vagrant
Preble's Shrew—Tiny and Little Known
LAGOMORPHS—HOPPERS NAMED FOR THEIR TAILS
Mountain Cottontail
Black-tailed Jackrabbit
White-tailed Jackrabbit
RODENTS—CHISEL-TOOTHED GNAWERS
Squirrels
Least Chipmunk—a Striped Beauty
Belding's Ground Squirrel
White-tailed Antelope Ground Squirrel
Wyoming Ground Squirrel—Large Clawed and Seed Loving
Heteromyid Roodents
Great Basin Pocket Mouse
Ord's Kangaroo Rat—the Athletic Jumper
New World Mice
Deer Mouse—a Small Bundle of Curiosity
Northern Grasshopper Mouse—a Howling Predator
Western Harvest Mouse—in the Groove
Voles
Long-tailed vole—the Shy One
Sagebrush Vole—a Burrow-System Architect
Muskrat—the Aquatic Vole
FLESH-EATING MAMMALS
Dogs
Coyote—the Aztec Trickster
Kit—a Tiny and Resilient Fox
Weasels
Long-tailed Weasel—a Master of the Chase
Badger—an Artisan of Burrowing
EVEN-TOED HOOFED MAMMALS
Pronghorn—the "Non-Antelope"
APPENDIX OF COMMON AND SCIENTIFIC NAMES OF PLANTS AND ANIMALS
REFERENCES
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Endorsements:
"As a native Oregonian from the Willamette Valley, I was familiar with the Owyhee country, but I rarely visited this wonderful part of Oregon because of its remoteness. I had been to Owyhee country two times—a college geology field trip, and a hunting trip with my dad. Both times the trip experience was memorable because the geology, hydrology and wildlife are unique. Since then, I have been back as a field geologist and each time has been enlightening as I learned more about the plate tectonic history there.
"Chris Maser describes beautifully what that experience is like for the lay person as well as the field scientist. His prose is easy to read, and his knowledgeable explanation of this wild country gives the reader a full course of the Owyhee ecosystem. For me as a geologist, this is the land where the Yellowstone hot spot first erupted under the North American Plate, and the Columbia River basalts started. As Chris explains, the Owyhee country ecosystem reflects the unusual geology. This book can be used as a textbook or as a useful reference book for the serious lay person and scientist."
Thomas E. Koler, PhD, Registered Geologist/Geomorphologist
(licensed geologist in Oregon)
Kelsey, California
"Driving across the sagebrush deserts of southeast Oregon, many people have a tendency to look out the window and think, 'My God what a desolate place. There's nothing out there!' To the keen eye of a trained naturalist like Chris Maser, however, nothing could be further from the truth. In this book Chris takes the reader on a guided tour of southeastern Oregon, describing many of the birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians that populate this rugged landscape. The wealth of information provided will be of interest to both the beginner and the trained naturalist."
Eric Forsman, PhD, Forest Service Research Laboratory
Oregon State University
Corvallis, Oregon
"In times of high stress from humanities nefarious behaviors, I have found Chris's natural history books to be a peaceful place to rest and refresh my spirit while learning about a unique community of wildlife and their ways. This book on southeastern Oregon canyonlands and sagebrush steppe wildlife does just that. It also draws me into wanting to take a spring-time trip there, especially with my grandchildren so we could sit by the campfire and read about wildlife from this book and then go on adventures to see what we can find. Getting to know these landscapes, getting into relationship with them through this book and then going there is priceless—especially sharing and seeing the excitement of young ones discovering their connection to nature that this land so easily provides. This book certainly helps to give the gift of experiencing the intrinsic value of life, all life, responsible for the establishment of the priceless diversity of ecosystems that support our world. What an endowment to transfer to the next generation!"
Cindy Haws,
Assistant Professor of Science,
Umpqua Community College
Roseburg, Oregon.
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Purchase Information:
This book is available on Amazon.
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