"Fuligula vallisneria. Canvas-back. Adult male: The head close-feathered. Bill high at the base and narrow throughout or scarcely widened toward end, sloping gradually up to the top of the head in line with the sweep of the forehead, altogether somewhat like a goose's in shape; decidedly longer than head, 2 &1/2 inches to nearly or quite 3 in length, measured along the culmen; the nostrils reaching the middle of the bill, their fore end half-way from the upper corner to end of bill. Bill not blue, black-belted, but blackish throughout. Eyes red. Feet grayish-blue. Head and upper neck not coppery brownish-red, but dark reddish-brown, further much obscured with dusky or quite blackish about the bill and on top. Ground color of back white, very finely vermiculated with zigzag blackish bars much narrower than the intervening spaces, and tending to break up, or mostly broken up, into little chains or dots across the feathers; the resulting silvery-gray tone consequently several shades lighter than in the red-head." Elliot Coues, 1884

Canvas-back Head

"Fuligula vallisneria. Canvas-back. Adult male: The head close-feathered. Bill high at the base and…

"Fuligula vallisneria. Canvas-back. Adult male: The head close-feathered. Bill high at the base and narrow throughout or scarcely widened toward end, sloping gradually up to the top of the head in line with the sweep of the forehead, altogether somewhat like a goose's in shape; decidedly longer than head, 2 &1/2 inches to nearly or quite 3 in length, measured along the culmen; the nostrils reaching the middle of the bill, their fore end half-way from the upper corner to end of bill. Bill not blue, black-belted, but blackish throughout. Eyes red. Feet grayish-blue. Head and upper neck not coppery brownish-red, but dark reddish-brown, further much obscured with dusky or quite blackish about the bill and on top. Ground color of back white, very finely vermiculated with zigzag blackish bars much narrower than the intervening spaces, and tending to break up, or mostly broken up, into little chains or dots across the feathers; the resulting silvery-gray tone consequently several shades lighter than in the red-head." Elliot Coues, 1884

Large Canvas-backs Head

"Fuligula vallisneria. Canvas-back. Adult male: The head close-feathered. Bill high at the base and…

"Fuligula vallisneria. Canvas-back. Adult male: The head close-feathered. Bill high at the base and narrow throughout or scarcely widened toward end, sloping gradually up to the top of the head in line with the sweep of the forehead, altogether somewhat like a goose's in shape; decidedly longer than head, 2 &1/2 inches to nearly or quite 3 in length, measured along the culmen; the nostrils reaching the middle of the bill, their fore end half-way from the upper corner to end of bill. Bill not blue, black-belted, but blackish throughout. Eyes red. Feet grayish-blue. Head and upper neck not coppery brownish-red, but dark reddish-brown, further much obscured with dusky or quite blackish about the bill and on top. Ground color of back white, very finely vermiculated with zigzag blackish bars much narrower than the intervening spaces, and tending to break up, or mostly broken up, into little chains or dots across the feathers; the resulting silvery-gray tone consequently several shades lighter than in the red-head." Elliot Coues, 1884

Canvas-backs

"Fuligula vallisneria. Canvas-back. Adult male: The head close-feathered. Bill high at the base and…

Diving birds, such as the grebe, have webbed (or lobed) feet and are expert in swimming and diving.

Grebe

Diving birds, such as the grebe, have webbed (or lobed) feet and are expert in swimming and diving.

"Lomvia troile. Common Guillemot, or Murre. Adult in summer: Head and neck all around rich dark maroon brown, changing on upper parts into dark slaty-brown, nearly uniform, but most of the feathers of the back and rump with slightly lighter, more grayish-brown, edges. Secondaries narrowly but distinctly tipped with white. Under parts from the throat pure white, the sides and flanks marked with dusky or slaty, the lining of the wings varied with white and dusky. Bill black; mouth yellow; eyes brown; feet blackish. In some cases, not in most, a white "eye-glass," consisting of a rim around eye and handle back of eye in the furrow of the plumage." Elliot Coues, 1884

Common Guillemot

"Lomvia troile. Common Guillemot, or Murre. Adult in summer: Head and neck all around rich dark maroon…

The loon is a diving bird. Its peculiar cry, sometimes resembling a hysterical laugh, has given rise to the expression, "crazy as a loon."

Loon

The loon is a diving bird. Its peculiar cry, sometimes resembling a hysterical laugh, has given rise…

"Brachyrhamphus craverii. Craveri's Murrelet. Entire upper parts unvararied cinereous, slightly darker on head; this color extending on head to include eyelids, and a little farther down on the nape; thence in a straight line along middle of side of neck to shoulders, thence along sides of body in a strip nearly an inch broad, the elongated flank-feathers being also of this color; other under parts pure white, under surface of wing dark. Primaries black, the greater part of their shafts and inner webs whitish. Bill black, the base of lower mandible pale; feet whitish-blue, black below." Elliot Coues, 1884

Craveri's Murrelet

"Brachyrhamphus craverii. Craveri's Murrelet. Entire upper parts unvararied cinereous, slightly darker…

"Lomvia troile. Common Guillemot, or Murre. Adult in summer: Head and neck all around rich dark maroon brown, changing on upper parts into dark slaty-brown, nearly uniform, but most of the feathers of the back and rump with slightly lighter, more grayish-brown, edges. Secondaries narrowly but distinctly tipped with white. Under parts from the throat pure white, the sides and flanks marked with dusky or slaty, the lining of the wings varied with white and dusky. Bill black; mouth yellow; eyes brown; feet blackish. In some cases, not in most, a white "eye-glass," consisting of a rim around eye and handle back of eye in the furrow of the plumage." Elliot Coues, 1884

Murres

"Lomvia troile. Common Guillemot, or Murre. Adult in summer: Head and neck all around rich dark maroon…