"This species (Alca impennis or Great Auk), extirpated chiefly by the persecution of fisherman, but subsequently by collectors, resembles a flightless Razorbill, though double the size; it had no white stripes on the head or bill, but shewed a large white patch before each eye. A. impennis, the extinct Great Auk or Garefowl, inhabited the North Atlantic, chiefly in the neighborhood of Ice A. H. Evans, 1900

Great Auk

"This species (Alca impennis or Great Auk), extirpated chiefly by the persecution of fisherman, but…

"Alca Impennis. The Great Auk. A great white oval spot between eye and bill. Hood and mantle dark; under parts white, extending in a point on the throat; ends of secondaries white. Bill black, with white grooves; feet dark." Elliot Coues, 1884

Great Auk

"Alca Impennis. The Great Auk. A great white oval spot between eye and bill. Hood and mantle dark; under…

"The Dodo, ...was an immense Pigeon-like bird bigger than a Turkey, with an aborted keel to the sternum and the wings also aborted. The coracoid and scapula met at an obtuse angle, as in many other flightless species. The huge blackish bill terminated in a large horny hook, the cheeks were partly bare, the short yellow legs were stout, scaly, and feathered on the upper portion; the plumage was dark ash- coloured, with whitish breast and tail, yellowish-white wings, and black tips to their coverts. The short rectrices formed a curled tuft, and the first four primaries were directed backwards." A. H. Evans, 1900

Dodo

"The Dodo, ...was an immense Pigeon-like bird bigger than a Turkey, with an aborted keel to the sternum…

"Camptolaemus labradorius. Labrador Duck. Pied Duck. Adult male: Bill black with orange at base and along edges, and grayish-blue along the ridge; iris reddish-brown; feet grayish-blue, with dusky webs and claws. Head and upper neck white, with a longitudinal black stripe on the crown and nape. Neck below ringed with black continuous with that of upper parts, then half-collared with white continuous with that of scapulars. Below, from this white, entirely black, excepting white axillars and lining of wings. Above, black, except as said; the wing-coverts and secondaries white, some of the latter margined with black; some of the long scapulars pearly-gray; primaries and their coverts and tail-feathers brownish-black. Female: Bill, eyes, and tail-feathers brownish-black. Bill, eyes, and feet as in male; several secondaries white, forming a speculum, but no white on wing-coverts or scapulars; axillars and lining of wings mostly white; inner secondaries edged with black; general color dappled brownish-gray, paler and more ashy or plumbeous on wing-coverts and inner secondaries." Elliot Coues, 1884

Labrador Duck

"Camptolaemus labradorius. Labrador Duck. Pied Duck. Adult male: Bill black with orange at base and…

The dodo and the solitaire: two extinct birds of the modern time.

Extinct Birds

The dodo and the solitaire: two extinct birds of the modern time.

"Restoration of Leguatia gigantea. extinct bird from the Mascarene Islands." Elliot Coues, 1884Tall white bird.

Leguatia Gigantea

"Restoration of Leguatia gigantea. extinct bird from the Mascarene Islands." Elliot Coues, 1884 Tall…

"Hesperornis regalis, (a fossilized restoration) which stood about three feet high, had blunt teeth in the grooves of both maxilla and mandible, the number being thirty or more below, but considerably less above, where they did not reach to the exterior extremity. The bill was long and pointed, the rami of the lower jaw being entirely separate; the head was rather small, the neck long, and the quadrate bone articulated with the skull by one knob only. The sternum was long, broad, and flat, without keel; the furcula was decidedly reduced, the metatarsus, being little more than a humerus; the tail was fairly long and broad, but had no pygostyle." A. H. Evans, 1900

Restoration of Hesperornis regalis

"Hesperornis regalis, (a fossilized restoration) which stood about three feet high, had blunt teeth…

"Hesperornis regalis, (a fossilized restoration) which stood about three feet high, had blunt teeth in the grooves of both maxilla and mandible, the number being thirty or more below, but considerably less above, where they did not reach to the exterior extremity. The bill was long and pointed, the rami of the lower jaw being entirely separate; the head was rather small, the neck long, and the quadrate bone articulated with the skull by one knob only. The sternum was long, broad, and flat, without keel; the furcula was decidedly reduced, the metatarsus, being little more than a humerus; the tail was fairly long and broad, but had no pygostyle." A. H. Evans, 1900

The Restoration of the Hesperornis Regalis

"Hesperornis regalis, (a fossilized restoration) which stood about three feet high, had blunt teeth…

"Heteralocha acutirostris, the New Zealand Huia, the female has a remarkably long, curved bill, that of the male being short, stout, and nearly straight, The plumage is greenish-black, with a white-tipped tail; the bill is whitish, the feet are blue-grey, the large rictal wattles orange." A. H. Evans, 1900

Huia

"Heteralocha acutirostris, the New Zealand Huia, the female has a remarkably long, curved bill, that…

"Ichthyornis victor and I. dispar, ...were small forms of about the size of a Partridge, with the habits and appearance, it is presumed, of Terns or Gulls. The head was extremely large in proportion to the remainder of the skeleton; the beak was long and pointed, with entirely separate rami to the mandible; the sharp teeth, fixed regularly in distinct sockets, were inclined backwards, and occupied the whole of the lower and at least the posterior half of the upper jaw; the keel of the sternum was large and broad; the dorsal and cervico-dorsal vertebrae were biconcave. the quadrate articulated to the skull by one knob,... the metatarsus was short and the whole foot small; a furcula was probably present; the wings were well developed, indicating great powers of flight; while the tail was comparatively short, and ended in a pygostyle." A. H. Evans, 1900

Skeleton Head of a Ichthyornis

"Ichthyornis victor and I. dispar, ...were small forms of about the size of a Partridge, with the habits…

"Ichthyornis, though the wings are well developed, with fused metacarpals, and the sternum is keeled, the vertebrae present the extraordinary primitive character of being biconcave." Elliot Coues, 1884. This bird is believed to come from the Cretaceous of North America and is a seabird."

Restoration of Ichthyornis

"Ichthyornis, though the wings are well developed, with fused metacarpals, and the sternum is keeled,…

"Archaeornithes is at present represented by but one member, the first undoubted fossil Bird, made known in 1861 by Andreas Wagner form the Jurassic slate formation of Solenhofen in Bavaria, and now preserved in a British Museum. This he described under the name of Griphosaurus; but as Hermann von Meyer had already bestowed the title of Archaeopteryx Lithographica upon a bird, presumably identical, a feather of which had been obtained from the above system." A. H. Evans, 1900 This sample was obtained from the Limestone in Berlin

Archaeopteryx Lithographica

"Archaeornithes is at present represented by but one member, the first undoubted fossil Bird, made known…

"Oldest known ornithological treatise, illustrating also the art of lithography in the Jurassic period, engraved by Archaeopteryx Lithographica. From the original slab in the British Museum." Elliot Coues, 1884

Archaeopteryx Lithographica

"Oldest known ornithological treatise, illustrating also the art of lithography in the Jurassic period,…

"Drepanis pacifica, the Mamo, is black, with golden rump, upper and under tail-coverts, tibiae, and bend of wing, a little white shewing on the wings and tail." A. H. Evans, 1900

Mamo

"Drepanis pacifica, the Mamo, is black, with golden rump, upper and under tail-coverts, tibiae, and…

"Conuropsis carolinensis. Carolina Parroquet. Green; head yellow; face red; bill white; feet flesh-color; wings more or less variegated with blue and yellow. Sexes alike." Elliot Coues, 1884

Carolina Parroquet

"Conuropsis carolinensis. Carolina Parroquet. Green; head yellow; face red; bill white; feet flesh-color;…

"Conuropsis carolinensis. Carolina Parroquet. Green; head yellow; face red; bill white; feet flesh-color; wings more or less variegated with blue and yellow. Sexes alike." Elliot Coues, 1884

Carolina Parroquets

"Conuropsis carolinensis. Carolina Parroquet. Green; head yellow; face red; bill white; feet flesh-color;…