ClipArt ETC
An illustration of a flowering branch of common mare's tail; a, flower before athesis; b, flower after athesis; c, fruit. The Common Mare's tail, Hippuris vulgaris, is a common aquatic plant of Eurasia and North America. The species is also sometimes called Horsetail, a name which is better reserved to the Horsetails of genus Equisetum. These are unrelated to the water plant, though there is some resemblance in appearance.

Common Mare's Tail

An illustration of a flowering branch of common mare's tail; a, flower before athesis; b, flower after…

"Sky-Lark. Upper parts grayish-brown, the feathers with darker centers; under parts whitish, tinged with buff across breast and along sides, and there streaked with dusky; a pale superciliary line; wings with much whitish edging; outer tail-feather mostly white, the next one or two with white borders." Elliot Coues, 1884

Skylark

"Sky-Lark. Upper parts grayish-brown, the feathers with darker centers; under parts whitish, tinged…

A (Motacilla alba) or White Wagtail (upper) and a (Motacilla flava) Yellow Wagtail (lower) sitting on the rocks in a grassy area. "The White Wagtail - Head black, with a broad mask of white across forehead and along side; the black extending on the fore-breast; wings blackish, with much white edging and tipping of the quills and greater coverts; tail black, the two lateral feathers on each side mostly white; back and sides ashy; lower parts mostly white; bill and feet black. In winter black more restricted, in part replaced by gray. The Yellow Wagtail has characters of the Motacilla alba; tail shorter, not exceeding the wing length; hind claw lengthened and straightish; hind toe and claw nearly as long as the tarsus. Coloration chiefly yellow and greenish." Elliot Coues, 1884

A White and Yellow Wagtail Sitting on the Rocks

A (Motacilla alba) or White Wagtail (upper) and a (Motacilla flava) Yellow Wagtail (lower) sitting on…

"The Yellow Wagtail or Motilla flava has characters of the Motacilla alva; tail shorter, not exceeding the wing length; hind claw lengthened and straightish; hind toe and claw nearly as long as the tarsus. Coloration chiefly yellow and greenish." Elliot Coues, 1884

Yellow Wagtail Head and Foot

"The Yellow Wagtail or Motilla flava has characters of the Motacilla alva; tail shorter, not exceeding…

"Meadow Pipit or Anthus pratensis. Upper parts greenish-brown distinctly marked with blackish-brown centres of the feathers; wing-quills and coverts clove-brown, edged with greenish-gray. Tail-feathers dark brown, edged with the greenish shade of the back, the outer one obliquely white for nearly half its length, and others with white at the end. Cheeks olivaceous, speckled with dusky. Under parts brownish-white with a tinge of green, marked on the breast and sides with brownish-black streaks running forward as a maxillary chain; chin, belly, and under tail-coverts unmarked. Bill dusky above and at end, the rest livid flesh-color; feet obscure flesh-color; iris blackish." Elliot Coues, 1884

Meadow Pipit

"Meadow Pipit or Anthus pratensis. Upper parts greenish-brown distinctly marked with blackish-brown…

"Black Throated Green Warbler or Dendroica virens. Back and crown clear yellow-olive; forehead, superciliary line, and whole sides of head rich yellow (in high plumage, middle of back with dusky marks, and dusky or dark olive lines through eyes and auriculars, and even bordering the crown); chin, throat, and breast jet black, prolonged behind as streaks on the sides; other under parts white; usually yellow-tinged; wings and tail dusky, former with two white bars and much whitish edging, latter with outer feathers nearly all white; bill and feet blackish." Elliot Coues, 1884

Black Throated Green Warbler

"Black Throated Green Warbler or Dendroica virens. Back and crown clear yellow-olive; forehead, superciliary…

"Black and White Creeper or Mniotilta varia. Black; edges of feathers of upper parts, coronal, superciliary, and maxillary stripes, tips of greater and median wing-coverts, outer edges of inner secondaries and inner edges of quills and tail-feathers, and spots on inner webs of lateral tail-feathers, white; under parts mostly white with black streaks on sides and crissum; bill and feet black. Similar: less black in proportion to the white, being mostly white below." Elliot Coues, 1884

Black and White Creeper

"Black and White Creeper or Mniotilta varia. Black; edges of feathers of upper parts, coronal, superciliary,…

"Worm-Eating Warbler or Helmitheros vermivorus. Olive, below buffy, paler or whitish on the belly; head buff, with four black stripes, two along sides of crown from bill to nape, one along each side of head through the eye; wings and tail olivaceous, unmarked; bill and feet pale, bill acute, unbristled, unnotched, at least 0.50." Elliot Coues, 1884

Worm-Eating Warbler

"Worm-Eating Warbler or Helmitheros vermivorus. Olive, below buffy, paler or whitish on the belly; head…

"Blue Golden-Winged Warbler or Helminthophila chrysoptera. Upper parts slaty-blue, or or fine bluish-gray; crown, and large wing-patch formed by confluent wing-bars, rich yellow; a broad stripe on side of head and patch on chin, throat and fore-breast, black, the eye-stripe bordered above and below with white; under parts generally, excepting the black breast-plate, white, often tinted with yellowish, and shaded on the sides with ashy. Exposed surfaces of wings and tail like upper parts; great white blotches on three lateral tail-feathers; bill black; feet dark." Elliot Coues, 1884

Blue Golden-Winged Warbler

"Blue Golden-Winged Warbler or Helminthophila chrysoptera. Upper parts slaty-blue, or or fine bluish-gray;…

"Black-throated Gray Warbler or Dendroica nigrescens. Above, bluish-ash, the interscapular region, and usually also the upper-tail coverts, streaked with black. Entire head, with chin and throat, black; a sharply defined yellow spot before the eye, a broad white stripe behind the eye, and a long white maxillary stripe widening behind from the corner of the bill of the side of the neck. Wings fuscous, with much whitish edging, and crossed with two broad white bars on the ends of the greater and median coverts. Tail like the wings, the three lateral feathers mostly white, except on the outer webs, the fourth with a white blotch. Bill and feet black." Elliot Coues, 1884

Black-throated Gray Warbler

"Black-throated Gray Warbler or Dendroica nigrescens. Above, bluish-ash, the interscapular region, and…

"Yellow-rumped Warbler or Dendroica coronata. Yellow-crowned Warbler. Myrtle Bird. Slaty-blue, streaked with black; below, white, breast and sides mostly black, belly, and especially throat, pure white, immaculate; rump, central crown-patch, an sides of breast, sharply yellow, there being thus four definite yellow places; sides of head black; eyelids and superciliary line white; ordinary white wing-bars and tail-blotches; bill and feet black." Elliot Coues, 1884

Yellow-rumped Warbler

"Yellow-rumped Warbler or Dendroica coronata. Yellow-crowned Warbler. Myrtle Bird. Slaty-blue, streaked…

"Black-poll Warbler or Dendroica striata. Back, rump, tail-coverts grayish-olive, heavily streaked with black; whole crown pure glossy black. Below, pure white; a double series of black streaks starts from the extreme chin, and diverges to pass one on each side to the tail, the streaks being confluent anteriorly, discrete posteriorly. Side of the head above the chain of streaks pure white, including lower eyelid. Wings dusky, the primaries with much greenish edging, the inner secondaries with whitish edging, the greater median coverts tipped with white, forming two crossbars. Tail like the wings, with rather small white spots at the ends of the inner webs of two or three outer feathers. Upper mandible brownish-black; lower mandible with the feet flesh-colored or yellowish." Elliot Coues, 1884

Black -poll Warbler

"Black-poll Warbler or Dendroica striata. Back, rump, tail-coverts grayish-olive, heavily streaked with…

"Chestnut-sided Warbler, Dendroica pensylvanica. Back streaked with black and pale yellow (sometimes ashy or whitish); whole crown pure yellow, immediately bordered with white, then enclosed with black; sides of head and neck and whole under parts pure white, former with an irregular black crescent before the eye, one horn extending backward over the eye to border the yellow crown and be dissipated on the sides of the nape, the other reaching downward and backward to connect with a chain of pure chestnut streaks that run the whole length of the body, the under eyelid and auriculars being left white; wing-bands generally fused into one large patch, and, like the edging of the inner secondaries, much tinged with yellow; tail-spots white, as usual; bill blackish, feet brownish." Elliot Coues, 1884

Chestnut-sided Warbler

"Chestnut-sided Warbler, Dendroica pensylvanica. Back streaked with black and pale yellow (sometimes…

"Black -and-Yellow Warbler. Magnolia Warbler. Back black, usually quite pure and uninterrupted in the spring, more or less mixed with olive in the winter; rump yellow; upper tail-coverts black , often skirted with olive and ashy. Whole crown of head clear ash; sides of head black, including a very narrow frontlet; the eyelids and a stripe behind the eye, between the ash and black, white. Entire under parts rich yellow, excepting the white crissum, heavily streaked with black across the breast and along the sides, the streaks on the breast so thick as to form a nearly continuous black border to the immaculate yellow throat. Wings fuscous, with lining, white edging of the inner webs of all the quills, of the outer webs of the inner secondaries, and with a large white patch formed by the tips of the median coverts and tips of the median coverts and tips and outer edges of the coverts. Tail blackish, with square white spots on the middle of the inner webs of al the feathers excepting the middle pair. Bill blackish; feet dark."

Magnolia Warbler

"Black -and-Yellow Warbler. Magnolia Warbler. Back black, usually quite pure and uninterrupted in the…

"Golden-crowned Wagtail Warbler. Golden-crowned Accentor. Golden-crowned Thrush. Oven-bird. Seiurus aurocapillus. Entire upper parts, including the wings and tail, uniform bright olive-green, without markings. Top of head with black lateral stripes, bounding a golden-brown or dull orange space. A white ring round eye; no white superciliary stripe. Under parts white, thickly spotted with dusky on the breast, the spots lengthening into streaks on the sides; a narrow black maxillary line; under wing-coverts tinged with yellow. Legs flesh-colored." Elliot Coues, 1884

Ovenbird

"Golden-crowned Wagtail Warbler. Golden-crowned Accentor. Golden-crowned Thrush. Oven-bird. Seiurus…

"Kentucky Warbler. Oporornis formosus. Clear olive-green; entire under parts bright yellow, olive-shaded along sides; crown black, separated by a rich yellow superciliary line(which curls around the eye behind) from a broad black bar running form bill below eye thence down the side of the neck; wings and tail unmarked, glossed with olive; feet flesh-colored." Elliot Coues, 1884

Kentucky Warbler

"Kentucky Warbler. Oporornis formosus. Clear olive-green; entire under parts bright yellow, olive-shaded…

"Geothlypis trichas. Common Yellowthroat. Yellow-throated Ground Warbler. Maryland Yellow-throat. Upper parts rich olive, inclining to grayish on the head, brightest on the rump. Wings and tail brown, edged with the color of the back. Chin, throat, and breast, with under wing- and tail-coverts, rich yellow. middle under parts dull whitish, shaded on the sides. A broad mask on the front and sides of the head, bordered behind by hoary-ash. Bill black; feet flesh-colored." Elliot Coues, 1884

Common Yellowthroat

"Geothlypis trichas. Common Yellowthroat. Yellow-throated Ground Warbler. Maryland Yellow-throat. Upper…

"Yellow-breasted Chat or Icteria virens. Bright olive-green, below golden-yellow, belly abruptly white; lore black, isolating the white under-eyelid from a white superciliary line above and a short white maxillary line below; wings and tail unmarked, glossed with olive; bill blue-black; feet plumbeous." Elliot Coues, 1884

Yellow-breasted Chat

"Yellow-breasted Chat or Icteria virens. Bright olive-green, below golden-yellow, belly abruptly white;…

"Myiodioctes mitratus. Hooded Fly-catching Warbler. Hooded Warbler. Clear yellow-olive above; below, rich yellow, shaded with olive along the sides; whole head and neck pure black, enclosing a broad golden mask across forehead and through eyes; wings unmarked, glossed with olive; tail with large white blotches on the two or three outer pairs of feathers, as in Dendroica; bill black; feet flesh-colored." Elliot Coues, 1884

Hooded Warbler

"Myiodioctes mitratus. Hooded Fly-catching Warbler. Hooded Warbler. Clear yellow-olive above; below,…

"Myiodioctes pussies. Blacked-capped Fly-catching Warbler. Upper parts, including exposed edging of the wings and tail, bright yellowish-olive; under parts, including front and sides of the head and superciliary line, rich yellow, shaded with olive on the sides. A squarish, glossy blue-black patch on the crown. Wings and tail plain fuscous, with greenish edging, unmarked with with other color. Upper mandible dark; under mandible and feet light." Elliot Coues, 1884

Black-capped Fly-catching Warbler

"Myiodioctes pussies. Blacked-capped Fly-catching Warbler. Upper parts, including exposed edging of…

"Myiodioctes canadensis. Canadian Fly-catching Warbler. Canada Warbler. Bluish-ash; crown speckled with lanceolate black marks, crowded and generally continuous on the forehead; the latter divided lengthwise by a slight yellow line; short superciliary line and edges of eyelids yellow; lores black, continuous with black under the eye, and this passing as a chain of black streaks down the side of the neck and prettily encircling the throat like a necklace of jet; excepting these streaks and the white under tail-coverts, the entire under parts are clear yellow; wings and tail unmarked; feet flesh-colored." Elliot Coues, 1884

Canada Warbler

"Myiodioctes canadensis. Canadian Fly-catching Warbler. Canada Warbler. Bluish-ash; crown speckled with…

"Painted Fly-catching Warbler. Setophaga picta. Painted Redstart. Lustrous black; middle of breast and belly carmine-red; eyelids, a large patch on the wings formed by the greater and middle coverts, broad edging of inner secondaries, edging the inner webs of primaries toward the base, lining of wings, nearly all the outer tail-feather, and a diminishing space on the next two or three, together with the crissum, white. Bill and feet black." Elliot Coues, 1884

Painted Fly-catching Warbler

"Painted Fly-catching Warbler. Setophaga picta. Painted Redstart. Lustrous black; middle of breast and…

"Certhiola flaveola. Honey Creeper. Dark brown above; long superciliary line and under parts dull white; breast, edging of wing, and rump, bright yellow; wings dusky, with a white spot at base of primaries, and whitish edging of the quills; tail dusky, tipped with white; bill and feet black; eyes blue." Elliot Coues, 1884

Honey Creeper

"Certhiola flaveola. Honey Creeper. Dark brown above; long superciliary line and under parts dull white;…

"Fig 181 - Generic details of Hirundo horreorum(Barn Swallow) Deep lustrous steel-blue; forehead and entire under parts rufous, generally deepest on the forehead and throat; an imperfect steel-blue collar. Wings and tail blackish, with steel-blue or somewhat greenish gloss; the lateral pair of tail-feathers much lengthened and filiform at the end, all but central pair with white spot." Elliot Coues, 1884

Barn Swallow Details

"Fig 181 - Generic details of Hirundo horreorum(Barn Swallow) Deep lustrous steel-blue; forehead and…

"Hirundo horreorum. Barn Swallow. Tail deeply fornicate, nearly or about as long as the wings; lateral feather linear-attenuat, about twice as long as the middle feather." Elliot Coues, 1884

Barn Swallow Tail

"Hirundo horreorum. Barn Swallow. Tail deeply fornicate, nearly or about as long as the wings; lateral…

"Entire upper parts glossy dark green; wings and tail blackish, lustrous; lores black. Entire under parts white. Bill black; feet dark." Elliot Coues, 1884

White-belied Swallow

"Entire upper parts glossy dark green; wings and tail blackish, lustrous; lores black. Entire under…

"Cliff Swallow. Eaves Swallow. Crescent Swallow. Mud Swallow. back and top of head, with a spot on the throat, deep lustrous steel-blue, that of the crown and back separated by a grayish nuchal collar. Frontlet white or brownish-white. Shorter upper tail-coverts rufous. Chin, throat, and sides of head intense rufous, sometimes purplish-chestnut, prolonged around the side of the nape. Under parts dull grayish-brown, , with usually a rufous tinge (rusty-gray), dusky shaft-lines, whitening on the belly, the under tail-coverts gray, whitish-edged and tinged with rufous. Wings and tail blackish, with slight gloss. Bill black; feet brown." Elliot Coues, 1884

Cliff Swallow

"Cliff Swallow. Eaves Swallow. Crescent Swallow. Mud Swallow. back and top of head, with a spot on the…

"Cotile riparia. Bank Swallow. lustreless mouse-brown; wings and tail fuscous. Below, white, with a broad pectoral band of the color of the back. A dusky ante-orbital spot." Elliot Coues, 1884

Bank Swallow

"Cotile riparia. Bank Swallow. lustreless mouse-brown; wings and tail fuscous. Below, white, with a…

"Ampelis garrulus. Bohemian Waxwing. General color brownish-ash, shading insensibly from the clear ash of the tail and its upper coverts and rump into a reddish-tinged ash anteriorly, this peculiar tint heightening on the head, especially on the forehead and sides of the head, into orange-brown. A narrow frontal line, and bordered with white. No yellowish on belly. Under tail-coverts orange-brown, or chestnut. Tail ash, deepening to blackish-ash toward the end broadly tipped with rich yellow. Wings ashy-blackish; primaries tipped (chiefly on the outer webs) with sharp spaces of yellow, or white, or both; secondaries with white spaces at the ends of the outer webs, the shafts usually ending with enlarged, horny, red appendages. Primary coverts tipped with white. Bill blackish-plumbeous, often paler at the base below; feet black." Elliot Coues, 1884

Bohemian Waxwing

"Ampelis garrulus. Bohemian Waxwing. General color brownish-ash, shading insensibly from the clear ash…

"Ampelis cedrorum. Cedar Waxwing. Carolina Waxwing. Cedar-bird. Cherry Bird. General color shading from clear pure ash on the upper tail-coverts and rump through olivaceous-cinnamon into a richer and somewhat purplish-cinnamon on the foreparts and head. On the under parts, the color shades through yellowish on the belly into white on the under tail-coverts. There is no demarcation of color whatever, and the tints are scarcely susceptible of adequate description. Frontlet, lores, and stripe through the eye, velvety-black; chin the same, soon shading into the color of the breast. A sharp white line on the side of the under jaw; a narrower one bordering the black frontlet and lores; lower eyelid white. quills of the wings slate-gray, blackening at the ends, paler along the edges of the inner webs; without white or yellow markings, as a rule; inner quills tipped with red horny appendages. Tail-feathers like the primaries, but tipped with yellow, and sometimes also showing red horny appendages. Bill plumbeous-black, sometimes paler at base; feet black." Elliot Coues, 1884

Cedar Waxwing

"Ampelis cedrorum. Cedar Waxwing. Carolina Waxwing. Cedar-bird. Cherry Bird. General color shading from…

"Generic details of a Myiadestes townsendi (Townsend's Flycatching Thrush); bill and foot nat. size, wing and tail 3/4ths."

Generic Details of a Thrush

"Generic details of a Myiadestes townsendi (Townsend's Flycatching Thrush); bill and foot nat. size,…

"Lanius borealis. Great Northern Shrike. Butcher-bird. Great Grey Shrike. Above, clear bluish-ash, blanching on rump and scapulars; below, white, always vermiculated transversely with fine wavy blackish lines; a broad black bar along side of head, not meeting its fellow across forehead, interrupted by a white crescent on under eyelid, and bordered above by hoary white that also occupies the extreme forehead; wings and tail black, the former with a large white spot near base of the primaries, and white tips of most of the quills, the latter with the outer web of the outer feather edged, and all the feathers excepting the middle pair broadly tipped, with white, and with concealed white bases; bill and feet bluish-black; eyes blackish. Elliot Coues, 1884

Butcher-bird

"Lanius borealis. Great Northern Shrike. Butcher-bird. Great Grey Shrike. Above, clear bluish-ash, blanching…

"Lanius borealis. Great Northern Shrike. Butcher-bird. Great Grey Shrike. Above, clear bluish-ash, blanching on rump and scapulars; below, white, always vermiculated transversely with fine wavy blackish lines; a broad black bar along side of head, not meeting its fellow across forehead, interrupted by a white crescent on under eyelid, and bordered above by hoary white that also occupies the extreme forehead; wings and tail black, the former with a large white spot near base of the primaries, and white tips of most of the quills, the latter with the outer web of the outer feather edged, and all the feathers excepting the middle pair broadly tipped, with white, and with concealed white bases; bill and feet bluish-black; eyes blackish. Elliot Coues, 1884

Butcher-bird Head

"Lanius borealis. Great Northern Shrike. Butcher-bird. Great Grey Shrike. Above, clear bluish-ash, blanching…

Fringilla coelebs. Chaffinch. A small finch with edges of the tail being white, white bars on wings, rump green, under parts reddish, and a bluish-gray cap.

Chaffinch

Fringilla coelebs. Chaffinch. A small finch with edges of the tail being white, white bars on wings,…

"Hesperophona vespertina. Evening Grosbeak. General color sordid yellow, overlaid with sooty-olive shade, deepest on fore parts, quite black on crown, clearest below behind. forehead and line over eye, scapulars, and rump, yellow. Wings and tail black; several inner secondaries and inner half of the greater coverts white; lining of wings black and yellow. A narrow black line around base of upper mandible; tibiae black. Bill greenish-yellow; feet apparently dusky flesh-color." Elliot Coues, 1884

Evening Grosbeak

"Hesperophona vespertina. Evening Grosbeak. General color sordid yellow, overlaid with sooty-olive shade,…

"Pinicola enucleator. Pine Grosbeak. Light carmine or rosy-red, feathers of back with dusky centres; lower belly and under tail-coverts gray, and, in general, the red continuous only in highly plumaged specimens. Nasal tufts and lores blackish. Wings blackish; primaries with narrow white or rosy edging, inner secondaries more broadly edged with white, ends of greater and middle coverts white or rosy, forming conspicuous wing-bars. Tail like wings, with narrow edgings like those of primaries. Bill blackish, with or without paler base below; feet blackish." Elliot Coues, 1884

Pine Grosbeak

"Pinicola enucleator. Pine Grosbeak. Light carmine or rosy-red, feathers of back with dusky centres;…

"Pyrrhula cassini. Cassin's Bullfinch. Above, clear ashy-gray; below, cinnamon-gray; rump and under wing- and tail-coverts white; wings and tail, crown, chin and face black; outer tail-feathers with a white patch, greater wing-coverts tipped and primaries edged with whitish; bill black; feet dusky." Elliot Coues, 1884

Cassin's Bullfinch

"Pyrrhula cassini. Cassin's Bullfinch. Above, clear ashy-gray; below, cinnamon-gray; rump and under…

"Exotic Sparrow's - lowest pair - Passer domesticus (The Sparrow. Philip Sparrow. House Sparrow.) above pair - Passer montanus (Mountain Sparrow). House Sparrow - upper parts ashy-gray; middle of back and scapulars boldly streaked with black and bay. A dark chestnut; median tipped with white, forming a conspicuous wing-bar, bordering which is a black line. Greater coverts and inner quills with central black field bordered with bay. Tail dusky-gray, unmarked. Lower parts ashy, gray or whitish; chin and throat jet black, spreading on the breast and lores, bordered on side of neck with white. Bill blue-black; feet brown. Mountain Sparrow - Somewhat like the last, but smaller and otherwise different. Crown and nape a peculiar purplish-brown. Lores, chin, and throat-patch narrow and short, not spreading on breast, contrasted with ashy-white on side of head and neck; ear-coverts blackish. Back and scapulars streaked with black and bay, the streaking reaching to the purplish nape; rump and tail plain grayish-brown. Wings marked much as in P. domesticus, with a black and white bar across tips of median coverts, but also a narrow white bar across tips of greater coverts. Primaries more varied with ochrey-brown on outer webs, forming a basal spot and other edging. Below, ashy-gray, shaded on sides, flanks, and crissum with grayish-brown. Bill blue-black; feet brown." Elliot Coues, 1884

Exotic Sparrow's

"Exotic Sparrow's - lowest pair - Passer domesticus (The Sparrow. Philip Sparrow. House Sparrow.) above…

"Carpodacus purpureus. Purple Finch (better Crimson Finch). Rose-red, paler below, insensibly whitening on belly and crissum, brightest anteriorly, intensified to crimson on crown, darker and more brownish-red on back, where also streaked with brown. Wings and tail dusky, the quills edged and coverts tipped with browninsh-red. Lores and feathers about base of bill hoary-whitish. Bill and feet brown, the under mandible rather paler." Elliot Coues, 1884

Purple Finch

"Carpodacus purpureus. Purple Finch (better Crimson Finch). Rose-red, paler below, insensibly whitening…

"Loxia leucoptera. White-winged Crossbill. Rosy-red, sometimes carmined or even crimsoned, obscured on middle of back, paling on lower belly and crissum, latter whitish with dusky centres of the feathers. Scapulars black, this color sometimes meeting across lower back. Wing- and tail-feathers black, with white, forming two cross-bars, sometimes confluent in one large patch. Rather larger than the next, the bill thinner and more attenuate." Elliot Coues, 1884

White-winged Crossbill

"Loxia leucoptera. White-winged Crossbill. Rosy-red, sometimes carmined or even crimsoned, obscured…

"Loxai curvirostra. American Red Crossbill. Red; wings and tail blackish, without white markings. Middle of back darker, more brownish-red than elsewhere, the feathers with dusky centres. In the highest feather, even, the red is scarcely continuous except on head and rump, where brightest; lower belly and crissum usually gray or pale. Though the shade of red is never rosy or carmine as in the last, it varies interminably. It is usually tilered or cinnabar, heightening in some cases to vermilion, in others shading to brownish-red, and often mixed not only with gray, but with olivaceous or saffron-yellowish tints. Orange, chrome or gamboge are sometimes seen." Elliot Coues, 1884

American Red Crossbill

"Loxai curvirostra. American Red Crossbill. Red; wings and tail blackish, without white markings. Middle…

"Leucosticte tephrocotis. Swainson's Rosy Finch. Gray-crowned Rosy Finch. Sexes similar. Adult in breeding plumage or nearly so: Bill and feet black. Nasal plumules white. Frontlet black; rest of pileum hoary-ash, not descending below level of eyes and upper border of auriculars (for when the ash invades the sides of head to any extent, the bird takes the first step toward litoralis, in which the head is extensively hooded in ash). General color, sides of head included, chocolate or liver-brown of varying intensity, many feathers skirted with gray or whitish, especially the interscapulars, which also have dusky centres, and inclining to blackish on chin and throat. Hinder parts of the body above and below, including tail-coverts, rich rosy or carmine red, this color due to broad edgings of the dusky feathers of these parts. Wings and tail blackish, the wing-coverts and primaries edged with rosy, showing nearly continuous in the closed wing; edgings of inner secondaries rosy-white or white." Elliot Coues, 1884

Swainson's Rosy Finch

"Leucosticte tephrocotis. Swainson's Rosy Finch. Gray-crowned Rosy Finch. Sexes similar. Adult in breeding…

"Bill small, short, straight, very acute, more or less compressed, the lateral outlines usually a little concave, those of culmen and gonys straight; commissure straight to the slight angulation. Base of bill thickly beset with a ruff of antrorse plumules, concealing the small nasal fossae and round nostrils. Wings longer than tail, pointed by first 3 primaries. Tail rather long for this group, forked. Feet small and weak, but tarsi longer than middle toes without claw; lateral toes of equal lengths, their claw-tips falling beyond base of middle claw. Hind claw much longer, stouter and more curved than the middle, exceeding its digit in length. Size small; plumage streaky with dusky, white, and flaxen colors, crown crimson, face and throat blackish; sexes otherwise dissimilar; with rosy or carmine on breast, wanting in. Scarcely different from Linota (flavirostris, etc.) the pattern of coloration being the most available distinction." Elliot Coues, 1884

Red-poll Linnets

"Bill small, short, straight, very acute, more or less compressed, the lateral outlines usually a little…

"Aegiothus linaria. Common Redpoll. Common Red-poll. Frontlet, lores, and throat-spot sooty-black. Crown crimson. Above, variegated with brownish-yellow and dusky, the feathers having dark centres and flaxen edges. Rump streaked with dusky and white, and tinged with rosy, more or less so according to age and season. Below, white, the sides and crissum streaked with dusky, the entire fore-parts colored with rose-red more or less rich and extensive according to same circumstances. Wings and tail dusky, the feathers edged with whitish, the middle and greater coverts tipped with the same, forming two crossbars. Bill black or yellow, usually found yellow with dusky tip and edges. Feet blackish." Elliot Coues, 1884

Common Redpoll

"Aegiothus linaria. Common Redpoll. Common Red-poll. Frontlet, lores, and throat-spot sooty-black. Crown…

"Carduelis pinus. Pine Linnet. Pine Finch. American Siskin. Pine Siskin. Continuously streaked, above with dusky or dark olivaceous-brown and flaxen or whitish, below with dusky and whitish, the whole body usually suffused with yellowish, most evident on the rump. Wings dusky, the basal portion of all the quills and their inner webs for some distance sulphury-yellow, usually showing externally as a spot just beyond the coverts, sometimes restricted and hidden. Outer webs of the quills also narrowly edged with yellow, separated from the basal yellow patch by a blackish interval. Tail dusky, its basal half yellow, and outer webs edged with yellow. Bill and feet brown." Elliot Coues, 1884

Pine Siskin

"Carduelis pinus. Pine Linnet. Pine Finch. American Siskin. Pine Siskin. Continuously streaked, above…

"Astragalinus tristis. American Goldfinch. Yellow-bird. Thistle-bird. In summer: Rich yellow, changing to whitish on the tail-coverts; a black patch on the crown; wings black, ore or less edged with white; lesser wing-coverts white or yellow; greater coverts tipped with white; tail black, every feather with a white spot; bill and feet flesh-colored. In September, the black cap disappears; the general plumage changes to a pale flaxen-brown above and whitey-brown below, with traces of the yellow, especially about the head; wings and tail much as in summer; sexes then much alike: this continues until the following April or May." Elliot Coues, 1884

American Goldfinch

"Astragalinus tristis. American Goldfinch. Yellow-bird. Thistle-bird. In summer: Rich yellow, changing…

"Astragalinus lawrencii. Lawrence's Goldfinch. Gray, more or less tinged with yellowish, whitening on the belly and crissum; rump, a large breast-patch, and much of the back rich yellow; crown, face, and chin black; wings black, variegated with yellow, most of the coverts being of this color, and the same broadly edging the quills; inner secondaries edged with hoary gray; tail black, most of the feathers with large square white spots on the inner webs and whitish edging of the outer; bill and feet flesh-color more or less obscured." Elliot Coues, 1884

Lawrence's Goldfinch

"Astragalinus lawrencii. Lawrence's Goldfinch. Gray, more or less tinged with yellowish, whitening on…

"Astragalinus psaltria. Arkansaw Goldfinch. Upper parts uniform olive-green, without any black; below yellow; crown black, this not extending below the eyes; wings black, most of the quills and the greater coverts white-tipped, and the primaries white at base; tail black, the outermost three pairs of feathers with a long rectangular white spot on the inner web." Elliot Coues, 1884

Arkansaw Goldfinch

"Astragalinus psaltria. Arkansaw Goldfinch. Upper parts uniform olive-green, without any black; below…

"Plectrophanes nivalis. Snow Bunting. Snowflake. Pure white; the bill, feet, middle of back, scapulars, primaries except at base, most inner secondaries, bastard quills, and and several tail-feathers, black." Elliott Coues, 1884

Snow Bunting

"Plectrophanes nivalis. Snow Bunting. Snowflake. Pure white; the bill, feet, middle of back, scapulars,…

"Centrophanes lapponicus. Lapland Longspur. Whole head, throat and breast jet-black, bordered with buffy or whitish, which forms a post-ocular stripe separating black of crown from that of sides of head, sometimes continues to the bill. A broad cervical chestnut collar, separated from the black cap by whitish or buffy line and nuchal spot. Upper parts brownish-black completely streaked with buff or whitish edges of the feathers; under parts white, the sides streaked with black. Wings dusky, with pale or brownish edgings of the feathers, but no strong markings. Tail like wing, with large white spaces on outer 3 feathers. Bill yellow, black-tipped. Legs and feet black." Elliot Coues, 1884

Lapland Longspur

"Centrophanes lapponicus. Lapland Longspur. Whole head, throat and breast jet-black, bordered with buffy…

"Astragalinus mexicanus. Mexican Goldfinch. The upper parts continuously-black, and the black of the crown extending below the eyes, enclosing the olive under eyelid. Mexican border and southward. This bird looks quite unlike typical psaltria, but the gradation through var. arizonae is perfect; and mexicana, moreover, leads directly into var. columbiana, a Central American form in which the tail-spots are very small or wanting. The females of these several varieties cannot by distinguished with certainty." Elliot Coues, 1884

Mexican Goldfinch

"Astragalinus mexicanus. Mexican Goldfinch. The upper parts continuously-black, and the black of the…

"Rhynchophanes maccowni. Black-breasted Longspur. Bay-winged Longspur. Upper parts slate-gray, streaked with dusky and grayish or yellowish-brown, especially on the interscapulars. No cervical collar, but a chestnut patch on the wings, formed by median coverts. Crown jet-black, bounded by a white superciliary line; sides of head whitish, but auriculars more or less slaty. Throat white, bounded by firm black maxillary stripes. Breast jet-black in broad crescentic form, sharply defined against the white throat, shading behind into slaty-blackish, becoming more and more mixed with white on the belly and sides, till posteriorly the parts are pure white; lining of wings white. All the tail-feathers, except the middle pair, and bases and tips of intermediate ones, white, ending squarely across both webs. Bill blackish-plumbeous, pale at base below; feet brownish-black. Elliot Coues, 1884

Black-breasted Longspur

"Rhynchophanes maccowni. Black-breasted Longspur. Bay-winged Longspur. Upper parts slate-gray, streaked…

"Passerculs bairdi. Baird's Savanna Sparrow. Inner secondaries less elongated, rarely equaling the primaries in the closed wings. First 4 quills about equal and longest. Hind toe and claw about equaling the middle toe and claw, its claw about equaling the digit. Tail shorter than wing, lightly double-rounded (central and outer pair of feathers both little shorter than the intermediate ones). Top of head streaked with black and rich brownish-yellow. or buff, the former predominating laterally, the latter chiefly as a median stripe, but also suffusing the nape and sides of head in greater or less degree. Back varied with brownish-black and gray, together with a little bay, the two latter colors forming the edgings of the interscapulars. Rump variegated with gray and chestnut-brown, different in shade from that of the back. Under parts dull white, usually with a faint ochrey tinge on the breast, but often without; a circlet of small, sharp, sparse, dusky streaks across the breast, continuous with others, longer and mostly lighter, along the whole sides, and with others, again, extending up the sides of the neck into small vague maxillary and aurigular markings. When the feathers are perfectly arranged these lateral head-markings are seen to be post-ocular stripe just over the auricular spot, a streak starting from the angle of the mouth, and another heavier one parallel with and below this, running directly into the pectoral ones. Quills without special marking, excepting the elongated inner secondaries, which correspond with scapulars. Tail the same, slightly whitish-edge. Upper mandible mostly dark, lower pale. Feet flesh-colored." Elliot Coues, 1884

Baird's Sparrow

"Passerculs bairdi. Baird's Savanna Sparrow. Inner secondaries less elongated, rarely equaling the primaries…

"Passercules s. savana. Common Savanna Sparrow. Thickly streaked everywhere above, on sides, and across breast; a superciliary line, and edge of the wing, yellowish: lesser wing-coverts not chestnut; legs flesh-color; bill rather slender and acute; tail nearly even, its outer feathers not white; longest secondary nearly as long as the primaries in the closed wing. Above, brownish-gray, streaked with blackish, whitish-gray and pale bay, the streaks largest on interscapulars, smallest on cervix, the crown divided by an obscure whitish line; sometimes an obscure yellowish suffusion about head besides the streak over the eye. Below, white, pure or with faint buffy shade, thickly streaked, as just stated, with dusky- the individual spots edged with brown, mostly arrow-shaped, running in chains along the sides, and often aggregated in an obscure blotch on the breast. Wings dusky, the coverts and inner secondaries black-edged and tipped with bright bay; tail-feathers rather narrow and pointed, dusky, not noticeably marked." Elliot Coues, 1884

Common Savanna Sparrow

"Passercules s. savana. Common Savanna Sparrow. Thickly streaked everywhere above, on sides, and across…

"Coturniculus passerinus. Yellow-winged Sparrow. Quail Sparrow. Grasshopper Sparrow. Edge of wing conspicuously yellow; lesser wing-coverts greenish-yellow; a yellow loral spot; short line over eye buffy-yellow. Crown with median stripe of pale brownish-yellow. Below, ochraceous or pale buff or tawny, fading to whitish on belly, not evidently streaked, though a few dark touches may appear on sides of breast. Above, singularly variegated with black, gray, yellowish-brown and a peculiar purplish-bay, in short streaks and specks; the crown being nearly black with sharp median brownish-yellow stripe, the middle of the back chiefly black with bay and brownish-yellow edgings of the feathers, the cervical region and rump chiefly bay and gray. When the feathers are not disturbed, the peculiar pattern of the cervical region separates that of the crown and back; the markings extend on the sides of the neck, but the sides of the head are plain, like the under parts. Wing-coverts and inner secondaries variegated in intricate pattern, the general effect like the back. Primaries and tail-feathers plain dusky, with narrow light edgings; outer tail-feathers paler, but not white. Feet flesh-colored." Elliot Coues, 1884

Yellow-winged Sparrow

"Coturniculus passerinus. Yellow-winged Sparrow. Quail Sparrow. Grasshopper Sparrow. Edge of wing conspicuously…

"Ammodramus. Seaside Sparrow. Bill remarkably slender and lengthened for this family, with culmen toward end, gonys straight, and sometimes an evident lobation of the cutting edge of the upper mandible. Wings short and rounded, yet longer than tail; inner secondaries, though not elongate, reaching nearly to end of primaries when wing is closed; point formed by 2d-4th quills. Feet large and stout, reaching outstretched about to the end of tail; tarsus about equal to middle toe and claw in length; lateral toes of equal lengths, very short, their claws under reaching base of middle claw. Tail shorter or not longer than wings, much rounded, of narrow, stiffish, sharp-pointed feathers. Embracing small streaky marsh sparrows, especially of the sea-coast, but not exclusively maritime, as long supposed; remarkable for slenderness of the bill, sharp narrow tail-feathers, and stout feet fitted for grasping slender swaying reeds. Edge of wing bright yellow; a yellow spot of buff stripe on head; upper parts olive-gray or quite blackish, streaky." Elliot Coues, 1884

The Details of a Seaside Sparrow

"Ammodramus. Seaside Sparrow. Bill remarkably slender and lengthened for this family, with culmen toward…

"Ammodramus maritimus. Seaside Finch. Olive-gray, obscurely streaked on back and crown with darker and paler; below, whitish, often washed with brownish, shaded on sides with color of back, and with ill-defined dark streaks on breast and sides; maxillary stripes on the same; wings and tail plain dusky, with slight olivaceous edgings; wing-coverts and inner quills somewhat margined with brown; edge of wing bright yellow; a bright yellow spot on lore, and often often some vague brownish and dusky markings on side of head; bill plumbeous, or dark horn-blue; feet dark." Elliot Coues, 1884

Seaside Finch

"Ammodramus maritimus. Seaside Finch. Olive-gray, obscurely streaked on back and crown with darker and…

"Melospiza lincolni. Lincoln's Song Sparrow. Below, white, with a broad brownish-yellow belt across breast, the sides of the body and neck, and the crissum, washed with the same; extent and intensity of this buff very variable, often leaving only chin, throat, and belly purely white, but a pectoral band is always evident. All the buffy parts sharply and thickly streaked with dusky. Above, grayish-brown, with numerous sharp black-centred, brown-edged streaks. Top of head ashy, with a pair of dark brown black-streaked stripes; or, say, top of head brown, streaked with black, and with median and lateral ashy stripes. Below the superciliary ashy stripe is a narrow dark brown one, running from eye over ear; auriculars also bounded below by an indistinct dark brown stripe, below which and behind the auriculars the parts are suffused with buff. Wings with much rufous-brown edging of all the quills; inner secondaries and coverts having quite black central fields, with broad bay edging, becoming whitish toward their ends. Tail brown, the feathers with pale edges, and the central pair at least with dusky shaft-stripes. Bill blackish, lighter below; feet brownish." Elliot Coues, 1884

Lincoln's Sparrow

"Melospiza lincolni. Lincoln's Song Sparrow. Below, white, with a broad brownish-yellow belt across…

"Melospiza palustris. Swamp Song Sparrow. Crown bright chestnut, blackening on forehead, the red cap and black vizor as conspicuous as in chipping sparrow; but oftener, crown with obscuremedian ashy line, and streaked with black. An ashy-gray superciliary line; dark brown postocular stripe, bordering the auriculars; sides of head ashy, with grayish-brown auriculars, dusky speckling on cheeks and lores, and slight dusky maxillary spots or streaks. An ashy cervical collar separating the chestnut crown from the back, sometimes pure, oftener interrupted with blackish streaks. The general ash of the sides of head and neck spreads all over the breast and under parts, fading to whitish on throat and belly; the sides, flanks, and crissum marked with brown, and obsoletely streaked with darker brown. Back and rump brown, rather darker than sides of body, boldly variegated with black central streaks of the feathers and their pale brown or grayish edges. Wings so strongly edged with bright bay as to appear almost uniformly brownish-red when closed; but inner secondaries and greater coverts showing some black and whitish besides the bay. Tail likewise strongly edged with bay, and usually showing sharp black shaft lines. Thus well marked by the emphasis of black, bay, and ash." Elliot Coues, 1884

Swamp Sparrow

"Melospiza palustris. Swamp Song Sparrow. Crown bright chestnut, blackening on forehead, the red cap…

"Melospiza fasciata. Song Sparrow. Silver-tongue. Below, white, slightly shaded with brownish on the flanks and crissum; with numerous black-centred, brown-edged streaks cross breast and along sides, usually forming a pectoral blotch and coalescing into maxillary stripes bounding the white throat; crown dull bay, with fine black streaks, divided in the middle and bounded on either side by ashy-whitish lines; vague brown or dusky and whitish markings on sides of the head; a brown post-ocular stripe over the gray auriculars, and another, not so well defined, from angle of mouth below the auriculars; the interscapular streaks black, with bay and ashy-white edgings; rump and cervix grayish-brown, with merely a few bay marks; wings with dull bay edgings, the coverts and inner quills marked like the interscapulars; tail plain brown, with darker shaft lines, on the middle feathers at least, and often with obsolete transverse wavy markings. Very constant in plumage, the chief difference being in the sharpness and breadth of the markings, due in part to the wear of the feathers. In worn midsummer plumage, the streaking is very sharp, narrow, and black, from wearing of the rufous and whitish, especially observable below where the streaks contrast with white, and giving the impression of heavier streaking than in fall and winter, when in fresher feather, the markings are softer and more suffuse. The aggregation of spots into a blotch on the middle of the breast is usual. Bill dark brown, paler below; feet pale brow." Elliot Coues, 1884

Song Sparrow

"Melospiza fasciata. Song Sparrow. Silver-tongue. Below, white, slightly shaded with brownish on the…