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"Coturnix dactylisonans. Messina Quail. Migratory Quail. Common Quail of Europe. Upper parts variegated with buff or whitish and black upon a mixed reddish-brown and gray ground, the most conspicuous markings being sharp lance-lineal lengthwise stripes of buff or whitish over most of the upper parts, these dashes mostly edged with black; other less prominent buff or whitish cross-bars, several to a feather, likewise framed in black. Crown mixed brown and black, with sharp median and lateral buff stripes. Throat white, bounded before by a dark bar curving down behind the auriculars; behind, by a necklace of ruddy-brown, blackish, or whitish spots; chin varied with dark marks n advance of the auricular bar. Under parts fading to whitish from the buff or pale yellowish-brown breast, without any dark crossbars, but the long feathers of the sides and flanks with large and conspicuous white shaft-stripes and otherwise variegated with black, brown, and buff. Primaries fuscous, spotted with light brown on outer webs; secondaries similar, but the markings becoming bars on both webs. Tail-feathers brownish-black, much varied with shaft-lines, cross-bars, and edgings of buff; crissum immaculate, like the abdomen. Bill dark; feet pale; iris dark brown." Elliot Coues, 1884

Common Quail of Europe

"Coturnix dactylisonans. Messina Quail. Migratory Quail. Common Quail of Europe. Upper parts variegated…

"Squatarola helvetica. Swiss Plover. Black-bellied Plover. Bull-head Plover. Whistling Field Plover. Ox-eye. Upper parts fretted with blackish and ashy-white, the feathers being basally, then black, tipped and usually scalloped with white. Upper tail-coverts mostly white, with few dark touches. Fore-head, line over eye and thence more broadly over side of neck, the lining of wings, tibiae, vent and under tail-coverts, white. Sides of head to an extent embracing the eyes, axillary plumes, and entire under parts (except as said), black. Tail closely barred with black and white. Primaries dark brown, blackening at tips, with large basal areas and a portion of their shafts, white. Bill and feet black." Elliot Coues, 1884

Black-bellied Plover

"Squatarola helvetica. Swiss Plover. Black-bellied Plover. Bull-head Plover. Whistling Field Plover.…

"Squatarola. Four-toed Plover. A small but distinct hind toe, contrary to the rule in this family. Tail less than half as long as wing. Tarsus much longer than middle toe and claw. Tibia bare below, reticulate like the tarsus. Basal web between outer and middle toes. Upper plumage speckled, lower black or white; no rings or bars of color about head or neck. Legs dark-colored. Tail fully barred. Seasonal changes of plumage very; sexes alike." Elliot Coues, 1884

Four-toed Plover Bill and Hind Toe

"Squatarola. Four-toed Plover. A small but distinct hind toe, contrary to the rule in this family. Tail…

"Charadrius dominicus. American Golden Plover. Field Plover. Bull-head Plover. Upper parts black, everywhere speckled with golden-yellow, and mostly also white, the brighter color in excess. The markings of individual feathers are a tipping and one or several paired scollops. Hind neck less strongly marked than crown or back. Forehead, and long stripe over eye snowy-white. Region immediately around bill, sides of head to include eyes, and entire under parts, glossy brownish-black. Lining of wings, and axillars, sooty-gray or ashy. Tail dusky grayish-brown, with numerous irregular pale gray bars, and reddish-brown shafts; upper tail-coverts and rump like back. Primaries fuscous, blackening at tips and whitening at bases of inner webs, though without definite white spaces; shafts white for space. Secondaries and many of the coverts, like the primaries, plain fuscous, without the golden and white fretwork of the back. Bill and feet black." Elliot Coues, 1884

American Golden Plover

"Charadrius dominicus. American Golden Plover. Field Plover. Bull-head Plover. Upper parts black, everywhere…

"Aegialites vociferus. Kildeer Plover. Above, grayish-brown, with an olive shade, and in high plumage a slight bronzy lustre. Rump and upper tail-coverts bright-colored, very variable in tint, from tawny or orange-brown to cinnamon-brown or chestnut. Forehead with a white band from eye to eye, more or less prolonged as a superciliary streak, and a black band above it. A white collar around hind neck, continuous with white of the throat. A black collar around back of neck, continuous with a black pectoral band. Back of the latter a black pectoral belt. Thus the fore-parts are encircled with one complete black ring, behind which is a black half-ring on breast, before which is a complete white ring. A white stripe over and behind eye; a dusky stripe below eye. Under parts entirely pure white, except the two pectoral belts. Primary quills blackish; a white space on the outer webs of the most of them, forming an oblique series, and a longer white space on their inner webs. Secondaries mostly white, but with black areas in increasing size from within outward. Long inner secondaries, or tertiaries, like the back. Tail-feathers singularly variegated; several inner pairs like the back, insensibly blackening towards ends, then lightning again, and usually with rusty tips; lateral ones gaining more and more of the bright color of the rump, with more definite black subterminal bars, and pure white tips; outermost pair mostly white, with the rufous shade, and several broken black bars. The effect of all this variegation is very striking when the pairs are displayed in flight. Bill black; eye black, with a bright ring around it; legs pale." Eliot Coues, 1884

Kildeer Plover

"Aegialites vociferus. Kildeer Plover. Above, grayish-brown, with an olive shade, and in high plumage…

"Haematopus. Oyster-catcher. Bill peculiar - longer than tarsus, twice as long as head, constricted near the base, much compressed, almost like a knife-blade toward end, and truncate, something like a woodpecker's (it is an efficient instrument for prying open shells of bivalve mollusks), hard, straight or or deflected sideways, highly colored. Nasal groove very short, broad, and shallow; grooving of lower mandible slight; interramal space very short, scarcely a third the length of the long ascending gonys. Nostrils remote from the feathers, linear, close to edge of bill." Elliot Coues, 1884

Oyster-catcher Bill

"Haematopus. Oyster-catcher. Bill peculiar - longer than tarsus, twice as long as head, constricted…

"Haematopus ostrilegus. European Oyster-catcher. (oyster-opener would b a better name, as oysters do not run fast). Upper parts glossy-black, like the head and neck. Quills, broadly margined with white on inner webs excepting towards end, and also with isolated white shafts and spaces near end. Back below, interscapulars, rump, and upper tail-coverts entirely white, as well as bases of the tail-feathers." Elliot Coues, 1884

European Oyster-catcher

"Haematopus ostrilegus. European Oyster-catcher. (oyster-opener would b a better name, as oysters do…

"Strepsilas interpres. Turnstone. Brant Bird. Calico-back. Pied above with black, white, brown, and chestnut-red; below, snowy, with jet breast. Top of head streaked with black and white. Forehead, cheeks, side of head and back of neck, white, with a bar of black coming up from the side of neck to below eye, then coming forward and meeting or tending to meet its fellow over base of bill, enclosing or nearly enclosing a white loral, and another black prolongation on side of neck; lower eye-lid white or not. Lower hind neck, interscapulars and scapulars, pied with black and chestnut; back, rump, and upper tail-coverts, snowy-white, with a large central blackish field on the latter. Tail white, with broad subterminal blackish field, narrowing on the outer feathers and incomplete, widening to usually cut off white tips of central feathers. Wing-coverts and long inner secondaries pied like the scapulars with black and chestnut, the greater coverts broadly white-tipped or mostly white, the short inner secondaries entirely white, the rest acquiring dusky on their ends to increasing extent, with result of a broad oblique white wing-bar. Primaries blackish, the longer ones with large white fields on inner webs, the shorter ones also definitely white on outer webs for a space, the shafts white on the outer webs for a space, the shafts white unless at end; primary coverts white-tipped. Under parts, under wing-coverts, snowy-white, the breast and jugulum jet-black, enclosing a white throat-patch, and sending limbs on sides of head and neck as above said. Bill black; iris black; feet orange." Elliot Coues, 1884

Turnstone

"Strepsilas interpres. Turnstone. Brant Bird. Calico-back. Pied above with black, white, brown, and…

"Another small family, characterized by the extreme length of the slender legs, and the extreme slenderness of the long acute bill, which is either straight or curved upward. Recurvirostra is a 4-toed, and full-webbed; the bill is decidedly recurved, flattened, and tapers to a needle-like point; the body is depressed; the plumage underneath is thickened as in water-birds. The species swim well. Himantopus is 3 toes, semipalmate, the bill nearly straight, and not flattened; in relative length of leg it is probably not surpassed by any bird whatsoever. " Elliot Coues, 1884

Avocets Head and Foot

"Another small family, characterized by the extreme length of the slender legs, and the extreme slenderness…

The Palazzo Pitti, in English sometimes called the Pitti Palace, is a vast mainly Renaissance palace in Florence, Italy. It is situated on the south side of the River Arno, a short distance from the Ponte Vecchio. The core of the present palazzo dates from 1458 and was originally the town residence of Luca Pitti, an ambitious Florentine banker. The palace was bought by the Medici family in 1549 and became the chief residence of the ruling families of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. It grew as a great treasure house as later generations amassed paintings, plates, jewelry and luxurious possessions. In the late 18th century, the palazzo was used as a power base by Napoleon, and later served for a brief period as the principal royal palace of the newly united Italy. The palace and its contents were donated to the Italian people by King Victor Emmanuel III in 1919, and its doors were opened to the public as one of Florence's largest art galleries. Today, it houses several minor collections in addition to those of the Medici family, and is fully open to the public. "Columns, pilasters, and mouldings are intermingled and intertwined in a fantastic and meaningless manner, the cornices are often interrupted; the essentially component parts of the architecture are frequently mutilated; for instance, columns and wall-pilasters are executed in rustic work, i. e., formed of extensively projecting hewn stones, yet are furnished with a capital and base as is shown [in this image], which is an illustration taken from the Late Italian Renaissance. For the sake of peculiarity, the various component elements assumed a form diametrically opposed to their original designation; mere decorative and secondary details were raised to the rank of essentials, whilst the real principal forms sank to an entirely subordinate position."

Part of the Back of the Pitti Palace at Florence

The Palazzo Pitti, in English sometimes called the Pitti Palace, is a vast mainly Renaissance palace…

"The change from the pure to the later Renaissance, which was formerly seen only in individual instances, has now received a certain extension. This is mainly owing to the key-note struck in the New Louvre [shown here], begun by Visconti, but finished by another architect. Although it is true that the new building conforms in general to the architecture of the Old Louvre, yet still an increase rather than a decrease is to be perceived in the effort for picturesque effect, in the licence of the Roccoco style, and in an unstructural treatment of the individual forms and ornamental parts."

Corner Pavilion of the New Louvre

"The change from the pure to the later Renaissance, which was formerly seen only in individual instances,…

"Stilt. Long-shanks. Lawyer. Adult. Mantle, constituted by the interscapulars, scapulars, and wings (above and below) glossy-black, prolonged up the back of the neck and on to[ and sides of head, embracing the eyes. A spot over and behind eye, one on under eyelid, forehead to opposite eyes, sides of head below eyes, sides of neck and entire under parts, together with the lower back, rump, and, upper tail-coverts, white; tail pearl-gray. In life the long black wings fold entirely over the white upper parts and tail, so that the bird looks entirely black above. Bill black; eyes and legs carmine, latter drying yellowish." Elliot Coues, 1884

Black-necked Stilt

"Stilt. Long-shanks. Lawyer. Adult. Mantle, constituted by the interscapulars, scapulars, and wings…

"Steganopus wilsoni. Wilson's Phalarope. Bill and feet black. Crown of head pale ash, passing into white along a narrow stripe in the nape. A narrow, distinct, pure white line over the eye. Sides of neck intense purplish-chestnut, or dark wine-red; anteriorly deepening upon the auriculars into velvety-black; posteriorly continued, somewhat duller in tint, as a stripe along each side of the back to the tips of the scapulars. Other upper parts pearly-ash, blanching on the rump and upper tail-coverts. Wings pale grayish-brown; coverts slightly white-tipped; primaries dusky-brown, their shafts brownish-white, except at tip. Tail marbled with pearly-gray and white. All the under parts pure white, but the fore part and sides of the breast washed with pale chestnut-brown, as if with a weak solution of the rich color on the neck, and a faint tinge of the same along the sides of the body to the flanks. Bill and feet black. Iris brown." Elliot Coues, 1884

Wilson's Phalarope

"Steganopus wilsoni. Wilson's Phalarope. Bill and feet black. Crown of head pale ash, passing into white…

"Gallinago wilsoni. American Snipe. Wilson's Snipe. "English" Snipe. Jack-Snipe. Crown black, with a pale ochrey middle stripe. upper parts brownish-black, varied with bright bay and tawny, the scapular feathers smoothly and evenly edged with tawny or whitish, forming two lengthwise stripes on each side when the wings are folded. Quills and greater coverts blackish-brown, usually with white tips, and outer web of first primary usually white. Lining of wings and axillars white, fully and regularly barred with black. Rump black, the feathers with white tips. Upper tail-coverts tawny with numerous black bars, and tail-feathers black basally, then bright chestnut, with a narrow subterminal black bar, their tips fading to whitish; some of the lateral ones white, with little rufous tinge and several instead of one black nearly white; sides of body shaded with brown, and with numerous regular dusky bars throughout; crissum more or less rufous, with numerous dusky bars." Elliot Coues, 1884

Small Wilson's Snipe

"Gallinago wilsoni. American Snipe. Wilson's Snipe. "English" Snipe. Jack-Snipe. Crown black, with a…

"Gallinago wilsoni. American Snipe. Wilson's Snipe. "English" Snipe. Jack-Snipe. Crown black, with a pale ochrey middle stripe. upper parts brownish-black, varied with bright bay and tawny, the scapular feathers smoothly and evenly edged with tawny or whitish, forming two lengthwise stripes on each side when the wings are folded. Quills and greater coverts blackish-brown, usually with white tips, and outer web of first primary usually white. Lining of wings and axillars white, fully and regularly barred with black. Rump black, the feathers with white tips. Upper tail-coverts tawny with numerous black bars, and tail-feathers black basally, then bright chestnut, with a narrow subterminal black bar, their tips fading to whitish; some of the lateral ones white, with little rufous tinge and several instead of one black nearly white; sides of body shaded with brown, and with numerous regular dusky bars throughout; crissum more or less rufous, with numerous dusky bars." Elliot Coues, 1884

Wilson's Snipe

"Gallinago wilsoni. American Snipe. Wilson's Snipe. "English" Snipe. Jack-Snipe. Crown black, with a…

"Gallinago wilsoni. American Snipe. Wilson's Snipe. "English" Snipe. Jack-Snipe. Crown black, with a pale ochrey middle stripe. upper parts brownish-black, varied with bright bay and tawny, the scapular feathers smoothly and evenly edged with tawny or whitish, forming two lengthwise stripes on each side when the wings are folded. Quills and greater coverts blackish-brown, usually with white tips, and outer web of first primary usually white. Lining of wings and axillars white, fully and regularly barred with black. Rump black, the feathers with white tips. Upper tail-coverts tawny with numerous black bars, and tail-feathers black basally, then bright chestnut, with a narrow subterminal black bar, their tips fading to whitish; some of the lateral ones white, with little rufous tinge and several instead of one black nearly white; sides of body shaded with brown, and with numerous regular dusky bars throughout; crissum more or less rufous, with numerous dusky bars." Elliot Coues, 1884

Family of Snipes

"Gallinago wilsoni. American Snipe. Wilson's Snipe. "English" Snipe. Jack-Snipe. Crown black, with a…

"Macrorhamphus griseus. Red-breasted Snipe. Gray Snipe. Brown-back. Dowitcher. In summer:Under parts rich rust-red, paler or whitish on the belly; jugulum, breast, and sides fully speckled with dusky. Axillars and lining of wings white, with angular dusky markings. Wing-quills fuscous, the shaft of the 1st primary white, of the others brown; secondaries conspicuously tipped with white. Above, black, varied everywhere with reddish color of the under parts, and on the back and scapulars with white ; the rump snowy-white, unmarked, very conspicuous in flight. Tail and its upper coverts black, closely barred with white or rufous. A dusky line from bill to eye. Bill and feet greenish-black. In winter: Dark gray above, supercilliary line and spot on under eye-lid white; below, white, the jugulum, fore-breast, and sides heavily shaded with gray, leaving chin whitish; the flanks and crissum with wavy dusky spots or bars." Elliot Coues, 1884

Red-breasted Snipe Head

"Macrorhamphus griseus. Red-breasted Snipe. Gray Snipe. Brown-back. Dowitcher. In summer:Under parts…

"Micropalama himantopus. Stilt Sandpiper. In summer: blackish, each feather edged and tipped with white and tawny or bay, which on the scapulars becomes scalloped. Auriculars chestnut; a dusky line from bill to eye, and a light reddish superciliary one; upper tail-coverts white with dusky bars. Primaries dusky with blackish tips; tail-feathers 12 ashy-gray, their edges and a central field white; under parts mixed reddish, black, and whitish, in streaks on the jugulum, elsewhere in bars; bill and feet greenish-black." Elliot Coues, 1884

Stilt Sandpiper

"Micropalama himantopus. Stilt Sandpiper. In summer: blackish, each feather edged and tipped with white…

"The post-oral arches of the house martin, at middle of period of incubation, lateral view, X14 diameters. mk, stumpof meckelian or mandibular rod, its articular part, ar already shapen; q, quadrate bone, or suspensorium of lower jaw, with a free anterior orbital process and long posterior otic process articulating with the ear-capsule, of which teo, tympanic wing of occipital, is a part; mst, est, sst, ist, sth, parts of suspensorium of the third post-oral arch, not completed to chy; mst, medio-stapedial, tp come away from teo, bringing a piece with it, the true stapes or columella auris; the oval base of the stapes fitting into the future fenestra ovalis, or oval window looking into the cochlea; sst, supra-stapedial; est, extra-stapedial; ist, infra-stapedial, which will unite with sth, the stylo-hyal; chy and bhym cerato-hyal and basi-hyal, distal parts of the same arch; bbr, br 1, br2, basi-branchial, epi-branchial and cerato-branchial pieces of the third arch, composing the rest of the hyoid bone; tg, tongue." Elliot Coues, 1884

House Martin Skull

"The post-oral arches of the house martin, at middle of period of incubation, lateral view, X14 diameters.…

"Skull of chick, second stage, in profile, brain and membranes removed to show cartilaginous formations, X4 diameters. eth, ethmoid, forming median nose-parts and inter-orbital septum; developing lateral parts, as ale, aliethmoid, als, aliseptum, aln, alinasal, pp, partition between nose and eye; pn, prenasal cartilage; ps, presphenoidal part of midethmoid; 2, optic foramen; as, alisphenoid, walling brain-box in front; pf, post-frontal, bounding orbit behind; pa, pg, palatine and pterygoid; q, quadrate; so, supra-occipital; eo, ex-occipital; oc, occipital condyle, borne upon basi-occipital, and showing nc, remains of notochord; these occipital bound the foramen magnum, and eo expands laterally to form a tympanic wing, circumscribing the external auditory orifice behind and below; hsc, psc, horizontal and posterior vertical semicircular canals of ear; fr, st, fenestra rotunda and fenestra ovalis, leading into inner ear, latter closed by foot of the stapes; mk, ch, bh, bbr, cbr, ebr, parts of jaw and tongue." Elliot Coues, 1884

The Skull of a Chick Stage Two

"Skull of chick, second stage, in profile, brain and membranes removed to show cartilaginous formations,…

"Calidris arenaria. Sanderling. Ruddy "Plover". Adult in summer: Entire upper parts and neck all round variegated with black, light ashy and bright reddish; on the back and scapulars each feather having a central black field, and being broadly margined and tipped with ashy or reddish. Under parts white, immaculate. Outer webs an tips of primaries deep brownish-black, inner light ashy. A white spot at base of inner primaries. Secondaries mostly pure white; the outer vanes and part of inner on the latter half dusky. Greater coverts dusky, broadly tipped and narrowly edged with pure white. Rump, upper tail-coverts and central tail-feathers dusky, tipped and narrowly edged with ashy-white; lateral tail=-feathers very light ash, nearly white. Bill and feet black." Elliot Coues, 1884

Sanderling

"Calidris arenaria. Sanderling. Ruddy "Plover". Adult in summer: Entire upper parts and neck all round…

"Eurynorhynchus pygmaeus. Spoon-billed Sandpiper. General appearance of a stint, and size little greater. Coloration of upper parts almost exactly as in the species just names, the feathers being black, with indented light chestnut-red edgings, and mostly grayish-white tips; crown simply streaked with the reddish color and black. Under parts white, the whole throat, breast, and sides of the neck overlaid with bright chestnut (as in a highly-plumaged sanderling), the breast, back of this colored area, and the sides of the body, spotted with dusky. Primaries plain dusky, with blackish outer webs and ends, and mostly white shafts; secondaries mostly white from the base; greater coverts white-tipped. Bill and feet black." Elliot Coues, 1884

Spoon-billed Sandpiper

"Eurynorhynchus pygmaeus. Spoon-billed Sandpiper. General appearance of a stint, and size little greater.…

"Limosa fedoa. Great Marbled Godwit. Marlin. Feathers not extending on side of lower mandible to a point far beyond those on upper. no white anywhere; rump, tail, and its coverts barred throughout with blackish and the body-color. Lining of wings chestnut; axillars the same, more or less barred with black. General color rufous or light dull cinnamon-red, uniform and nearly uninterrupted on all the under parts, richer and more chestnut on the lining of the wings and axillars; somewhat marked with dusky on the sides of the breast and body; on the whole upper parts variegated with the brownish-black central field of each feather, the blackish predominating, leaving the rufous chiefly as scallops and tips of the feathers. This rufous very variable in intensity; usually paler on upper than on under parts, and strongest under the wings. Primaries rufous, successively darkening from the last to first, the outer webs and ends of the few outer ones blackish, the shaft of the first white. Bill livid flesh-colored, blackish on about terminal third; legs ashy-blackish." Elliot Coues, 1884

Marbled Godwit

"Limosa fedoa. Great Marbled Godwit. Marlin. Feathers not extending on side of lower mandible to a point…

"Symphemia semipalmata. Semipalmated Tattler. Willet. Adult in summer: Upper parts ashy, confoundedly speckled to greater or less extent with blackish; this sometimes giving the prevailing tone, but in lighter colored cases the blackish restricted to an irregular central field on each feather, throwing out angular processes and tending to become traverse bars. When such dark fields prevail, the upper parts become quite blackish, speckled with ashy-white, like Totanus melanoleucus, for example. Furthermore, there is often a slight rufescence. Under parts white, sometimes with a rufous or brownish tinge, the jugulum and breast spotted and streaked, the sides barred or arrow-headed, with brownish-black. Axillars and lining of wing, edge of wing and primary coverts, sooty-blackish. Primaries blackish, with a great space white at base, partly overlaid and concealed by the primary coverts, partly showing conspicuously as a speculum; shafts white along this space. Most secondaries white most upper tail-coverts white, the shorter ones dark like rump, the longer ones barred like tail. Tail ashy, incompletely barred with blackish; lateral feathers pale, or marbled with white. Bill dark; legs bluish." Elliot Coues, 1884

Willet Head

"Symphemia semipalmata. Semipalmated Tattler. Willet. Adult in summer: Upper parts ashy, confoundedly…

"Symphemia semipalmata. Semipalmated Tattler. Willet. Adult in summer: Upper parts ashy, confoundedly speckled to greater or less extent with blackish; this sometimes giving the prevailing tone, but in lighter colored cases the blackish restricted to an irregular central field on each feather, throwing out angular processes and tending to become traverse bars. When such dark fields prevail, the upper parts become quite blackish, speckled with ashy-white, like Totanus melanoleucus, for example. Furthermore, there is often a slight rufescence. Under parts white, sometimes with a rufous or brownish tinge, the jugulum and breast spotted and streaked, the sides barred or arrow-headed, with brownish-black. Axillars and lining of wing, edge of wing and primary coverts, sooty-blackish. Primaries blackish, with a great space white at base, partly overlaid and concealed by the primary coverts, partly showing conspicuously as a speculum; shafts white along this space. Most secondaries white most upper tail-coverts white, the shorter ones dark like rump, the longer ones barred like tail. Tail ashy, incompletely barred with blackish; lateral feathers pale, or marbled with white. Bill dark; legs bluish." Elliot Coues, 1884

Willets

"Symphemia semipalmata. Semipalmated Tattler. Willet. Adult in summer: Upper parts ashy, confoundedly…

"Totanus melanoleucus. Greater Tell-tale. Greater Yellow-shanks. Long-legged Tattler. Stone-snipe. Bill straight or slightly inclined upwards, not with regular curve, but as if bent near the middle, black or greenish-black. Legs very long and slender, chrome-yellow. Above, blackish, more or less ashy according to season, everywhere speckled with whitish, in a series on indentations along edge of each feather; the markings spottle on the back and wings, streaky on the head and neck. A slight white superciliary line. Upper tail-coverts mostly white. Under parts white, the jugulum and fore-breast streaked, the sides and flanks, lining of wings and axillars barred and arrow-headed with the color of the back. Tail like back,with numerous white bars, generally broken on the middle feathers. Primaries blackish, with black shafts, mostly with white tips; secondaries and their coverts the same, but their edges marbled, spotted, or broken-barred with white. The seasonal changes of plumage are inconsiderable, consisting chiefly in the tone of the upper parts, more blackish and white in summer, more gray and ashy in winter and in the young; and in the emphasis of the dark markings of the under parts." Elliot Coues, 1884

Greater Yello-shanks

"Totanus melanoleucus. Greater Tell-tale. Greater Yellow-shanks. Long-legged Tattler. Stone-snipe. Bill…

"Tringoides macularius. Spotted Sandpiper. Above, silken ashen-olive (quaker-color- as in our cuckoos) with a coppery lustre, finely varied with blackish, in streaks on head and neck, elsewhere in wavy or otherwise irregular cross-bars. line over eye, and entire under parts, pure white, with numerous sharp circular black spots, larger and more crowded in the female than in the male. Secondaries. and their coverts broadly white-tipped; some white feathers along bend of wing; axillars and lining of wings white, the latter with an oblique dusky bar. Primaries and most of the secondaries brownish-black, with brown shafts and large white basal spaces, concealed in the folded wing, conspicuous in flight. Upper tail-coverts and middle tail-feathers like back; lateral ones successively acquiring white tips; outer with several incomplete white bars. Feet pinkish-white, drying yellowish. Bill flesh-color, black-tipped; sometimes much of culmen dusky; sometimes much of under mandible orange." Elliot Coues, 1884

Spotted Sandpiper

"Tringoides macularius. Spotted Sandpiper. Above, silken ashen-olive (quaker-color- as in our cuckoos)…

"Machetes pugnax. Ruff. Reeve. Combatant. Gambetta. Varied above with black, brown, buff and chestnut, the sides of rump white; under parts white, breast and sides and crissum black, spotted with white; tail brown, barred with chestnut and white; quills dusky, with shafts; wing-coverts ashy-brown. Bill blackish, flesh-colored at base; legs dingy yellow; warty excrescences yellow; feathers of the ruff endlessly varied in color." Elliot Coues, 1884

Ruff

"Machetes pugnax. Ruff. Reeve. Combatant. Gambetta. Varied above with black, brown, buff and chestnut,…

"Tryngites rufescens. Buff-breasted Sandpiper. Above, brownish-black with a greenish gloss, every feather broadly margined with tawny or yellowish-brown, the latter the prevailing tone. Under parts buff or fawn-colored, without markings except a few small blackish spots on sides of breast. Central tail-feathers greenish-brown, blackening at ends; others paler, often rufescent, with white or tawny tips and subterminal black bar; and usually, also, some black marbling or streaking/ Primaries and secondaries ashy-brown blackening at end, the extreme tip white - most of the inner webs of the primaries, and both webs of the secondaries pearly white, speckled and marbled with black. This curious tracery, best seen from below, is diagnostic; though the precise pattern varies interminably. The patch of under coverts at the bases of the primaries have the same character. Axillars white, lining of wings white or rufescent. Iris brown. Bill brownish-black; legs greenish or yellowish." Elliot Coues, 1884

Buff-breasted Sandpiper

"Tryngites rufescens. Buff-breasted Sandpiper. Above, brownish-black with a greenish gloss, every feather…

"Numenius longirostris. Long-billed Curlew. Sickle-bill. Plumage very similar to that of the Godwit, Limosa faeda: prevailing tone rufous, of varying intensity in different specimens, usually deepest on the lining of the wings, which are little varied with other color. Primaries varied with rufous. Top of head variegated with blackish and rufous or whitish, without distinct pale median and lateral lines. Upper parts brownish-black, speckled with tawny or cinnamon-brown, each feather having several indentations or broken bars of this color; rufous prevailing on wing-coverts. Tail-feathers and secondaries cinnamon-brown, with pretty regular dark bars throughout. Under parts rufous or cinnamon of varying intensity, usually deepening to chestnut under the wings, fading to whitish on throat; the jugulum and fore-breast with dusky streaks which tend on the sides of breast and body to arrowheads or more or less complete bars; lining of wings, axillars, and crissum, mostly unmarked, though some spots may appear. No white on rump, tail, or wings. Bill black, much of under mandible pale-flesh-color or yellowish; legs dark. Little variation in plumage with sex, age, and season. Chicks hatch in whitish down, thickly blotched above with brownish-black; the bill straight, an inch long." Elliot Coues, 1884

long-billed Curlew

"Numenius longirostris. Long-billed Curlew. Sickle-bill. Plumage very similar to that of the Godwit,…

"Numenius hudsonicus. Hudsonian Curlew Jack Curlew. General tone of coloration scarcely rufous, the under parts, and the variegation of the upper, being whitish or ochraceous. No white on rump, tail, or lining of wings. Top of head uniform blackish-brown, with well-defined whitish median and lateral stripes (as in phaeopus, but neither longirostris nor borealis). Upper parts brownish-black, speckled with whitish, ochraceous or pale cinnamon-brown, in same pattern as in longirostris, but the dark in excess of the light colors, and these never strongly rufescent. Tail ashy-brown (not rufous), with numerous narrow blackish bars. Primaries fuscous, marbled or broken-barred with pale color (pattern as in longirostris, tone not strongly rufous). Lining of wings and axillars rufescent, but spotted or barred throughout with dusky. Under parts soiled whitish or somewhat ochraceous, only obscurely rufescent on crissum, if anywhere; the jugulum and fore-breast with dusky streaks which, as in other species, change to arrow-heads or incomplete bars on sides of breast and body. Bill blackish, some part of lower mandible pale; feet dark." Elliot Coues, 1884

Hudsonian Curlew

"Numenius hudsonicus. Hudsonian Curlew Jack Curlew. General tone of coloration scarcely rufous, the…

"Ardea herodias. Great Blue Heron. Of large size, and varied dark colors, not dichromatic. Back without peculiar plumes at any season, but scapulars lengthened and lanceolate; an occipital crest, two deciduous feathers of which in the breeding season are long and filamentous; long loose feathers on the lower neck. Adult: Bill yellow, more or less blackened on culmen; lores blue; iris chrome yellow; legs and feet blackish, the soles yellowish. Tibia the edge of wing chestnut-brown. Forehead and middle of crown white; sides of of crown and occipital crest black. Neck pale purplish-gray, with a mixed white, black, and rust throat-line, yielding to white on chin and cheeks. Plumes of lower neck, the breast, and belly, black, more or less interrupted with white streaks on the middle line; crissum white. Upper parts in general slaty-blue; tail the same; long scapular feathers more pearly-gray; wing-quills deepening from this color to the black primaries." Elliot Coues, 1884

Great Blue Heron

"Ardea herodias. Great Blue Heron. Of large size, and varied dark colors, not dichromatic. Back without…

"Nyctiardea grisea naevia. Black-crowned Night Heron. Qua-bird. Squawk. Crown, scapulars and interscapulars very dark glossy green; other upper parts, wings and tail, pale bluish-gray with a lilac or lavender tinge, most decided on the neck. Forehead and throat-line white, shading into the lilaceous of the neck; under parts whitish,tinged with lilac. The long occipital plumes white. Eyes red; lores greenish; bill black; legs yellow; claws brown." Elliot Coues, 1884

Night Heron

"Nyctiardea grisea naevia. Black-crowned Night Heron. Qua-bird. Squawk. Crown, scapulars and interscapulars…

"Botaurus. Bittern. Bill moderately longer than head, shorter than tarsus, which is shorter than middle toe and claw." Elliot Coues, 1884

The Bill of a Bittern

"Botaurus. Bittern. Bill moderately longer than head, shorter than tarsus, which is shorter than middle…

"Botaurus mugitans. American Bittern. Indian Hen. Stake-driver. Bog-Bull. Plumage of the upper parts singularly freckled with brown of various shades, blackish, tawny, and whitish; neck and under parts ochrey or tawny-white, each feather marked with a brown dark-edged stripe, the throat-line white, with brown streaks. A velvety-black patch on each side of the neck above. Crown dull brown, with buff superciliary stripe. Tail brown. Quills greenish-black, with a glaucous shade, brown-tipped. Iris yellow. Bill on the ridge brownish-black, the rest pale yellowish; a dark brown loral strip. Legs dull yellowish-green; claws brown.

American Bittern

"Botaurus mugitans. American Bittern. Indian Hen. Stake-driver. Bog-Bull. Plumage of the upper parts…

"Anus boscas. Mallard. Wild or Domestic Duck. Green-head. Bill greenish-yellow. Feet orange-red. Iris brown. Head and upper neck glossy-green, succeeded by a white ring. Breast purplish-chestnut. Lower back, rump, and tail-coverts glossy-black. Tail-feathers mostly whitish. Under parts from the breast, and scapulars, silvery-gray, finely undulated with dusky; crissum black. Speculum violet, purplish and greenish, framed in black and white tips of the greater coverts, and black terminal border. Feet and wings in the male, Bill blackish, blotched with orange, especially at base, tip and along edges. Entire body-colors with dusky-brown and tawny-brown; the tone paler and in finer pattern on the head, neck, and under parts than on the back." Elliot Coues, 1884

Wild Duck

"Anus boscas. Mallard. Wild or Domestic Duck. Green-head. Bill greenish-yellow. Feet orange-red. Iris…

"Anus boscas. Mallard. Wild or Domestic Duck. Green-head. Bill greenish-yellow. Feet orange-red. Iris brown. Head and upper neck glossy-green, succeeded by a white ring. Breast purplish-chestnut. Lower back, rump, and tail-coverts glossy-black. Tail-feathers mostly whitish. Under parts from the breast, and scapulars, silvery-gray, finely undulated with dusky; crissum black. Speculum violet, purplish and greenish, framed in black and white tips of the greater coverts, and black terminal border. Feet and wings in the male, Bill blackish, blotched with orange, especially at base, tip and along edges. Entire body-colors with dusky-brown and tawny-brown; the tone paler and in finer pattern on the head, neck, and under parts than on the back." Elliot Coues, 1884

Mallards

"Anus boscas. Mallard. Wild or Domestic Duck. Green-head. Bill greenish-yellow. Feet orange-red. Iris…

"Bernicla nigricans. Black Brant. Bill, feet, and claws black; iris brown. Head and neck all around, and a little of fore part of body, glossy-black, well defined against the color of the breast; on each side of the neck a small patch of white streaks; frequently also white touches on eyelids and chin. Breast ashy-gray, abruptly from the black, fading on the belly and crissum into white, shaded along the sides of the body; upper parts brownish-gray, the feathers of the dorsal region with paler gray tips; rump darker; upper tail-coverts white. Tail-feathers, wing-quills, and primary-coverts blackish, the inner quills whitish toward base." Elliot Coues, 1884

Black Brant Head

"Bernicla nigricans. Black Brant. Bill, feet, and claws black; iris brown. Head and neck all around,…

"Bernicla nigricans. Black Brant. Bill, feet, and claws black; iris brown. Head and neck all around, and a little of fore part of body, glossy-black, well defined against the color of the breast; on each side of the neck a small patch of white streaks; frequently also white touches on eyelids and chin. Breast ashy-gray, abruptly from the black, fading on the belly and crissum into white, shaded along the sides of the body; upper parts brownish-gray, the feathers of the dorsal region with paler gray tips; rump darker; upper tail-coverts white. Tail-feathers, wing-quills, and primary-coverts blackish, the inner quills whitish toward base." Elliot Coues, 1884

Black Brant

"Bernicla nigricans. Black Brant. Bill, feet, and claws black; iris brown. Head and neck all around,…

"Bernicla brenta. Brant Goose. Bill, feet, and claws black; iris brown. Head and neck all around, and a little of fore part of body, glossy-black, well defined against the color of the breast; on each side of the neck a small patch of white streaks; frequently also white touches on eyelid and chin. Beast ashy-gray, beginning abruptly from the black, fading on the belly and crissum into white, shaded along the sides of the body; upper parts brownish-gray, the feathers of the dorsal region with paler gray tips; rump darker; upper tail-coverts white. Tail-feathers, wing-quills, and primary-coverts blackish, the inner quills whitish toward base." Elliot Coues, 1884

Common Brant

"Bernicla brenta. Brant Goose. Bill, feet, and claws black; iris brown. Head and neck all around, and…

"Bernicla canadensis. Canada Goose. Common Wild Goose. Tail normally 18-feathered. Bill, feet, head, and neck black; on the chin a broad white patch mounting on sides of head behind eyes, sometimes broken on chin; not extending forward to jaws; white touches usually on eyelids. Upper tail-coverts definitely white; rump blackish; tail-feathers black. General color brownish-gray below, all the feathers with paler gray or whitish edges, those of sides of body usually darker than rest of under parts, the lower belly and crissum definitely white. Iris brown." Elliot Coues, 1884

Canada Goose

"Bernicla canadensis. Canada Goose. Common Wild Goose. Tail normally 18-feathered. Bill, feet, head,…

"Dafila. Pin-tail Ducks. Tail (in adult male) narrow, cuneate, when fully developed nearly as long as wing, the 2 central feathers long-exserted, linear-acute: in female and young the tail merely tapering, with acute feathers; tail-feathers 16, including the long middle pair. Bill shorter than head, longer than tarsus, nearly parallel sided, widening a little to the end, the nail small, the narrow nostrils high up in basal third of bill. Feathers of cheeks sweeping in strongly convex outline along side of upper mandible, beyond those on side of lower mandible. Wing acute, the 1st and 2d primaries subequal and longest, rest rapidly graduated. Neck unusually long and slender, and form less "stocky" than that of most ducks. Sexes and young very unlike in color, even to the wing-markings, as well as in shape of tail. Bill and feet dark. Under parts white or whitish." Elliot Coues, 1884

Pin-tail Duck Head

"Dafila. Pin-tail Ducks. Tail (in adult male) narrow, cuneate, when fully developed nearly as long as…

"Dafila acuta. Pin-tail Duck. Sprig-tail. Bill black, with grayish-blue edge of upper mandible; feet grayish-blue; claws black; iris brown. Head and neck above rich dark brown, glossed with green and purple; side of neck with a long white stripe running up from the white under parts; back of neck with a black stripe passing below into the gray color of the back; the lower fore-neck, breast, and under parts usually, white, the sides finely waved with black, the crissum black, white-bordered. Fore back finely waved with narrow bars of black and white or whitish; the scapulars and long tertiaries firmly striped lengthwise with velvety-black and silvery-gray. Lesser wing-coverts plain gray; greater tipped with reddish-buff, framing the speculum anteriorly; this is of coppery-or purplish-violet iridescence, framed posteriorly with black sub-tips and white tips of the secondaries, internally with silvery and black stripes. Tail-feathers gray, the long central ones blackish; sides and roots of tail varied with blackish and buff. It is thus a very handsome duck in full plumage, aside from the trim and clipper-like build." Elliot Coues, 1884

Pin-tail Ducks

"Dafila acuta. Pin-tail Duck. Sprig-tail. Bill black, with grayish-blue edge of upper mandible; feet…

"Querquedula (N.) carolinensis. American Green-winged Teal. Bill black; feet bluish-gray: iris brown. A white crescent in front of wing. Head and upper neck rich chestnut, blackening on chin, with a glossy green patch behind each eye blackening on its lower border and on the nape where it meets its fellow among the lengthened feathers of the parts, bordered below by a more or less evident whitish line, which may often be traced to the angle of the mouth. Upper parts and flanks waved with narrow black bars on a whitish ground. Under parts white, becoming, becoming buff or fawn-colored on breast, nebulated with gray, on the breast with numerous sharp circular black spots; fore neck and sides of breast waved like the upper parts. Crissum black, with a buff or creamy patch on each side. Primaries and wing-coverts leaden gray; speculum velvety purplish-black on outer half, the inner half rich green; bordered in front with chestnut, fawn or whitish tips of the greater coverts, behind by white tips of secondaries, interiorly with purplish-black stripes on the outer webs of the lengthened secondaries." Elliot Coues, 1884

American Green-winged Teal

"Querquedula (N.) carolinensis. American Green-winged Teal. Bill black; feet bluish-gray: iris brown.…

"Aix sponsa. Wood Duck. Summer Duck. "The Bride." Adult Male: Bill pinkish-white, with lake-red base, black ridge, tip, and under mandible; iris and edges of eyelids red; feet orange, with black claws. Upper part of the head, including crest, glistening green and purple; a narrow white line over eye from bill to occiput, and another behind eye to nape, these white lines mixing in the crest. A broad white patch on the throat, forking behind, one branch mounting head behind eye, the other passing to side of neck. Sides and front of lower neck and fore breast rich purplish-chestnut, prettily marked with several chain of angular white spots. A large white black-edged crescent of enlarged feathers in front of the wing. Under parts pure white, the sides yellowish-gray vermiculated with black and white wavy bars; the enlarged flank-feathers broadly rayed with black and white; the lining of the wings white barred with grayish-brown, of which color is the crissum. Upper parts generally lustrous with bronzy-green and purple; scapulars and inner secondaries velvet-black, glassed with purple and green; a green speculum, succeeded by white tips of the secondaries; primaries frosted on outer webs near end. Adult female: Little or no crest, but lengthened feathers on nape; no enlargement or special colorings of feathers about the wings. Bill dusky: feet yellowish-dusky. Head and neck gray, darker on crown, the chin and parts about bill and eyes white. Fore neck, breast and sides of body yellowish-brown, mottled with dark gray, the breast spotted with brown, the belly white. Upper parts dark brown with considerable gloss; wings as in the male, but the velvety-black reduced." Elliot Coues, 1884

Wood Duck

"Aix sponsa. Wood Duck. Summer Duck. "The Bride." Adult Male: Bill pinkish-white, with lake-red base,…

"Fuligula ferina americana. Red-head. American Pochard. The feathers of the head somewhat full and puffy, though forming no crest. Bill broad and flattened, a little widened toward end, running into the forehead which arches abruptly over and away from it, not rising gradually into line with forehead; shorter or not longer than head, 2 inches or less in length along culmen, the nostrils within its basal half; the forward end of nostril about 2/5 the way from upper corner to end of bill. Bill dull blue with a black belt at the end. Iris orange. Feet dull grayish-blue, with dusky webs and black claws. Head and neck all around rich pure chestnut, not obscured with dusky-brown, but with bronzy or coppery red reflections. Lower neck and fore parts of body above and below, with rump and tail-coverts above and below, blackish. Back mixed whitish and blackish in about equal amounts, the dark wavy lines distinct and unbroken. Sides of the body under the wings vermiculated much like the back, the undulations subsiding in the grayish-white of the middle under parts. Wing-coverts ashy-gray, minutely dotted with white; speculum hoary-ash, bordered internally with black; lining of wings mostly white. Female: Bill obscured bluish, with black belt near end; iris yellow." Elliot Coues, 1884

Small Redhead

"Fuligula ferina americana. Red-head. American Pochard. The feathers of the head somewhat full and puffy,…

"Fuligula ferina americana. Red-head. American Pochard. The feathers of the head somewhat full and puffy, though forming no crest. Bill broad and flattened, a little widened toward end, running into the forehead which arches abruptly over and away from it, not rising gradually into line with forehead; shorter or not longer than head, 2 inches or less in length along culmen, the nostrils within its basal half; the forward end of nostril about 2/5 the way from upper corner to end of bill. Bill dull blue with a black belt at the end. Iris orange. Feet dull grayish-blue, with dusky webs and black claws. Head and neck all around rich pure chestnut, not obscured with dusky-brown, but with bronzy or coppery red reflections. Lower neck and fore parts of body above and below, with rump and tail-coverts above and below, blackish. Back mixed whitish and blackish in about equal amounts, the dark wavy lines distinct and unbroken. Sides of the body under the wings vermiculated much like the back, the undulations subsiding in the grayish-white of the middle under parts. Wing-coverts ashy-gray, minutely dotted with white; speculum hoary-ash, bordered internally with black; lining of wings mostly white. Female: Bill obscured bluish, with black belt near end; iris yellow." Elliot Coues, 1884

Large Redhead

"Fuligula ferina americana. Red-head. American Pochard. The feathers of the head somewhat full and puffy,…

"Fuligula ferina americana. Red-head. American Pochard. The feathers of the head somewhat full and puffy, though forming no crest. Bill broad and flattened, a little widened toward end, running into the forehead which arches abruptly over and away from it, not rising gradually into line with forehead; shorter or not longer than head, 2 inches or less in length along culmen, the nostrils within its basal half; the forward end of nostril about 2/5 the way from upper corner to end of bill. Bill dull blue with a black belt at the end. Iris orange. Feet dull grayish-blue, with dusky webs and black claws. Head and neck all around rich pure chestnut, not obscured with dusky-brown, but with bronzy or coppery red reflections. Lower neck and fore parts of body above and below, with rump and tail-coverts above and below, blackish. Back mixed whitish and blackish in about equal amounts, the dark wavy lines distinct and unbroken. Sides of the body under the wings vermiculated much like the back, the undulations subsiding in the grayish-white of the middle under parts. Wing-coverts ashy-gray, minutely dotted with white; speculum hoary-ash, bordered internally with black; lining of wings mostly white. Female: Bill obscured bluish, with black belt near end; iris yellow." Elliot Coues, 1884

Redheads

"Fuligula ferina americana. Red-head. American Pochard. The feathers of the head somewhat full and puffy,…

"Clangula albeola. Buffle-head. Butter-ball. spirit-duck. Dipper. Bill with nostrils rather behind than before its middle line. Adult male: Head particularly puffy with much lengthened feathers of lateral and and hind parts, splendidly various with purple-violet and green iridescence; a large snowy patch on each side behind eye, blending on nape with its fellow. Bill dull bluish with dusky nail and base. Eyes brown. Feet pale flesh-color, with blackish claws. Upper parts at large black, fading to grayish-white posteriorly. Lower neck all around, under parts at large, scapulars in part, nearly all the wing-coverts, and most of the secondaries, white. Outer scapulars white, edged with black; inner secondaries velvet-black; sides and sometimes across lower belly shaded with dusky; lining of wings mixed dusky and white. Female much smaller than male; head scarcely puffy, but a thin compressed nuchal elongation of the feathers; dusky gray, with trace at least of the white space of the male, and common a white touch under eye. Bill dusky; feet livid bluish-gray, with dusky webs. above at large dusky-gray or blackish, with white speculum on outer webs only five or six secondaries; below white, shaded into dark along sides and across fore-breast and lower belly." Elliot Coues, 1884

Buffleheads

"Clangula albeola. Buffle-head. Butter-ball. spirit-duck. Dipper. Bill with nostrils rather behind than…

"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…

"Somateri mollissima. Somateri dresseri. Common Eider. Bill gibbous at base of upper mandible; outline of culmen variously curved; with long, acute or clubbed, tumid process extending in line with culmen variously curved; with long, acute or clubbed tumid process extending in line with culmen on each side of forehead, divided by extension of feathers on culmen. feathers of side of bill advancing to about under nostrils, far beyond those on culmen. No speculum. Male no black marks on chin. (mollissima - Frontal processes short, narrow, acute, parallel. Smaller.). (dresseri - Frontal processes long, broad, clubbed, divergent. Larger.)." Elliot Coues, 1884

The Bill of an Eider

"Somateri mollissima. Somateri dresseri. Common Eider. Bill gibbous at base of upper mandible; outline…

"Mergus merganser. Merganser. Goosander. Nostrils near middle of bill. Frontal feathers extending acutely on culmen about half way from those on side of bill to nostrils; loral feathers sweeping in nearly vertical line across side of base of upper mandible, about opposite those on side of lower mandible. Head scarcely crested, merely a line of little lengthened feathers along occiput and nape, better developed, however, in female than in male. Adult male: Bill and feet vermilion-red in breeding season, with black hook; iris carmine. Head and neck splendid dark green. Under parts salmon-colored, the flanks and lower belly marbled or watered with dusky. Upper parts glossy-black, fading to ashy on rump and tail; surface of wing mostly pure white, crossed by a black bar formed by bases of greater coverts. Primaries and outer secondaries black, intermediate secondaries white, inner secondaries and scapulars black and white. Female: Bill red with dusky culmen, iris yellowish, feet chrome or orange with dusky webs, crest better developed than in male; still flimsy, however long. Head and neck reddish-brown; throat white; under parts less salmon-tinted. Black parts of the male ashy-gray; scapulars without white; white of wing restricted to secondaries and greater coverts, which are black at base; smaller coverts ashy." Elliot Coues, 1884

Merganser

"Mergus merganser. Merganser. Goosander. Nostrils near middle of bill. Frontal feathers extending acutely…

"Mergus serrator. Red-breasted Merganser. Nostrils near base of bill. Frontal feathers extending obtusely on culmen, and not beyond those on sides of upper mandible; the loral sweeping forward convex beyond those on side of lower mandible. A long, thin, pointed and nuchal crest in both sexes. Adult Male: Head and neck all around splendid dark green. A white ring round neck. Under parts white, more or less salmon-tinged, the fore-breast brownish-red streaked with dusky, the sides finely waved with dusky. A white black-bordered patch of broad feathers in front of the wing. Fore-back, interscapulars, and long inner scapulars, black; middle and lower back gray waved with whitish and dusky. Surface of wing mostly white, including outer scapulars; inner secondaries edged on outer web with black, and wing crossed by two black bars at bases and just beyond ends of greater coverts. Bill carmine-red, dusky along the top; eyes carmine; feet bright red. Female: Bill and feet duller color; head grayish-chestnut; throat and under parts white, shaded with ashy-gray along sides. Upper parts plumbeous-gray, the feathers with paler edges; white of wing restricted to a patch formed by the ends of the greater coverts, and much of the outer secondaries; not divided by a black bar." Elliot Coues, 1884

Red-breasted Merganser

"Mergus serrator. Red-breasted Merganser. Nostrils near base of bill. Frontal feathers extending obtusely…

"Phalacrocorax bicristatus. Cormorant. The knee-joint of a Cormorants. F, femur; P, patella; T, tibia; Fb, fibula

The Knee-joint of a Cormorant

"Phalacrocorax bicristatus. Cormorant. The knee-joint of a Cormorants. F, femur; P, patella; T, tibia;…

"Larus heermanni. White-headed Gull. Bill shorter than head or tarsus, rather slender, moderately compressed, the tip rather acute; its color red in part in the adult. Folded wings reaching beyond the tail. Tail of moderate length, even, slightly emarginate in the young. Feet rather large. Tarsus equal to the middle toe and claw. General colors dark; tail mostly blackish. Adult, breeding plumage: Bill bright vermilion red, black for its terminal third, sometimes wholly red; a red ring around eye. Head white; this color gradually merging on the neck into plumbeous-ash, which extends over the whole under parts, being lighter on the abdomen and under tail-coverts than elsewhere. The back is deep plumbeous-slate, lighter on the rump. Upper tail-coverts clearly ashy. Upper surfaces of wings like the back; the primaries black; the tips of all, except the two or three outer ones, narrowly white. Tail black, narrowly tipped with white. Legs and feet reddish-black." Elliot Coues, 1884

White-headed Gull Head

"Larus heermanni. White-headed Gull. Bill shorter than head or tarsus, rather slender, moderately compressed,…

"Chroicocephalus atricilla. Laughing Gull. Black-headed Gull. Bill longer than middle toe and claw, shorter than tarsus or head, moderately compressed, rather stout for this genus. Culmen and commissure both decurved and the end, the latter somewhat sinuate at the base. Gonys considerably concave in front of the angle, somewhat so between the angle and tip; although the angle id well defined, the tip of the bill is so decurved that a chord from tip to base does not touch it." Elliot Coues, 1884

Laughing Gull Bill

"Chroicocephalus atricilla. Laughing Gull. Black-headed Gull. Bill longer than middle toe and claw,…

"Sterna dougalli. Roseate Tern. Paradise Tern. Bill about as long as head or foot, straight, slender, compressed, very acute; gonys longer than rami, former straight, latter concave in outline, with acute but not prominent angle between them. Wings shorter than usual, 1st primary little longer than next, all rounded. Tail exceedingly long and deeply forked, with very narrow filamentous outer feathers. Tibia slightly denuded; tarsus a little shorter than middle toe and claw. Whole form trim and elegant. Bill black, the extreme point yellowish, the base for a little distance, and inside of mouth, red. Feet bright yellowish-red; claws black. Cap lustrous black, very ample, reaching to lower border of eyes; under eyelid white, as is a streak to end of feathers on bill. Neck all around and entire under parts snowy white, tinted with lovely rose-pink. Mantle delicate pale pearly, over all the upper parts from the neck, including rump and base of tail, fading however to white on tips of tertials and inner webs of secondaries. Long tail-feathers white with a faint pearly tint. Primaries grayish-black, strongly silvered when fresh; outer web of the first blackish; inner webs of all pure white for more than half their breadth, this white stripe broadest on the first, toward the base of which it occupies the whole web, and on all of them continued to and usually around the very tips; shafts of all the quills white both sides nearly to end." Elliot Coues, 1884

Roseate Tern

"Sterna dougalli. Roseate Tern. Paradise Tern. Bill about as long as head or foot, straight, slender,…

"Sterna (T.) elegans. Elegant Tern. Princely Tern. Bill bright red, salmon-colored toward tip. Feet black; soles and under surfaces of claws slightly yellowish. crown of head, including long-flowing occipital crest, pure black, reaching down on the sides of the head to a straight line just on a level with the lower border of the eye; the white of the cheeks accompanying the black to the foremost point of extension of the feathers in the nasal fossae. All the under parts rosy-white, with satin gloss. Tail entirely pure white, longer and more deeply forked than in winter. Back and wings pale pearl-blue; the usual pattern of coloration of the primaries." Elliot Coues, 1884

Elegant Tern

"Sterna (T.) elegans. Elegant Tern. Princely Tern. Bill bright red, salmon-colored toward tip. Feet…

"Sterna aleutica. Aleutian Tern. Bill of ordinary shape, as in hirundo, macrura, etc., entirely black. Feet small, as in the species just named, but the webs more deeply incised; emargination not so great, however, as in Hydrochelidon; much as in Haliplana. Tibia bare to the usual extent. Wings and tail exactly as in Sterna proper, the latter, in its length and depth of fork, recalling macrura and forsteri. Crown and nape black; a large white frontal crescent, the horns of which reach to the posterior border of the eyes, the convexity of which extends into the nasal fossae, the concavity of which is opposite the anterior border of the eyes; thus broader than in most species similarly marked. The black vertex sends through the eye a band that crosses the cheeks and reaches the bill just posterior to the point of greatest extension of the feathers on the latter. The chin, auriculars, and other parts of the head bordering this vitta below, and pure white, presently deepening insensibly into the hue of the under parts. Tail wholly pure white; no pearly wash on either vane of any of the feathers. Upper parts at large dark pearl-gray, with a dull leaden hue, different from the clear pearly of macrura, etc., yet not of the smoky cast of panayensis, etc.; it is a tint intermediate between these, that I find difficult to name satisfactorily. The whole under parts, from the white of the chin, just noticed, to the under tail-coverts, paler and more decidedly pearly, more nearly as in full-plumaged macrura, yet more grayish. Both under and upper tail-coverts, like the tail, white. The color of the back mounts on the neck behind to the black of the nape without intervention of the white. Under wing-coverts and edge of wing pure white; as are all the shafts of the primaries. Primaries blackish lead-color, with silvery hoariness, and each with a large white space on inner web; this white space on the first primary occupies at the base the whole width of the inner web, but grows narrower toward the tip of the feather, ending about an inch from the tip, which is wholly blackish lead-color, this color running down as a narrow margining of the inner vane for two inches or more." Elliot Coues, 1884

Aleutian Tern

"Sterna aleutica. Aleutian Tern. Bill of ordinary shape, as in hirundo, macrura, etc., entirely black.…

"Sterna fuliginosa. Sooty Tern. feet stout; toes short; with much incised webs; tibia bare .70; tarsus 1.00; middle toe and claw 1.20; outer do. 1.05; inner do. .75; hind do. .30. "Elliot Coues, 1884

Sooty Tern Foot

"Sterna fuliginosa. Sooty Tern. feet stout; toes short; with much incised webs; tibia bare .70; tarsus…