ClipArt ETC
"Centurus carolinus. Red-bellied Woodpecker. Whole crown and nape scarlet in the male; nape only so in the female. Sides of head, and under parts, grayish-white, usually with a yellow shade, reddening on the belly; tail black, one or two outer feathers white-barred; inner web of central feathers white with black spots, outer web of the same black with a white space next the shaft for most of its length; white predominating on the rump. Bill and feet dusky plumbeous. Iris red." Elliot Coues, 1884

Red-bellied Woodpecker

"Centurus carolinus. Red-bellied Woodpecker. Whole crown and nape scarlet in the male; nape only so…

"Melanerpes erythrocephalus. Red-headed Woodpecker. Tricolor. Adult: Beautifully tricolor with "the red, white, and blue." Back, wings and tail glossy blue-black; secondaries, upper tail-coverts, under wing-coverts, under parts from the breast, and ends of some outer tail-feathers, white. Whole head, neck and fore breast crimson, usually black-bordered where adjoining the white. The white of hte wings and rump is pure; that of belly usually tinged with ochraceous or reddish; the white quills have black shafts. The red feathers are stiffish and somewhat bristly in their colored portions. The gloss is sometimes green instead of blue. Bill and feet dusky horn-color. Iris brown." Elliot Coues, 1884

Red-headed Woodpecker

"Melanerpes erythrocephalus. Red-headed Woodpecker. Tricolor. Adult: Beautifully tricolor with "the…

"Melanerpes formicivorus bairdi. Californian Woodpecker. Glossy blue-black; rump, bases of all the quills, edge of the wing, and under parts from the breast, white; sides with sparse black streaks; forehead squarely white, continuous with a stripe down in front of hte eyes and thence broadly encircling the throat, there becoming yellowish; this cuts off the black around base of bill and on the chin completely; crown in the male crimson from the white front, in the female separated from the white by a black interval; frequently a few red feathers in the black breast-patch, which is not sharply defined behind, but changes by streaks into the white of the belly. Bill black; eyes white, often rosy, creamy, yellowish, milky, bluish, or brown." Elliot Coues, 1884

Californian Woodpecker

"Melanerpes formicivorus bairdi. Californian Woodpecker. Glossy blue-black; rump, bases of all the quills,…

"Asyndesmus torquatus. Lewis' Woodpecker. Lared Woodpecker. Adult: Upper parts, including wings and tail, flanks and crissum, green-black with intense bronzy lustre, especially on the back - this iridescence like that of Quiscalus aneus almost. Face dark crimson, in a patch of velvety feathers around bill and eyes. A narrow distant collar around back of neck, and breast, hoary bluish-gray, gradually brightening behind on the under parts to intense rose-red or lake, delicately pencilled in hair lines with the hoary-gray. No white on wings or tail, their under surfaces simply black. Bill blackish; feet greenish-plumbeous. Iris brown." Elliot Coues, 1884

Lewis' Woodpecker Head

"Asyndesmus torquatus. Lewis' Woodpecker. Lared Woodpecker. Adult: Upper parts, including wings and…

"Asyndesmus torquatus. Lewis' Woodpecker. Lared Woodpecker. Adult: Upper parts, including wings and tail, flanks and crissum, green-black with intense bronzy lustre, especially on the back - this iridescence like that of Quiscalus aneus almost. Face dark crimson, in a patch of velvety feathers around bill and eyes. A narrow distant collar around back of neck, and breast, hoary bluish-gray, gradually brightening behind on the under parts to intense rose-red or lake, delicately pencilled in hair lines with the hoary-gray. No white on wings or tail, their under surfaces simply black. Bill blackish; feet greenish-plumbeous. Iris brown." Elliot Coues, 1884

Lewis' Woodpecker

"Asyndesmus torquatus. Lewis' Woodpecker. Lared Woodpecker. Adult: Upper parts, including wings and…

"Colaptes auratus. Golden-winged Woodpecker. Pigeon Woodpecker. Flicker. Yucker. High-holder. Back and exposed surfaces of wing-coverts and secondaries olive-brown with numerous black bars. Rump snowy-white; upper tail-coverts white, mixed with black. Primaries blackish, with golden shafts, and glossed with golden underneath, at their bases paler and more tawny yellow. Tail-feathers above black, their shafts and under surfaces golden, blackened at ends, the outermost with a few touches of yellow or white. Top of head, with back and sides of neck, ash, with a scarlet nuchel band (in both sexes). Sides of head, whole chin, throat, and fore-breast lilac-brown, with broad black cheek patches, these 'moustaches' wanting usually in the female. A broad black pectoral semi-lune. Other under parts shading from a lighter shade of the color of the breast into creamy-yellow, marked with numerous circular black spots. Bill and feet dark plumbeous. Iris brown." Elliot Coues, 1884

Flicker

"Colaptes auratus. Golden-winged Woodpecker. Pigeon Woodpecker. Flicker. Yucker. High-holder. Back and…

"Sphyropicus thyroides. Brown-headed Woodpecker. Black-breasted Woodpecker. Red-throated Woodpecker. Williamson's Woodpecker. Adult: Glossy black, including all the tail-feathers. Belly gamboge yellow. A narrow scarlet patch on the throat. Upper tail-coverts, a broad oblique bar on the wing-coverts, a post-ocular stripe, a stripe from nostrils below eye and ear, and small, in part paired, spots on the quills, white. Lining of wings, sides of body, flanks and crissum varied with white, leaving the black in bars and cordate spots. Bill slate-color; feet greenish-gray; iris reddish-brown." Elliot Coues, 1884

Red-headed Woodpecker

"Sphyropicus thyroides. Brown-headed Woodpecker. Black-breasted Woodpecker. Red-throated Woodpecker.…

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

Carolina Parroquet

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

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

Carolina Parroquets

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

"Birds of Prey" are birds who hunt for their food (other animals or meat) in flight. When they find prey they swoop out of the air and using their "hooked" beaks and sharp claws they seize the unsuspecting animal. Their bodies are compact, head rounded, and are very strong.

Birds of Prey

"Birds of Prey" are birds who hunt for their food (other animals or meat) in flight. When they find…

"Scops. Little Horned Owls. Screech Owls. Like the miniature Bubo in form (all our species under a foot long). Skull and ear-parts symmetrical; latter small, simply elliptical, with rudimentry operculum; facial disc moderately developed; plumicorns evident; nostrils at edge of cere, which is not inflated, and shorter than the rest of the culmen. Wings rounded, but long, about twice the length of the short rounded tail, about to the end which they fold; in our species the 4th and 5th primaries longest, the 1st quite short; 3 or 4 outer primaries sinuate or emarginate on inner webs. Tarsus feathered (in our species), but toes only partly bristly (in the S. asio group) or quite naked (as in S. Flammeola). Plumage dichromatic in some cases; i.e. some individuals of the same species normally mottled gray, while others are reddish, the two phases very distinct when fully developed, but shading insensibly into each other, and entirely independent of age, season, or sex. In normal plumage, a white or whitish scapular stripe; lower parts with lengthwise blotches or shaft-lines and crosswise bars or waves of blackish or dark colors; upper parts with black or blackish shaft-lines on a finely-dappled brown or gray ground (more or less obliterated in the red phase); facial disc black-bordered nearly all around; wing-quills spotted or marbled on outer webs, barred on inner webs. Tail with light and dark bars. A large and nearly cosmopolitan genus, especially rich in tropical species; but only two are known to inhabit N. Am. one of them running into several local races very difficult to characterize satisfactorily." Elliot Coues, 1884

Screech Owls

"Scops. Little Horned Owls. Screech Owls. Like the miniature Bubo in form (all our species under a foot…

"Aluco flammeus pratincola. Barn Owl. above, including upper surfaces of wings and tail, tawny, fulvous, or orange-brown delicately clouded or marbled with ashy and white, and dotted with blackish, sometimes also with white; suck marking resolved, or tending to resolve, into four or five bars of dark mottling on the wings and tail. below, including lining of wings, varying from pure white to tawny, ochrey, or fulvous, but usually paler than the upper parts and dotted with small but distinct blackish specks. Face varying from white to fulvous or purplish-brown, in some shades as if stained with claret, usually quite dark or even black. About the eyes, and the border of the disc, dark brown. Thus extremely variable in tone of coloration, but the pattern more constant, while the generic characters render the bird unmistakable. Nestlings are covered with fluffy white down." Elliot Coues, 1884

Small Barn Owls

"Aluco flammeus pratincola. Barn Owl. above, including upper surfaces of wings and tail, tawny, fulvous,…

An adult owl being mobbed by a group of smaller birds. Mobbing occurs when smaller birds, in fear, will swarm in an attack other birds.

The Mobbing of an Owl

An adult owl being mobbed by a group of smaller birds. Mobbing occurs when smaller birds, in fear, will…

"Bubo virginianus. Great Horned Owl. Hoot Owl. Cat Owl. Distinguished by its large size and conspicuous ear-tufts, our other species of similar stature being tuftless or nearly so. Plumage varying interminably, no concise description meeting all its phases. A white collar on the throat is the most constant color-mark. On the upper parts, the under-plumage tawny, but so overlaid with course mottling of blackish and white, that it shows chiefly on the head, nape, and scapulars; the mottling chiefly transverse, and resolving into 7-9 continuous or broken bars on the wings and tail. Under parts white, indefinitely tawny-tinged, and for the most part barred crosswise with blackish, changing on the fore breast to ragged and rather lengthwise blotches. Feathering of feet nearly plain tawny. Ear-tufts black and tawny; a dark mark over eye; border of the facial disc black, the face white or tawny, but the feathers mostly black shafted. Bill and claws black; iris yellow; pupil always circular; when fully dilated as large as a finger-ring, contractile to the size of a pea." Elliot Coues, 1884

Great Horned Owl

"Bubo virginianus. Great Horned Owl. Hoot Owl. Cat Owl. Distinguished by its large size and conspicuous…

Scops. Little Horned Owls. Screech Owls. Like the miniature Bubo in form (all our species under a foot long). Skull and ear-parts symmetrical; latter small, simply elliptical, with rudimentry operculum; facial disc moderately developed; plumicorns evident; nostrils at edge of cere, which is not inflated, and shorter than the rest of the culmen. Wings rounded, but long, about twice the length of the short rounded tail, about to the end which they fold; in our species the 4th and 5th primaries longest, the 1st quite short; 3 or 4 outer primaries sinuate or emarginate on inner webs. Tarsus feathered (in our species), but toes only partly bristly (in the S. asio group) or quite naked (as in S. Flammeola). Plumage dichromatic in some cases; i.e. some individuals of the same species normally mottled gray, while others are reddish, the two phases very distinct when fully developed, but shading insensibly into each other, and entirely independent of age, season, or sex. In normal plumage, a white or whitish scapular stripe; lower parts with lengthwise blotches or shaft-lines and crosswise bars or waves of blackish or dark colors; upper parts with black or blackish shaft-lines on a finely-dappled brown or gray ground (more or less obliterated in the red phase); facial disc black-bordered nearly all around; wing-quills spotted or marbled on outer webs, barred on inner webs. Tail with light and dark bars. A large and nearly cosmopolitan genus, especially rich in tropical species; but only two are known to inhabit N. Am. one of them running into several local races very difficult to characterize satisfactorily." Elliot Coues, 1884

Screech Owl

Scops. Little Horned Owls. Screech Owls. Like the miniature Bubo in form (all our species under a foot…

"Asio accipitrinus. Short-eared Owl. Marsh Owl. Ear-tufts inconspicuous, much shorter than middle toe and claw, few-feathered. First and 2d primaries emarginate on inner webs. Above, completely variegated, chiefly in streaks, with fulvous or tawny, and dark brown; breast much the same, but other under parts paler ochrey, usually bleaching on the belly, which in sparely but sharply streaked (never barred) with dark brown; feet pale tawny or whitish, usually immaculate; lining of wings interruptedly whitish. Wing-quills varied, mostly in large pattern, and tail pretty regularly barred (about 5 bars) with the two colors of the upper parts. Facial area white or nearly so, but with a large black eye-patch; the disc minutely speckled with fulvous and blackish, bordered with white internally and usually having a blackish patch behind the ear; radiating feathers of the oper-culum streaked with blackish and fulvous. Iris bright yellow; bill and claws dusky-bluish; the naked granular soles yellowish. The ear-opening of this species is extremely large, being two inches or more across the longest way." Elliot Coues, 1884

Short-eared Owl

"Asio accipitrinus. Short-eared Owl. Marsh Owl. Ear-tufts inconspicuous, much shorter than middle toe…

"Strix nebulosa. Barred Owl. Hoot Owl. American Wood Owl. Toes fully feathered, nearly or quite to the claws, which are blackish; bill yellow; iris black. Of medium size in this genus. Markings of back and breast in cross-bars, of belly in lengthwise stripes. Above, umber-brown or liver-color, everywhere with white or tawny, or both; breast the same; on the belly the pattern changing abruptly to heavy dusky shaft-stripes on a white or tawny ground; crissum the same; feet speckled with dusky; wings and tail like the back or rather darker, regularly barred with gray, light brown or tawny, some of the bars usually making white spots at their ends, and the markings of the wing-coverts rather in spots than bars. Lining of wings tawny, with some dusky spotting. Facial disc set in a frame of black and white specks, with blackened eye-lids, and obscurely watered with lighter and darker colors in rings around the eye as a centre, the bristly feathers about the bill mixed black and white, or white at base, blackened terminally. A notably large and somewhat impressive owl of Eastern North America, common in woodland of the U.S. especially southerly; not known to range much north of the U.S. though occurring in parts of Canada, and not reported from the West, where apparently replaced by S. occidentalis." Elliot Coues, 1884

Barred Owl

"Strix nebulosa. Barred Owl. Hoot Owl. American Wood Owl. Toes fully feathered, nearly or quite to the…

"Nyctea scandiaca. Snowy Owl. Pure white, spotted and barred with brownish-black markings, wholly indeterminate in size and number; but entirely white specimens are very rare. There is often more black then white; and in the darkest birds, the markings tend to bar the plumage with with rows of spots, such pattern specially evident of the wings and tails. A common average plumage is spotted all over the upper parts, broken-barred on the quills and tail-feathers, regularly barred on the under parts, and with white face and paws. The face, throat, and feet are usually whitest. Bill and claws black; iris yellow. Nearly or about two two feet long." Elliot Coues, 1884

Snowy Owl

"Nyctea scandiaca. Snowy Owl. Pure white, spotted and barred with brownish-black markings, wholly indeterminate…

"Surnia funerea. American Hawk Owl. Day Owl. Bill and eyes yellow; claws brownish-black. Upper parts bistre-brown, darkest and almost blackish on the head, where profusely spotted with small round white mark, to which succeeds a nuchal interval less spotted or free from spots, then an area of larger and lengthened spots; scapulars profusely spotted with white in large pattern, forming a scapular bar as in Scops; back and wing-coverts more or less spotted with white also; primaries and secondaries with with white spots in pairs on opposite edges of the feathers. Tail broken-barred with white or pale gray, usually narrowly and distinctly, on one or both webs, and tipped with the same; but there is great individual variation in this respect, as may also be said of the amount and character of the spotting of the upper parts. Under parts from the breast backward, including the crissum, closely and regularly cross-barred with rich reddish-brown, or even reddish-brown, or even reddish-black, upon a white ground, the alternating bars of color usually of about equal widths - if anything, the white the broadest.

Hawk Owl

"Surnia funerea. American Hawk Owl. Day Owl. Bill and eyes yellow; claws brownish-black. Upper parts…

"Nyctala - Saw-whet Owls. Skull and ear-parts highly unsymmetrical, the the latter of great size, and fully operculate. Head very large (as in Strix), without plumicorns; facial disc complete, with centric eye. Nostril at edge of the cere, which is inflated or not. Tail from 1/2 to 2/3rds as long as the wing, rounded. Third and 4th primaries longest; 1st quite short; 2 or 3 emarginate on inner webs. Feet thickly and closely feathered to the claws. In this interesting genus the ear-parts are of great size, and reach the extreme of asymmetry, the whole skull seeming misshapen." Glaucidium. Gnome Owls. Sparrow Owls. Pygmy owls. Size very small. Head perfectly smooth; no plumicorns; ear-parts small, non-operculate; facial disc very incomplete, the eye not centric. Nostril circular, opening in the tumid cere; bill robust. Tarsus fully and closely feathered, but toes only bristly for the most part. Wings short and much rounded, the 4th primary longest, the 1st quite short, the 3 outer ones emarginate, and next one or two sinuate. Tail long, about 3/4ths as long as the wing, even or nearly so. Claws strong, much curved. A large genus of very small owls, mostly of tropical countries. The numerous species, chiefly of warm parts of America, are in dire confusion, but the only two known to inhabit N. Am. are well determined. The plumage of many or most species is dichromatic, as in Scops, there being a red and a gray phase independently of age, season, or sex; but the red is not known to occur in our G. gnoma. The upper parts are marked with spots or lines; bars, or rows of spots, cross the wings and tail; the under parts are streaked; there is a cervical collar." Elliot Coues, 1884

Saw-whet and Sparrow Owls

"Nyctala - Saw-whet Owls. Skull and ear-parts highly unsymmetrical, the the latter of great size, and…

"Speotyto. Burrowing Owls. tarsi long, about twice as long as the middle toe without its claw, very scant-feathered in front, bare behind; toes bristly. The long slim legs are quite peculiar.

The Beaks and Claws of a Burrowing Owl

"Speotyto. Burrowing Owls. tarsi long, about twice as long as the middle toe without its claw, very…

"Aluco flammeus pratincola. Barn Owl. above, including upper surfaces of wings and tail, tawny, fulvous, or orange-brown delicately clouded or marbled with ashy and white, and dotted with blackish, sometimes also with white; suck marking resolved, or tending to resolve, into four or five bars of dark mottling on the wings and tail. below, including lining of wings, varying from pure white to tawny, ochrey, or fulvous, but usually paler than the upper parts and dotted with small but distinct blackish specks. Face varying from white to fulvous or purplish-brown, in some shades as if stained with claret, usually quite dark or even black. About the eyes, and the border of the disc, dark brown. Thus extremely variable in tone of coloration, but the pattern more constant, while the generic characters render the bird unmistakable. Nestlings are covered with fluffy white down." Elliot Coues, 1884

Barn Owls

"Aluco flammeus pratincola. Barn Owl. above, including upper surfaces of wings and tail, tawny, fulvous,…

"Speotyto cunicularia hypogae'a. Burrowing Owl. Adult: Above, dull grayish-brown, profusely spotted with whitish; the markings mostly rounded and paired on each feather, but anteriorly lengthened. Quills with 4-6 whitish bars, entire or broken into cross-rows of spots; tail-feathers similarly marked. There is much individual variation in the tone of the ground-color, and size and number of the spots, which may also be rather ochrey than whitish. Superciliary line, chin, and throat, white, the two latter separated by a dark brown jugular collar; auruculars brown; facial bristles black-shafted. Under parts white or pale ochrey, the breast, belly, and sides barred with traverse spots of brown, in a pretty regular manner; legs and under tail-coverts unmarked. Lining of wings tawny-white, dusky-spotted on the primary coverts." Elliot Coues, 1884

Burrowing Owl

"Speotyto cunicularia hypogae'a. Burrowing Owl. Adult: Above, dull grayish-brown, profusely spotted…

The Villa Farnese, also known as Palazzo Farnese or Villa Caprarola, is a mansion in the town of Caprarola in the province of Viterbo, Northern Lazio, Italy, approximately 50 kilometres (35 miles) north-west of Rome. The Villa Farnese is a massive Renaissance construction begun in the early 1520s by Antonio da Sangallo, opening to the Monte Cimini, a range of densely wooded volcanic hills. It has a five-sided plant, and is built in reddish gold stone; buttresses support the piano nobile above, with two floors above again housing an almost complete two-story villa in itself. As a centerpiece of the vast Farnese holdings, it has always been more than a villa in the ordinary agricultural or pleasure senses. "Another school, which displays a still stricter imitation of classical forms than that of which Bramante was the founder, was represented and advocated by Giacomo Barozzio, who is known under the name of Vignola (1507- 1573). This architect, by his works and his great influence on his contemporaries and successors, and the effect of his example is, like Palladio's, to be traced not only in the architectural bias of his own times, but also in the course of history of the eighteenth century. This result was principally brought about by means of his book on the five columnar orders of antiquity, and this treatise has been regarded as an authority down to the latest times. His most noteworthy construction is the Castle of Caprarola, between Rome and Viterbo."

Farnese Palace at Rome

The Villa Farnese, also known as Palazzo Farnese or Villa Caprarola, is a mansion in the town of Caprarola…

"Circinae. Harriers. Face surrounded with an incomplete ruff (as in most owls); orifice of ear about as large as the eye, and in some cases at least with a decided conch (in this picture). Bill rather weak, not toothed or notched. Bill thickly beset with many curved radiating bristles surpassing in length the cere, which is large and tumid; tomia lobed or festooned, but neither toothed nor notched. Nostrils ovate-oblong, nearly horizontal. Superciliary shield prominent. Tarsus long and slender, scutellate before and mostly so behind, reticulate laterally; toes slender, the middle with its claw much shorter than the tarsus; a basal web between the outer and middle; all tuberculate underneath; Claws very large and sharp, much curved. Wings very long and ample; 3d and 4th quills longest; 1st shorter than 6th; outer 3-5 (in our species 4) emarginate on inner webs; 2d-5th emarginate on outer webs. Tail very long, about 2/3rds as long as the wing, nearly even or rounded, the folded wings falling short of its end. " Elliot, Coues, 1884

Harrier Ear Parts

"Circinae. Harriers. Face surrounded with an incomplete ruff (as in most owls); orifice of ear about…

"Elanoides forficatus. Swallow-tailed Kite. Adult: Head, neck, band on rump, and entire under parts, including lining of wings, snow-white; back, wings, and tail, glossy black, with various lustre, chiefly green and violet. Bill bluish-black; cere, edges of mandibles, and feet pale bluish, the latter tinged with greenish; claws light-colored." Elliot Coues, 1884

Swallow-tailed Kite

"Elanoides forficatus. Swallow-tailed Kite. Adult: Head, neck, band on rump, and entire under parts,…

Two Swallow-tail and One Mississippi Kite. "Ictinia subcaerulea. Mississippi Kite. General plumage plumbeous or dark ashy-gray, bleaching on the head and secondaries, blackening on the tail and wings, several primaries more (male) or less (female) suffused with chestnut-red on the inner web or on both webs. Forehead and tips of secondaries usually silvery-whitish; concealed white spots on the scapulars; bases of the head and under parts fleecy-white. Lores eyelids, and bill, including cere, black; gape of mouth and feet, orange, the latter obscures on the front tarsus, and along the tops of the toes; iris lake-red. Feet and cere drying to a nameless dingy color." And "Elanoides forficatus. Swallow-tailed Kite. Adult: Head, neck, band on rump, and entire under parts, including lining of wings, snow-white; back, wings, and tail, glossy black, with various lustre, chiefly green and violet. Bill bluish-black; cere, edges of mandibles, and feet pale bluish, the latter tinged with greenish; claws light-colored." Elliot Coues, 1884

Two Swallow-tail and One Mississippi Kites

Two Swallow-tail and One Mississippi Kite. "Ictinia subcaerulea. Mississippi Kite. General plumage plumbeous…

"Accipiter fuscus. Sharp-shinned Hawk. "Pigeon" Hawk. Above, dark plumbeous, slate-color, or bluish-gray, somewhat more fuscous on the wings and tail than on the body, the feathers of the hind-head with fleecy white bases, the scapulars with concealed white spots. Tail crossed by about 4 blackish bars, the first under the coverts, the last subterminal and broadest; extreme tips of the feathers white. Primaries also marked with blackish bars or spots, and whitening at their bases, in bars or indents of the inner webs. Under parts barred crosswise with rufous on a white ground, the bars on some parts cordate and connected along the shafts of the feathers, which are blackish; ear-coverts rufous; rufous mostly or entirely wanting on the cheeks, throat, and crissum, which are more or less finely pencilled with the black shafts of the feathers; crissum, however, often pure white. Axillars barred like other under parts; lining of wings white, with dusky spots." Elliot Coues, 1884

Sharp-shinned Hawk - Small

"Accipiter fuscus. Sharp-shinned Hawk. "Pigeon" Hawk. Above, dark plumbeous, slate-color, or bluish-gray,…

"Accipiter fuscus. Sharp-shinned Hawk. "Pigeon" Hawk. Above, dark plumbeous, slate-color, or bluish-gray, somewhat more fuscous on the wings and tail than on the body, the feathers of the hind-head with fleecy white bases, the scapulars with concealed white spots. Tail crossed by about 4 blackish bars, the first under the coverts, the last subterminal and broadest; extreme tips of the feathers white. Primaries also marked with blackish bars or spots, and whitening at their bases, in bars or indents of the inner webs. Under parts barred crosswise with rufous on a white ground, the bars on some parts cordate and connected along the shafts of the feathers, which are blackish; ear-coverts rufous; rufous mostly or entirely wanting on the cheeks, throat, and crissum, which are more or less finely pencilled with the black shafts of the feathers; crissum, however, often pure white. Axillars barred like other under parts; lining of wings white, with dusky spots." Elliot Coues, 1884

Sharp-shinned Hawk

"Accipiter fuscus. Sharp-shinned Hawk. "Pigeon" Hawk. Above, dark plumbeous, slate-color, or bluish-gray,…

"Ideal plan of the double-ringed body of a vertebrate. N, neural canal; H, haemal canal; the body separating them is the centrum of any vertebra, bearing e, and epapophysis, and y, a hypapophysis; n, n, neurapophyses; d, d, diapophyses; ns, bifid neural spine; pl, pl, pleurapophyses; h, h, haemapophyses; hs, bifid haemal spine. Drawn by Dr. R. W. Shufeldt, USA, After Owen. The Axial Skeleton of a bird or any vertebrated animal, that is, one having a back-bone, exhibits in cross-section two rings or hoops, one above and the other below a central point, like the upper and lower loops of a figure 8. The upper ring is the neural arch, so called because such cylinder encloses a section of the cerebro-spinal axis, or principal nervous system of a vertebrate (brain and spinal cord, whence arise all the nerves of the body, excepting those of the sympathetic nervous system). The lower ring is the haema arch, which similarly contains a section of the principal blood vessals and viscera.

Axial Skeleton

"Ideal plan of the double-ringed body of a vertebrate. N, neural canal; H, haemal canal; the body separating…

"Fig 55. - Actual section of the body in the thoracic region of a bird. N, neural canal; H, haemal canal; c, centrum of a dorsal vertebra; hy, hypapophysis; d, diapophysis; z, zygapophysis; ns, neural spine; r, pleurapophysis, or vertebral part of a free rib, bearing u, uncinate process or epipleura; cr, haemapophyses; or sternal part of the same; st, section of the sternum or breast-bone (haemal spine). Designed by Dr. R. W. Shufeldt, USA. This figure shows such a section, made across the thoracic or chest-region of the trunk. Here the upper ring (neural) is contracted, only surrounding the slender spinal cord, while the lower ring is expanded to enclose the heart and lungs." Elliot Coues, 1884

The Axial Skeleton

"Fig 55. - Actual section of the body in the thoracic region of a bird. N, neural canal; H, haemal canal;…

"Astur atricapillus. American Goshawk. Blue Hen Hawk (adult). Chicken Hawk (young). Adult: Above, dark bluish-slate color, each feather black-shafted; top of head blackish, conspicuously different from other upper parts, the feathers there with fleecy white bases; a long white superciliary or rather post-ocular stripe; auriculars blackish. Ground color of under parts, including lining of wings, white, closely barred or vermiculated in narrow zigzag lines with slaty-brown, except on throat and crissum, and everywhere sharply pencilled with blackish shaft-lines, one on each feather. The barring is largest and most regular on the belly, flanks, and tibiae, but is for the most part much dissipated in a fine mottling. It varies greatly in coarseness in different specimens, some of which approach A. palumbarius in this respect. Tail like back, banded with four or five blackish bars, the terminal one much the broadest. Bill dark bluish; iris yellowish; feet yellow, claws black." Elliot Coues, 1884

American Goshawk

"Astur atricapillus. American Goshawk. Blue Hen Hawk (adult). Chicken Hawk (young). Adult: Above, dark…

"Falco mexicanus. American Lanner Falcon. Prairie Flacon. A medium-sized species, distinguished from any gyrfalcon by the smaller size, different feathering of the tarsus etc., from the duck hawk by the general much lighter color, which is dull brownish above instead of dark slate, etc. Adult: Upper parts brownish-drab, each feather with a paler border of brown, grayish, or whitish; the top of the head more uniform, the occiput and nape showing more whitish. Under parts white, everywhere excepting on the throat marked with firm spots of dark brown, most linear on the breast, then more broadly oval on the belly, enlarging and tending to merge into bars on the flanks, very sparse or obsolete on the crissum, on the maxiliary region forming a broad firm moustache; these marking corresponding with the ground color of the upper parts. Primaries ashy-brown, with narrow but firm pale edging of outer webs and ends, the inner webs regularly marked with white in form of barred indents or circumscribed spots, most numerous and regular on the outer primaries; the white tinged with fulvous, next to the shafts; the outer web of the first primary either plain, or with whitish indents as in F. lanarius; outer webs of secondaries more or less marked with fulvous; axillars plain dark brown; lining of wings otherwise white, spotted with dark brown. Tail pale brownish-gray, nearly uniform, but with white tip, and more or less distinct barring or indenting with whitish, especially on the lateral feathers, producing a pattern not unlike that of the primaries. Bill mostly dark bluish horn-color, but its base, and much of under mandible, yellow; feet yellow." Elliot Coues, 1884

Prairie Falcon Head

"Falco mexicanus. American Lanner Falcon. Prairie Flacon. A medium-sized species, distinguished from…

"Falco mexicanus. American Lanner Falcon. Prairie Flacon. A medium-sized species, distinguished from any gyrfalcon by the smaller size, different feathering of the tarsus etc., from the duck hawk by the general much lighter color, which is dull brownish above instead of dark slate, etc. Adult: Upper parts brownish-drab, each feather with a paler border of brown, grayish, or whitish; the top of the head more uniform, the occiput and nape showing more whitish. Under parts white, everywhere excepting on the throat marked with firm spots of dark brown, most linear on the breast, then more broadly oval on the belly, enlarging and tending to merge into bars on the flanks, very sparse or obsolete on the crissum, on the maxiliary region forming a broad firm moustache; these marking corresponding with the ground color of the upper parts. Primaries ashy-brown, with narrow but firm pale edging of outer webs and ends, the inner webs regularly marked with white in form of barred indents or circumscribed spots, most numerous and regular on the outer primaries; the white tinged with fulvous, next to the shafts; the outer web of the first primary either plain, or with whitish indents as in F. lanarius; outer webs of secondaries more or less marked with fulvous; axillars plain dark brown; lining of wings otherwise white, spotted with dark brown. Tail pale brownish-gray, nearly uniform, but with white tip, and more or less distinct barring or indenting with whitish, especially on the lateral feathers, producing a pattern not unlike that of the primaries. Bill mostly dark bluish horn-color, but its base, and much of under mandible, yellow; feet yellow." Elliot Coues, 1884

Two Lanner Falcon

"Falco mexicanus. American Lanner Falcon. Prairie Flacon. A medium-sized species, distinguished from…

"Falcons. Bill furnished with a sharp tooth and notch near the end of the cutting edge of the upper mandible (sometimes two such teeth), and the end of under mandible truncated, with notch near the tip. Nostrils circular, high in the cere, with a prominent central tubercle. Inter-nasal septum extensively ossified. Palate with a median keel anteriorly. Superciliary shied prominent, in one large piece. Shoulder-joint strengthened by union of scapular process of the coracoid with the clavicle as in Micrastur, Herpetothers, and the Polyborinae alone of Flaconidae. Wings strong, long, and pointed, with rigid and usually straight and tapering flight-feathers; the tip formed by the 2d and 3d quills, supported nearly to their ends by the 1st and the 4th, both of which are longer then the 5th; only one or two outer primaries emarginate on inner webs near the end. Tail short and stiff, with more or less tapering rectrices. Feet strong, rather short, the tarsus of less length than the tibia, feathered more or less extensively, elsewhere irregularly reculate in small pattern varying with the genera or subgenera; never scutellate in single series before or behind. Middle toe very long; talons very short." Elliot Coues, 1884

Falcons

"Falcons. Bill furnished with a sharp tooth and notch near the end of the cutting edge of the upper…

"Falco peregrinus. Peregrine Falcon. Duck Hawk. Great-footed Hawk. A medium-sized falcon, about as large as the foregoing, but known at a glance from any bird of N. Am. by the slaty-plumbeous or dark bluish-ash of the upper parts, the black "moustache," and other marks, taken with its particular size and shape. Wings stiff, long, thin, pointed by the 2d quill, supported nearly to its tip by 1st and 3d; 1st quill alone abruptly emarginate on inner web, this about 2 inches from its tip; none cut on outer webs. Tomium of upper mandible strongly toothed, of under mandible deeply notched. Tarsus feathered but a little way down in front, otherwise entirely reticulate; toes very long, giving great grasp to the talons. Adult: Above rich dark bluish-ash or slate-color, very variable, sometimes quite slaty-blackish, again much lighter bluish-slate; the tint pretty uniform, whatever it may be, over all the upper parts, but all the feathers with somewhat paler edges, and the larger ones for the most part obscurely barred with lighter and darker hues. Under parts at large varying from nearly pure white to a peculiar muddy buff color of different degrees of intensity; the throat and breast usually free from markings (or only with a few sharp shaft pencillings), and this white or light color mounting on the auriculars, so that it partly isolates a blackish moustache from the blackish of the side of the head; the under parts, except as said, and including the under wing- and tail-coverts closely and regularly barred, or less closely and more irregularly spotted, with blackish; the bars best pronounced on the flanks, tibiae, and crissum, other parts tending to spotting, which may extend forward to invade the breast (this is the rule in European birds, the exception, though not a rare one, in American birds). Tail and its upper coverts regularly and closely barred with blackish and ashy-gray, the interspacing best marked on the inner webs, and all the feathers narrowly tipped with white or whitish." Elliot Coues, 1884

Peregrine Falcon Small

"Falco peregrinus. Peregrine Falcon. Duck Hawk. Great-footed Hawk. A medium-sized falcon, about as large…

"Falco peregrinus. Peregrine Falcon. Duck Hawk. Great-footed Hawk. A medium-sized falcon, about as large as the foregoing, but known at a glance from any bird of N. Am. by the slaty-plumbeous or dark bluish-ash of the upper parts, the black "moustache," and other marks, taken with its particular size and shape. Wings stiff, long, thin, pointed by the 2d quill, supported nearly to its tip by 1st and 3d; 1st quill alone abruptly emarginate on inner web, this about 2 inches from its tip; none cut on outer webs. Tomium of upper mandible strongly toothed, of under mandible deeply notched. Tarsus feathered but a little way down in front, otherwise entirely reticulate; toes very long, giving great grasp to the talons. Adult: Above rich dark bluish-ash or slate-color, very variable, sometimes quite slaty-blackish, again much lighter bluish-slate; the tint pretty uniform, whatever it may be, over all the upper parts, but all the feathers with somewhat paler edges, and the larger ones for the most part obscurely barred with lighter and darker hues. Under parts at large varying from nearly pure white to a peculiar muddy buff color of different degrees of intensity; the throat and breast usually free from markings (or only with a few sharp shaft pencillings), and this white or light color mounting on the auriculars, so that it partly isolates a blackish moustache from the blackish of the side of the head; the under parts, except as said, and including the under wing- and tail-coverts closely and regularly barred, or less closely and more irregularly spotted, with blackish; the bars best pronounced on the flanks, tibiae, and crissum, other parts tending to spotting, which may extend forward to invade the breast (this is the rule in European birds, the exception, though not a rare one, in American birds). Tail and its upper coverts regularly and closely barred with blackish and ashy-gray, the interspacing best marked on the inner webs, and all the feathers narrowly tipped with white or whitish." Elliot Coues, 1884

Two Peregrine Falcons

"Falco peregrinus. Peregrine Falcon. Duck Hawk. Great-footed Hawk. A medium-sized falcon, about as large…

"Falco sparverius. Rusty-crowned Falcon. Sparrow Hawk. Adults: Crown ashy-blue, with a chestnut patch, sometimes small or altogether wanting, sometimes occupying nearly all the crown. Conspicuous black maxillary and auricular patches which, with three others around the nape, make seven places in all, usually evident, but some of them often obscure or wanting. Back cinnamon-rufous, or chestnut, like the crown-patch, in the male with a few black spots or none, in the female with numerous black bars. Wing-coverts of the male fine ashy-blue, like the crown, with or without black spots; of the female cinnamon-rufous and black barred, like the back. Quill feathers in male, female blackish, usually with pale edges and tips, and the inner webs with numerous white indentations, or bars continuous along the inner webs, leaving the black chiefly in a series of dentations proceeding from the shafts; ends of secondaries usually also slaty-blue like the coverts. Tail bright chestnut, in the male with white tip, broad black subterminal zone, and outer feathers mostly white with several black bars, in the female the whole tail with numerous imperfect black bars. Under parts white, variously tinged with buff or tawny, in the male with a few black spots or none, in the female with many dark brown streaks; throat and vent usually immaculate. Bill dark horn; cere and feet yellow or orange. Elliot Coues, 1884

Sparrow Hawk

"Falco sparverius. Rusty-crowned Falcon. Sparrow Hawk. Adults: Crown ashy-blue, with a chestnut patch,…

"Polyborus auduboni. Common Caracara. General color blackish, the throat, neck all around, and more or less of fore back and breast whitish, spotted and chiefly barred with blackish; upper and under tail-coverts and most of the tail white, the latter very numerously barred with blackish, of which color is the broad terminal zone; the shafts white along the white portion of each feather. Basal portion of primaries likewise barred with whitish. Bill variously pale colored; cere carmine; iris brown; feet yellow; claws black; soft parts drying to a dingy indefinable color." Elliot Coues, 1884

Caracaras

"Polyborus auduboni. Common Caracara. General color blackish, the throat, neck all around, and more…

"Buteo borealis. Red-tailed Buzzard. "Hen Hawk". Upper surface of tail rich chestnut, with white tip and usually a black subterminal zone, with or without other narrower and more or less imperfect black bars; sometimes barred throughout. From below, the tail appears pearly whitish with a reddish tinge, wither quite uniform, or barred throughout with the whitish and blackish. In general, it is the female with the most barred or completely barred tail, the male with the uniform tail, only subterminally once-zoned. Upper parts blackish-brown, with a thoroughly indeterminate amount of light variegation, gray, fulvous, and whitish; feathers of hind head and nape with cottony white bases, showing when disturbed; those of hind neck usually with fulvous edging; of scapular region showing most variegation with tawny or whitish, or both, the scapulars and adjoining feathers being largely barred, and only blackish on their exposed portions; upper tail-coverts showing much tawny and white. Ground color of under parts white, more or less buff-toned, the dark color of the upper parts reaching nearly or quite around the throat, the flanks and lower belly heavily marked with dark brown or blackish, but a large pectoral area, with the tibiae and crissum, mostly free from markings, as a rule; but no description will cover the latitude of coloration. Primaries blackening on their exposed portions, for the rest lighter grayish-brown, dark-barred across both webs, and extensively white-areated on inner webs basally." Elliot Coues, 1884

Red-tailed Buzzard

"Buteo borealis. Red-tailed Buzzard. "Hen Hawk". Upper surface of tail rich chestnut, with white tip…

"Archibuteo lagopus sancti-johannis. American Rough-legged Buzzard. "Black Hawk" Adult: Too variable in plumage to be concisely described. In general, the whole plumage with dark brown or blackish and light brown, gray, or whitish, the lighter colors edging or barring the individual feathers; tendency to excess of the whitish on the head, and to the formation of a dark abdominal zone or area which may or may not include the tibiae; usually a blackish anteorbital and maxillary area. Lining of wings extensively blackish. Tail usually white from the base for some distance, then with dark and light barring. The inner webs of the flight-feathers white from the base, usually with little if any of the dark barring so prevalent among buteonine hawks. From such a light and variegated plumage as this, the bird varies to more or less nearly uniform blackish, in which case the tail is usually barred several times with white. Our lighted-colored birds are not fairly separable from the normal European A. Lagopus; but our birds average darker, and their frequent melanism does not appear to befall the European stock. But in any plumage the rough-leg is known at a glance from any Buteo by the feathered shanks; while the peculiar coloration of A. ferrugineus i highly distinctive of the latter." Elliot Coues, 1884

American Rough-legged Buzzard

"Archibuteo lagopus sancti-johannis. American Rough-legged Buzzard. "Black Hawk" Adult: Too variable…

"The letter C marks the point where the vessel to be exhausted is attached." -Century, 1889The Merlin (Falco columbarius) is a smallish falcon that breeds in northern North America, Europe and Asia. In North America it was once and sometimes still is colloquially called "pigeon hawk" though it is not very closely related to true hawks.

Merlin

"The letter C marks the point where the vessel to be exhausted is attached." -Century, 1889The Merlin…

"Haliaetus leucocephalus. White-headed Sea Eagle. "Bald Eagle." "Bird of Washington". Adult: Dark brown; quills black; head and tail white; bill, eyes, and feet yellow. Three years are required for the perfection of the white head tail of the "bald" eagle. The first year, the young are "black" eagle; very dark colored, with fleecy white bases of the feathers showing here and there; bill black; iris brown feet yellow. The next year, they are "gray" eagles, and usually larger than the old birds, the largest known specimens being of this kind." Elliot Coues, 1884

Bald Eagle

"Haliaetus leucocephalus. White-headed Sea Eagle. "Bald Eagle." "Bird of Washington". Adult: Dark brown;…

An Osprey catching a fish. "Pandion haliaetus. Fish Hawk. Osprey. Adult. dark vandyke- brown, blackening on the quills, the feathers of the upper parts more or less completely edged with white - the older the bird, the more conspicuous the white markings. Tail dark brown with dusky bars, white tip and shafts, and inner webs of all but the middle pair of feathers regularly barred with white and dark. Head, neck, and under parts white, the crown more or less extensively streaked with blackish, and a heavy blackish postocular stripe to the nape; the breast more or less spotted with dusky brown; the white more or less tinged with tawny in some places, especially under the wings and on the head. Coloration very variable in the relative amounts of the dark and white colors; young darker, the upper parts without the white crescents. Bill blackish, bluing at base and on cere; feet grayish-blue; claws black; iris yellow or red." Elliot Coues, 1884

Osprey

An Osprey catching a fish. "Pandion haliaetus. Fish Hawk. Osprey. Adult. dark vandyke- brown, blackening…

"Pseudogryphus californianus. California Condor. Adult: Blackish, the feathers with browner tips or edges, quite gray or even whitish on the wing-coverts and inner quills; primaries and tail-feathers black; axillars and lining of wings white; bill yellowish, reddening on cere, and skin of the head orange or reddish; iris said by some to be brown, by other carmine." Elliot Coues, 1884

California Condor

"Pseudogryphus californianus. California Condor. Adult: Blackish, the feathers with browner tips or…

"Cathartes aura. Turkey Buzzard. Blackih-brown, grayer on the wing-coverts; quills black, ashy-gray on their under surface; tail black, with pale brown shafts. Head red, from livid crimson to pale carmine, with whitish specks usually; bill dead white; feet flesh-colored; iris brown." Elliot Coues, 1884

Turkey Buzzard

"Cathartes aura. Turkey Buzzard. Blackih-brown, grayer on the wing-coverts; quills black, ashy-gray…

"Catharista atrata. Black Vulture. Carrion Crow. Adult: Entire plumage, including skin of head, and bill, blackish; shafts of the of the primaries white; bases of the primaries paling to gray or whitish. Tip of bill and feet grayish-yellow; iris brown; claws black." Elliot Coues, 1884

Black Vulture

"Catharista atrata. Black Vulture. Carrion Crow. Adult: Entire plumage, including skin of head, and…

"Ectopistes migratorius. Passenger Pigeon. Wild Pigeon Adult: Upper parts, including head all around, slaty-blue, bright and pure on head and rump, shaded with olivaceous-gray on the back and wings; the back and sides of the neck glittering with golden and violet iridescence, the wing-coverts with velvety-clack spots. Below, from the throat, light purplish-chestnut, paler behind and fading into white on the lower belly and crissum. Tibiae, sides of body, and lining of wings like upper parts. Quills blackish, with rufous-white edging. Two middle tail-feathers blackish; others fading from pearly-bluish into white, their extreme bases with black and chestnut spots. Bill black; feet lake red, drying and undefinable color; iris orange; skin about eye red." Elliot Coues, 1884

Passenger Pigeon

"Ectopistes migratorius. Passenger Pigeon. Wild Pigeon Adult: Upper parts, including head all around,…

"Meleagris gallipavo. Turkey. Upper tail-coverts chestnut, with paler or whitish tips; tail-feathers tipped with brownish-yellow or whitish." Elliot Coues, 1884

Turkey

"Meleagris gallipavo. Turkey. Upper tail-coverts chestnut, with paler or whitish tips; tail-feathers…

"Canace canadensis. Canada Grouse. Spotted Grouse. Spruce Grouse. Spruce "Partridge." Adult: Head smooth, but feathers susceptible of erection into a slight crest. A colored comb of naked skin over the eye, bright yellow or reddish when fully injected. Tail slightly rounded, of 16 feathers, a scant inch broad to their very ends. Tarsi full-feathered to the toes, which are naked, scaly, and fringed. Tail black, broadly tipped with orange-brown; its upper coverts without decidedly white tips. Under parts glossy black, extensively varied with white; under tail-coverts; sides and breast with white bars or semicircles; white spots bounding the throat; white spots on lore. Upper parts wavy - barred black and gray, usually also with some tawny markings on the back and wings." Elliot Coues, 1884

Canada Grouse

"Canace canadensis. Canada Grouse. Spotted Grouse. Spruce Grouse. Spruce "Partridge." Adult: Head smooth,…

"Pediaecetes phasianellus Columbianus. Common Sharp-tailed Grouse. Upper parts closely and pretty evenly variegated with blackish-brown, reddish-brown, and grayish-brown, the pattern smallest on the rump and lower back, where the blackish is mostly in sharp-angled stars; the reddish most conspicuous on the upper back, and both the lighter colors everywhere finely sprinkled with blackish. Wing-coverts like the upper back, but with numerous conspicuous rounded white spots, one on the end of each feather. Crown and back of neck nearly like the back, but in smaller pattern, and the markings mostly transverse. An illy-defined white area on each side of the neck, over the tympanum, and slight whitish stripe behind the eye. Throat fine light buff, usually immaculate, but sometimes finely speckled quite across. Under parts white, more or less tinted with buff towards the throat; the breast with numerous regular dark-brown U-shaped spots, one on each feather; similar but smaller, sharper, and fewer such spots thence scattered over most of the under parts, only the middle of the belly being left unmarked. Long feathers of the sides under the wings matching the upper wing-coverts nearly; under wing-coverts and axillaries pure white, not marked; flanks with bars or U-spots of dark brown. Legs grayish-white, unmarked. Quills of the wings fuscous; outer webs of the secondaries with equidistant, squarish, white or tawny spots, the secondaries tipped and imperfectly twice or thrice barred with white, gradually becoming sprinkled with the varied colors of the back, so that the innermost of them are almost precisely like the greater coverts. Four middle tail-feathers variegated, much like the back; others white, or grayish-white, on the inner webs, the outer webs being mottled; a few under tail-coverts spotted, the rest white; upper tail-coverts nearly like the rump. Iris light brown; bill dark horn-color; part of under mandible flesh-colored; claws like bill; toes on top light horn-color, the soles darker." Elliot Coues, 1884

Sharp-tailed Grouse

"Pediaecetes phasianellus Columbianus. Common Sharp-tailed Grouse. Upper parts closely and pretty evenly…

Columba palumbus. European Ring Dove. Wood Pigeon. Plumage is gray with a pinkish-purplish breast and white on wing and neck.

European Ring Dove

Columba palumbus. European Ring Dove. Wood Pigeon. Plumage is gray with a pinkish-purplish breast and…

"Starnaenas cyanocephala. Blue-headed Quail Dove. Crown rich blue bounded by black; a white stripe under the eye, meeting its fellow on the chin; throat black, bordered with white. General color olivaceous-chocolate above, purplish-red below, lighter centrally." Elliot Coues, 1884

Blue-headed Quail Dove

"Starnaenas cyanocephala. Blue-headed Quail Dove. Crown rich blue bounded by black; a white stripe under…

The Heidelberg Castle (in German language named: Heidelberger Schloss) is a famous ruin in Germany and landmark of Heidelberg. The castle ruins are among the most important Renaissance structures north of the Alps. The castle has only been partially rebuilt since its demolition in the 17th and 18th centuries. It is located 80 m (262 ft) up the northern part of the Königstuhl hillside, and thereby dominates the view of the old downtown. It is served by an intermediate station on the Heidelberger Bergbahn funicular railway that runs from Heidelberg's Kornmarkt to the summit of the Königstuhl. The earliest castle structure was built before AD 1214 and later expanded into 2 castles circa 1294; however, in 1537, a lightning-bolt destroyed the upper castle. The present structures had been expanded by 1650, before damage by later wars and fires. In 1764, another lightning-bolt destroyed some rebuilt sections. "The Renaissance style was not employed in Germany before the middle of the sixteenth century, and the most noteworthy instances of it are the Belvedere of Ferdinand I., on the Hradschin at Prague, and the so-called Otto Henry buildings at Heidelberg Castle (1556-1559) The Façade of the last-mentioned structure, of which [this image] represents [a portion], in peculiar for a richness and variety of details which almost border on excess. At the same time a certain heaviness prevails, which forms a contrast to the graceful elegance of the best Italian buildings in the same style: in fact these faults may be said to characterize the productions of the German Renaissance style in general."

Façade of the Otto Heinrich Building in Heidelberg Castle

The Heidelberg Castle (in German language named: Heidelberger Schloss) is a famous ruin in Germany and…

"Cupidonia cupido. Pinnated Grouse. Prairie Hen. Above, variegated with black, brown, tawny, or ochrey, and white, the latter especially on the wings; below, pretty regularly barred with dark brown, white,and tawny; throat tawny, a little speckled, or not; vent and crissum mostly white; quills fuscous, with white spots on the outer webs; tail fuscous, with narrow or imperfect white or tawny bars and tips; sexes alike in color but female smaller, with shorter neck tufts." Elliott Coues, 1884

Prairie Hen

"Cupidonia cupido. Pinnated Grouse. Prairie Hen. Above, variegated with black, brown, tawny, or ochrey,…

"Cupidonia. Tarsi scant-feathered to the toes in front and on sides, bare on a strip behind; toes extensively webbed at base." Elliot Coues, 1884

The Foot of a Prairie Hen

"Cupidonia. Tarsi scant-feathered to the toes in front and on sides, bare on a strip behind; toes extensively…

"Bonasa umbella. Ruffed Grouse. "Partridge;" "Pheasant;" Above, variegate reddish- or grayish-brown, the back with numerous, oblong, pale, black-edged spots. Below, whitish, barred with brown. Tail brown or gray, numerously and narrowly black-barred, with a broad subterminal black zone, and tipped with gray. The neck-ruffle of the male mostly glossy black, and very full; of the female smaller and more brown. The colors are endlessly varied as well as blended, and the prevailing tone of the brown birds of the East shades insensibly into the Western varieties." Elliot Coues, 1884

Ruffed Grouse Head

"Bonasa umbella. Ruffed Grouse. "Partridge;" "Pheasant;" Above, variegate reddish- or grayish-brown,…

"Lagopus albus. Willow Grouse. Willow Ptarmigan. Bill very stout and convex, its depth at base as the distance from nasal fossa to tip; whole culmen 0.75; bill black at all seasons. Male and female in winter: Snow white; 14 tail feathers black, white-tipped; the middle pair (which most resemble and perhaps are true rectrices, having no after-shafts) together with all the coverts, one pair of which reach to end of tail, white; shafts of several outer wing-quills black; no black stripe on head." Elliot Coues, 1884

Willow Ptarmigan in Winter

"Lagopus albus. Willow Grouse. Willow Ptarmigan. Bill very stout and convex, its depth at base as the…

"Lagopus albus. Willow Grouse. Willow Ptarmigan. Bill very stout and convex, its depth at base as the distance from nasal fossa to tip; whole culmen 0.75; bill black at all seasons. Male in summer: The head and fore parts rich chestnut or orange-brown, more tawny-brown on back and rump; the richer brown parts sparsely, the tawny-brown more closely, barred with black; most of the wings and under parts remaining white. Female similar, wholly colored excepting the wings, the color more tawny than in the male, and more heavily, closely, and uniformly barred with black." Elliot Coues, 1884

Willow Ptarmigan in Summer

"Lagopus albus. Willow Grouse. Willow Ptarmigan. Bill very stout and convex, its depth at base as the…

"Lagopus leucurus. White-tailed Ptarmigan. Rocky Mountain Snow Grouse. Male and Female in winter: Entirely snow-white; bill black, rather slender, and general size and proportions nearly as in L. rupestris. Male and female, in summer: Tail, most of the wing, and lower parts from the breast, remaining white; rest of the plumage minutely marked with black, white, and tawny or grayish-brown, varying in precise character almost with every specimen; but there is no difficulty in recognizing this whit-tailed species, of alpine distribution in Western N. A. from the Arctic regions to New Mexico (lat. 37 degrees)." Elliot Coues, 1884

White-tailed Ptarmigan

"Lagopus leucurus. White-tailed Ptarmigan. Rocky Mountain Snow Grouse. Male and Female in winter: Entirely…