Grizzly Bear
A shoulder hump, dished face, and long foreclaws distinguish the grizzly, while food and space—not aggression—govern most of its movements.
Washington, United States: places and wildlife — page 2
Browse the published Explore collection for Washington, United States. Open a discovery for its field guide, practical details, and background.
Common Bottlenose Dolphin
A curved dorsal fin, robust gray body, and short bottle-shaped beak mark a dolphin that finds prey through both vision and echolocation.
Humpback Whale
Knobbed head, extraordinarily long flippers, and deeply notched tail flukes identify a whale that migrates between feeding and breeding seas.
Orca
Black-and-white pattern, tall dorsal fin, and a family-specific acoustic world make the orca much more than a generic “killer whale.”
Harbor Seal
Round head, spotted coat, and V-shaped nostrils distinguish the true seal most regularly seen around Rhode Island.
Black-capped Chickadee
Black cap, white cheeks, small bib, and a curious approach make this year-round northern songbird a foundational backyard identification.
Common Raven
Heavy bill, shaggy throat, and wedge-shaped tail separate the raven from crows as it works cliffs, tundra, forests, and towns.
Ruffed Grouse
Mottled bark-colored plumage, a dark tail band, and the male’s accelerating wing-drumming suit dense young forest better than open lawn.
Hermit Thrush
Spotted breast, plain face, and a reddish tail contrasting with a browner back identify the thrush behind one of Vermont’s clearest woodland songs.
California Quail
The forward-drooping topknot, scaled belly, and quick ground-running coveys belong to California’s adaptable native quail.
Osprey
Dark eye stripe, kinked long wings, and reversible outer toes identify the fish specialist nesting beside Oregon waters.
Anna’s Hummingbird
The male’s iridescent crown and throat can flash rose-magenta or vanish to black as light and angle change.
Largemouth Bass
A jaw extending behind the eye, deep body, and dark side stripe separate largemouth bass from their smaller-mouthed relatives.
Bluegill
A deep compressed body, dark ear flap, and blue-green cheek identify a widespread sunfish that rewards close looking.
Northern Pike
Duckbill snout, rear-set fins, and pale bean-shaped spots identify the pike waiting almost motionless beside cover.
Chinook Salmon
Black gums, spotted tail lobes, and immense migrations identify a salmon whose life carries marine nutrients far inland.
Pacific Halibut
Both eyes migrate to the dark right side as this broad predator changes from an upright larva into a seafloor hunter.
Monarch Butterfly
Orange wings with heavy black veins identify a migrant whose caterpillars can eat only milkweeds and whose journey outlasts any one summer adult.
Common Green Darner
Large size, bright green thorax, and a dark bull’s-eye on the forehead help identify a darner capable of continental movement.
California Poppy
Silky orange cups, four petals, and finely divided blue-green leaves make California’s state flower recognizable well beyond mass-bloom photographs.
Big Sagebrush
Three-toothed wedge leaves, silvery foliage, and a resinous scent identify a shrub that shelters far more life than its muted color suggests.
Douglas-fir
Three-pointed bracts protruding from each cone scale make Douglas-fir recognizable even when its immense crown is far overhead.
Sitka Spruce
Sharp four-sided needles, thin scaly bark, and enormous coastal stature identify the spruce that thrives where ocean moisture meets mountains.
Brown Pelican
Louisiana’s state bird patrols bays in low files, then folds into spectacular headfirst dives for schooling fish near the surface.
Colorado Checkered Whiptail
Look first for bold cream stripes and checker marks on a long, fast whiptail, then confirm it in open piñon-juniper, shrubland, and canyon terrain in southeastern colorado. Those two clues make Colorado Checkered Whiptail much easier to identify responsibly in Colorado.
California Gull
Utah’s state bird is an inland gull whose vast Great Salt Lake gatherings connect nesting islands, farm fields, wetlands, and migration routes.
American White Pelican
One of North America’s largest birds nests on remote Great Salt Lake islands and travels astonishing distances to feed in freshwater wetlands.
Golden Eagle
Utah’s state bird of prey is a powerful open-country eagle most often discovered as a dark, steady shape circling over cliffs and basins.
Two-tailed Swallowtail
Arizona’s enormous yellow state butterfly patrols canyon streams and gardens, flashing black tiger stripes and two tails on each hindwing.
Greater Sage-Grouse
At dawn, males turn a quiet sagebrush flat into a popping, swishing arena—a display sustained by much more habitat than the lek itself reveals.
Mountain Bluebird
Idaho’s state bird flashes an almost unbroken blue across open mountain and sage country, often hovering briefly before dropping onto ground prey.
Western White Pine
Idaho’s state tree once dominated vast northern forests, and its five-needle sprays now tell a story of blister-rust loss, selective breeding, and restoration.
Bitterroot
Montana’s state flower hides a surprising strategy: succulent leaves gather early moisture, disappear, and leave luminous pink blossoms seemingly resting on bare stony ground.
Wyoming Indian Paintbrush
The brilliant color belongs mostly to bracts, while the true flowers are smaller and tucked among them.
Oregon Spotted Frog
Oregon Spotted Frog is recognizable by a large brown-to-reddish frog with black spots that have ragged edges and light centers.
Kincaid’s Lupine
Kincaid’s Lupine is recognizable by a perennial lupine with palmate leaves and blue-purple flower clusters, spreading through rhizomes.
The Museum of Flight
Historic aircraft, the Boeing Red Barn, restoration work, and the outdoor Aviation Pavilion connect flight technology with the industries and people that built it.
Museum of Pop Culture
Museum of Pop Culture focuses the visit on music and Frank Gehry’s rippling building and the changing headline.
Seattle Art Museum
At Seattle Art Museum, the collection galleries and rotating special exhibitions connects global art interpreted through a Pacific Northwest institution.
Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture
Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture focuses the visit on Northwest natural history and culture in an openly and visible labs.
Chihuly Garden and Glass
At Chihuly Garden and Glass, the Glasshouse installation against the Space Needle and garden planting connects glass, light, plant form, and architectural display.
Wing Luke Museum
Wing Luke Museum focuses the visit on Asian American and East Kong Yick Building and guided historic-hotel spaces.
Museum of History & Industry
Museum of History & Industry focuses the visit on Seattle’s reinventions through work and Bezos Center.
National Nordic Museum
Nordic Journeys connects migration, labor, design, and contemporary identity across five Nordic countries and their communities in the United States.
Museum of Glass
Museum of Glass focuses the visit on studio glass as live process rather than finished and Hot Shop demonstrations and Chihuly Bridge of Glass.
Tacoma Art Museum
Tacoma Art Museum places the art of the Northwest beside studio glass and two centuries of Western American art, making it unusually good for testing how artists have pictured this region—and who gets included in that picture.
LeMay – America’s Car Museum
More than 250 vehicles across four floors turn a celebrated private collection into a history of design, manufacturing, road culture, speed, energy, and the promises Americans attached to mobility.
Washington State History Museum
Washington State History Museum focuses the visit on Washington history through land and Great Hall.