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"Junco hiemalis. Eastern Snow-bird. Black Snow-bird. Blackish-ash, below abruptly pure white from the breast, the sides shaded with ashy. In the summer, and most fall and winter specimens, the upper parts have a more grayish, or even a decidedly brownish, cast, and the inner secondaries are edged with pale bay. The slaty-black intense on the head; belly and crissum pure white, the line between the two transverse or convex forward; wings and tail blackish, with slightly hoary edging of some feathers; 2-3 lateral tail feathers pure white, wholly or in great part. No rusty brown on back or sides; any shade on the sides ashy, not pinkish. Bill pinkish-white, or flesh-color, usually black-tipped." Elliot Coues, 1884

Eastern Snow-bird

"Junco hiemalis. Eastern Snow-bird. Black Snow-bird. Blackish-ash, below abruptly pure white from the…

"Passerella iliaca. Eastern Fox Sparrow. General color above ferrugineous or rusty-red, purest and brightest on the rump, tail, and wings, on the other upper parts appearing in streaks laid on an ashy ground. Below, white, variously but thickly marked except on the belly and crissum with rusty-red- the markings anteriorly in the form of diffuse confluent blotches, on the breast and sides consisting chiefly of sharp arrow-head spots and pointed streaks. Tips of middle and greater wing-coverts forming two whitish bars. Upper mandible dark, lower mostly yellow; feet pale. One of the finest singers of the family; quite unlike any other Eastern species of sparrow. A large handsome species." Elliot Coues, 1884

Fox Sparrow

"Passerella iliaca. Eastern Fox Sparrow. General color above ferrugineous or rusty-red, purest and brightest…

A diagram of a rail car unloader and storage plant.

Car Unloading & Storage Plant

A diagram of a rail car unloader and storage plant.

A diagram of a 100 ton sand and gravel storage and handling plant. "Capacity of bucket elevator is 40 tons per hour and the belt conveyor 25 tons per hour. The swivel loading spout in combination with the fixed bucket elevator will distribute material over a considerable area." -Meese, 1913

100 Ton Sand and Gravel Storage and Handling Plant

A diagram of a 100 ton sand and gravel storage and handling plant. "Capacity of bucket elevator is 40…

"Sectional elevation showing M. & G. Quadrant Bin Gates as used for all the bunkers in the Gravel Plant." -Meese, 1913

Quadrant Bin Gates

"Sectional elevation showing M. & G. Quadrant Bin Gates as used for all the bunkers in the Gravel Plant."…

"Drawing showing completed 50-foot diameter sand or tailings wheel." -Meese, 1913

Tailings Wheel

"Drawing showing completed 50-foot diameter sand or tailings wheel." -Meese, 1913

The Common Medlar (Mespilus germanica) is a large shrub or small tree, and the name of the fruit of this tree. Despite its Latin name, which means German or Germanic Medlar, it is indigenous to southwest Asia and possibly also southeastern Europe, and was introduced to Germany by the Romans.

Leaves and Fruit of Common Medlar

The Common Medlar (Mespilus germanica) is a large shrub or small tree, and the name of the fruit of…

An illustration of Melampyrum stem; "a, a flower; b, the fruit; c, a bract." -Century, 1889 Melampyrum is a genus of about 10-20 species of herbaceous flowering plants in the family Orobanchaceae, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. They are hemiparasites on other plants, obtaining some mineral nutrients from the host plant, though they are able to survive on their own without parasitising other plants. Melampyrum species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Mouse Moth.

Melampyrum

An illustration of Melampyrum stem; "a, a flower; b, the fruit; c, a bract." -Century, 1889 Melampyrum…

The Dartford Warbler, Sylvia undata, is a typical warbler from the warmer parts of western Europe, and northwestern Africa. Its breeding range lies west of a line from southern England to the heel of Italy (southern Apulia). The Dartford Warbler is usually resident all-year in its breeding range, but there is some limited migration.

Dartford Warbler

The Dartford Warbler, Sylvia undata, is a typical warbler from the warmer parts of western Europe, and…

"Spiza americana. Black Throated Bunting. Above, grayish-brown, the middle of the back streaked with black, the hind neck ashy, becoming on the crown yellowish-olive with black touches. A yellow superciliary line, and maxillary touch of the same; eyelid white; ear-coverts ashy like the cervix; chin white; throat with a large jet-black patch. Under parts in general white, shaded with gray on the sides, extensively tinged with yellow on the breast and belly. Edge of wing yellow; lesser and middle coverts rich chestnut, other coverts and inner secondaries edged with paler. Bill dark horn-blue; feet brown." Elliot Coues, 1884

Black-throated Bunting

"Spiza americana. Black Throated Bunting. Above, grayish-brown, the middle of the back streaked with…

"Zamelodia. Song Grosbeak. Bill extremely heavy, with the lower mandible as deep as the upper or deeper, the commissural angle strong, far in advance of the feathered base of the bill, the rictus overhung with a few long stiff bristles. Wing with outer 4 primaries abruptly longer than 5th. Tail shorter than wing, even or scarcely rounded. Feet short and stout. Embracing two larger species, of beautiful and striking colors, the sexes dissimilar. Male black and white, with carmine-red or orange-brown; Female otherwise, but with lining of wings yellow. Brilliant songsters; nest in trees and bushes; eggs spotted." Elliot Coues, 1884

Song Grosbeak Bill

"Zamelodia. Song Grosbeak. Bill extremely heavy, with the lower mandible as deep as the upper or deeper,…

"Zamelodia ludoviciana. Rose-breasted Song Grosbeak. Adult male with the head and neck all around and most of the upper parts black, the rump, upper tail-coverts and under parts white, the breast and under wing-coverts exquisite carmine rose-red; wings and tail black, variegated with white; bill white; feet grayish-blue; iris brown. Female above, streaked with blackish and olive-brown or flaxen-brown, with median white coronal and superciliary line; below, white, more or less tinged with fulvous and streaked with dusky; under wing-coverts saffron-yellow; upper coverts and inner quills with a white spot at end; bill brown." Elliot Coues, 1884

Rose-breasted Song Grosbeak

"Zamelodia ludoviciana. Rose-breasted Song Grosbeak. Adult male with the head and neck all around and…

"Zamelodia melanocephala. Black-headed Song Grosbeak. Adult male with the crown, sides of head, back, wings, and tail black; the back usually varied with whitish or cinnamon-brown, the wings spotted with white on the ends of the coverts, and usually also towards the ends of the quills, and with a large white patch at the base of primaries; several lateral tail-feathers with large white spots on inner webs near their ends. Neck all round, rump, and under parts rich orange-brown, changing to bright pure yellow on the belly and under wing-coverts; bill and feet dark grayish-blue. Size of the last. The female and young differ much as in the last species, but may be recognized by the rich sulphur-yellow under wing-coverts; the bill is shorter and more tumid, along culmen, .60 deep at base." Elliot Coues, 1884

Black-headed Song Grosbeak

"Zamelodia melanocephala. Black-headed Song Grosbeak. Adult male with the crown, sides of head, back,…

"Guiraca. Blue Grosbeak. Bill Commissure strongly angulated far beyond base, with deep under mandible and bristly rictus as in Zamelodia, but not so swollen, the culmen nearly straight. Wings long and pointed, folding about the middle of the tail; tip formed be the 2d-4th quills, 1st little shorter, 5th rapidly graduated. Tail shorter than wings, even. Tarsus rather less than middle toe and claw; outer lateral toe slightly longer than the inner, but scarcely reaching base of middle claw. One species, large, male blue, female brown." Elliot Coues, 1884

Blue Grosbeak Bill

"Guiraca. Blue Grosbeak. Bill Commissure strongly angulated far beyond base, with deep under mandible…

"Fig. 52 shows the totipalmate foot of a pelican. The totipalmate is a special case of palmation, in which all four toes are webbed; this characterizes the whole order Steganopodes." Elliot Coues, 1884

Pelican Foot

"Fig. 52 shows the totipalmate foot of a pelican. The totipalmate is a special case of palmation, in…

"Fig. 53 shows the lobate foot of a coot. In the lobate foot, a paddle results not from connecting webs, but from a series of lobes or flaps along the sides of the individual toes; as in the coots, grebes, phalaropes, and sun-birds. Lobation is usually associated with semipalmation, as is well seen in the grebes (Podicipedidae). In the snipe-like pharalopes (Phalaropodidae), lobation is present as a modification of a foot otherwise quite cursorial. The most emphatic cases of lobation are those in which each joint of the toes has its own flap, with a free convex border; the membranes as whole therefore present a scolloped outline." Elliot Coues, 1884

Coot Foot

"Fig. 53 shows the lobate foot of a coot. In the lobate foot, a paddle results not from connecting webs,…

"Fig. 53 bis - shows the lobate foot of a phalarope. In the lobate foot, a paddle results not from connecting webs, but from a series of lobes or flaps along the sides of the individual toes; as in the coots, grebes, phalaropes, and sun-birds. Lobation is usually associated with semipalmation, as is well seen in the grebes (Podicipedidae). In the snipe-like pharalopes (Phalaropodidae), lobation is present as a modification of a foot otherwise quite cursorial. The most emphatic cases of lobation are those in which each joint of the toes has its own flap, with a free convex border; the membranes as whole therefore present a scolloped outline." Elliot Coues, 1884

Phalarope Foot

"Fig. 53 bis - shows the lobate foot of a phalarope. In the lobate foot, a paddle results not from connecting…

"Fig. 62 Skull of common fowl, enlarged. from nature by Dr. R.W. Shufeldt, U.S.A. The names of bones and some other parts are printed, requiring no explanation; but observe the following points: The distinction of none of the bones composing the brain-case (the upper back expanded part) can be found in a mature skull. The brain is contained between the occipital, sphenoidals, squamosals, parietals and part of frontal; the ethmoidals belong to the same group of cranial bones proper. All other bones, excepting the three otic ear-bones, are bones of the face and jaws. The lower jaw, of five bones, is drawn detached; it articulates by the black surface marked articular with the prominence just above- the quadratic bone. Observe that from this quadrate a series of bones quadrato-jugal, jugal, maxillary-makes a slender rod running to the premaxillary; this is the zygoma, or jugal bar. Observe from the quadrate also another series, composed of pterygoid and palatine bones, to the premaxillary; this is the pterygo-palatine bar; it slides along a median fixed axis of the skull, the rostrum, which bears the loose vomer at its end. The under mandible, quadrate, pterygoid, and vomer are the only movable bones of this skull. But when the quadrate rocks back and forth, as it does by its upper joint, its lower end pulls and pushes upon the upper mandible, by means of the jugal and pterygo-palatine bars, setting the whole scaffolding of the upper jaw in motion. This motion hinges upon the elasticity of the bones of the forehead, at the thin place just where the reference-lines from the words "lacrymal" and "mesethmoid" cross each other. The dark oval space behind the quadrate is the external orifice of the ear; the parts in it to which the three reference-lines go are diagrammatic, not actual representations; thus, the quadrate articulates with a large pro-otic as well as with the squamosal. The great excavation at the middle of the figure, containing the cirlet of the unshaded bones, is the left orbital cavity, orbit, or socket of the eye. The mesethmoid includes most of the background of this cavity, shaded diagonally. The upper one of the two processes of bone extending into it from behind is post-frontal or sphenotic process; the under one (just over the quadrate) is the squamosal process. A bone not shown, the presphenoid, lies just in front of the oval black space over the end of basisphenoid. This black oval is the optic foramen, through which the nerve of sight passes from the brain-cavity to the eye. The black dot a little behind the optic foramen is the orifice of exit of a part of the trifacial nerve. The black mark under the letters "on" of the word "frontal" is the olfactory foramen, where the nerve of smell emerges from the brain-box to go to the nose. The nasal cavity is the black space behind nasal and covered by that bone, and in the oval blank before it. The parts of the beak covered by horn are only premaxillary, nasal, and dentary. The condyle articulates with the first cervical vertebra; just above it, not shown, is the foramen magnum, or great hole through which the spinal medulla, or main nervous cord, passes from the spinal column. The basioccipital is hidden, excepting its condyle; so is much of the basisphenoid. The prolongation forward of the basisphenoid, marked "rostrum," and bearing the vomer at its end, is the parasphenoid, as far as its thickened under border is concerned. Between the fore end of the pterygoid and the basisphenoidal rostrum, is the site of the basipterygoid process, by which the bones concerned articulate by smooth facets; further forward, the palatines ride freely upon the parasphenoidal rostrum. In any passerine bird , the vomer would be thick in front, and forked behind, riding like the palatine upon the rostrum. The palatine seems to run into the maxillary in this view; but it continues on to premaxillary. The maxillo-palatine is an important bone which cannot be seen in the figure because it extends horizontally into the paper from the maxillary about where the reference life "maxillary" goes to that bone. The general line from the condyle to the end of the vomer is the cranial axis, basis cranii, or base of the cranium. This skull is widest across the post-frontal; next most so across the bulge of the jugal bar." Elliot Coues, 1884

Skull of a Common Fowl

"Fig. 62 Skull of common fowl, enlarged. from nature by Dr. R.W. Shufeldt, U.S.A. The names of bones…

"Passerina cyanea. Indigo Painted Finch. Indigo-bird. Adult male: Indigo-blue, intense and constant on the head, glancing greenish with different lights on other parts; wings and tail blackish, glossed with greenish-blue; feathers around base of the bill black; bill dark above, rather paler below, with a curious black stripe along the gonys. Female: Above , plain warm brown, below whitey-brown, obsoletely streaky on the breast and sides; wing-coverts and inner quills pale-edged, but not whitish; no whitish wing-bars; upper mandible blackish, lower pale, with the black stripe just mentioned, - this is pretty constant feature, and will distinguish the species from any of our Eastern little brown birds." Elliot Coues, 1884

Indigo-bird

"Passerina cyanea. Indigo Painted Finch. Indigo-bird. Adult male: Indigo-blue, intense and constant…

"Cardinalis virginianus. Cardinal Grosbeak. Cardinal Red-bird. Virginia Nightinggale. male, adult: Rich red, usually vermillion, sometimes rosy; pure and intense on crest and under parts, darker on back, where obscured with ashy-gray, as it is also on upper surfaces of wings and tail; the feathers of the wings fuscous on inner webs. A jet-black mask on the face, entirely surrounding the bill, extending on the throat. Bill coral-colored; feet brown." Elliot Coues, 1884

Cardinal Grosbeak

"Cardinalis virginianus. Cardinal Grosbeak. Cardinal Red-bird. Virginia Nightinggale. male, adult: Rich…

A Rose-breasted Grosbeak (lower) and a Northern Cardinal (upper) sit on branches among the flowers. "Zamelodia ludoviciana. Rose-breasted Song Grosbeak. Adult male with the head and neck all around and most of the upper parts black, the rump, upper tail-coverts and under parts white, the breast and under wing-coverts exquisite carmine rose-red; wings and tail black, variegated with white; bill white; feet grayish-blue; iris brown. Female above, streaked with blackish and olive-brown or flaxen-brown, with median white coronal and superciliary line; below, white, more or less tinged with fulvous and streaked with dusky; under wing-coverts saffron-yellow; upper coverts and inner quills with a white spot at end; bill brown." "Cardinalis virginianus. Cardinal Grosbeak. Cardinal Red-bird. Virginia Nightinggale. male, adult: Rich red, usually vermillion, sometimes rosy; pure and intense on crest and under parts, darker on back, where obscured with ashy-gray, as it is also on upper surfaces of wings and tail; the feathers of the wings fuscous on inner webs. A jet-black mask on the face, entirely surrounding the bill, extending on the throat. Bill coral-colored; feet brown." Elliot Coues, 1884

A Northern Cardinal and a Rose-breasted Grosbeak Sitting on a Branch Among the Flowers

A Rose-breasted Grosbeak (lower) and a Northern Cardinal (upper) sit on branches among the flowers.…

The Common Mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus) is a species of aquatic salamander found throughout the northeastern United States, and parts of Canada. Mudpuppies prefer shallow water with many places to hide, but have been found at depths of up to 90 feet. The mating season is late autumn, however eggs are not laid until late spring when 50 to 100 eggs are deposited in a nest cavity under a rock or other object. It takes 1 to 2 months for the eggs to hatch and 4 to 6 years for the young to reach maturity. Mudpuppies may live for up to 20 years.

Common Mudpuppy

The Common Mudpuppy (Necturus maculosus) is a species of aquatic salamander found throughout the northeastern…

An illustration of "1, flowering branch of Menispermum Canadense; 2, a deeply lobed leaf; a, the male flower; b, the female flower; c, the pistils and a stamen; d, vertical section through on of the pistils; e, the fruit." -Century, 1889 Menispermum canadense (Canadian Moonseed, Common Moonseed, or Yellow Parilla) is a flowering plant in the family Menispermaceae, native to eastern North America, from southern Canada south to northern Florida, and from the Atlantic coast west to South Dakota and Texas. It occurs in thickets, moist woods, and the banks of streams.

Canadian Moonseed

An illustration of "1, flowering branch of Menispermum Canadense; 2, a deeply lobed leaf; a, the male…

"The upper part of Peppermint (Mentha piperita), with flowers. a, flower; b, calyx." -Century, 1889

Peppermint

"The upper part of Peppermint (Mentha piperita), with flowers. a, flower; b, calyx." -Century, 1889

"Dolichonyx oryzivorus. Bobolink. Meadow-wink. Skunk Blackbird (Northern States), Reed-bird (Middle States), Rice-bird (Southern States). Male, in breeding plumage: Black; cervix buff; scapulars, rump and upper tail-coverts ashy-white; interscapulars streaked with black, buff, and ashy; outer quills edged with yellowish; bill blackish-horn; feet brown. The faultless full dress of black, white, and buff is worn only for a brief period; and even in spring and summer, most males are found to have yellowish touches in the black, especially of the under parts. The "delirious song" is only heard while the males re trooping their way to their breeding-grounds, and before the midsummer change of feather." Elliot Coues, 1884

Bobolink

"Dolichonyx oryzivorus. Bobolink. Meadow-wink. Skunk Blackbird (Northern States), Reed-bird (Middle…

"Icterus galbula. Baltimore Oriole. Golden Robin. Firebird. Hangnest. Adult male: Black and orange. Head and neck all round, and the back, black; rump, upper tail-coverts, lesser and under wing coverts, most of the tail-feathers, and all the under parts from the throat fiery orange, but of varying intensity according to age and season. Middle tail-feathers black; wings black, the middle and greater coverts, and inner quills, more or less edged and tipped with white, but the white on the coverts not forming a continuous patch; bill and feet blue-black, or dark grayish-blue." Elliot Coues, 1884

Baltimore Oriole

"Icterus galbula. Baltimore Oriole. Golden Robin. Firebird. Hangnest. Adult male: Black and orange.…

"Quiscalus. Grackle. The feet are large and strong, and the birds spend much of their time on the ground, where they walk or run instead of advancing by leaps." Elliot Coues, 1884

Grackle Foot

"Quiscalus. Grackle. The feet are large and strong, and the birds spend much of their time on the ground,…

"Quiscalus purpureus. Purple Crow Blackbird. Common Crow Blackbird. Purple Grackle. Of medium size, with moderately keeled and graduated tail, shorter than wings. Sexes subsimilar. Bill usually less tapering and deflected at tip, but very variable. Adult Male: Iridescence very variable with season, age, and sexual vigor, as well as on different parts of the body; but always intense in healthy adults, and at its height during the love-ardor; variously purple, green, blue, violet, and bronzy; not he extensive green of the last species, nor usually the decided brassy of the next variety; wings and tail mostly purplish; dark purplish and steel-blue on head, neck, and breast; back more greenish or bronzy. Bill and feet ebony black." Elliot Coues, 1884

Purple Grackle

"Quiscalus purpureus. Purple Crow Blackbird. Common Crow Blackbird. Purple Grackle. Of medium size,…

"European Jay. Garrulus glandarius. With the wings much shorter than or about equalling the tail, both rounded; tip of the wing formed by the 4th-7th quills. The feet, as well as the bill, are usually weaker than in the true crows, and the birds are more strictly arboricole, usually advancing by leaps when on the ground, to which they do not habitually resort. In striking contrast to most Corvinae, the jays are usually birds of right and varied colors, among which blue is the most prominent; and the head is frequently crested. The sexes are nearly alike, and the changes of plumage do not appear to be as great as is usual among highly-colored birds, although some differences are frequently observable. Our well-known Blue Jay is a familiar illustration of the habits and traits of the species in general. They are found in most parts of the world, and reach their highest development in the warmer portions of American. With one boreal (Perisoreus), the genera of the Old and New Word are entirely different." Elliot Coues, 1884

Eurasian Jay

"European Jay. Garrulus glandarius. With the wings much shorter than or about equalling the tail, both…

"Cyanocitta stelleri macrolopha. Long-crested Jay. Upper parts sooty umber-brown, with a faint blue tinge, blackening on head and neck all around in decided contrast, passing on rump and upper tail-coverts into beautiful light cobalt-blue; passing on fore breast into the same blue which occupies all the under parts. Crest black, but faced on forehead with bluish-white, which, when the feathers are not disturbed, runs in two parallel lines from the nostrils upward - these colored tips of the feathers of firmer texture than their basal portions. One or both eyelids patched with white. Chin abruptly whitish, streaky. Exposed surfaces of wings rich indigo-blue, most intense on the inner secondaries, which, with the greater coverts, are regularly and firmly barred across both webs with black; the outer webs of the primaries lighter blue, more like that of the rump or under parts, Upper surface of tail rich indigo, like the secondaries, and similarly black-barred; these bands most distinct towards the end and on the outer webs of the feathers; tail viewed from below appearing mostly blackish. Iris dark. Bill and feet black." Elliot Coues , 1884

Long-crested Jay

"Cyanocitta stelleri macrolopha. Long-crested Jay. Upper parts sooty umber-brown, with a faint blue…

"Sturnus vulgaris. The Starling. Adult: General plumage of metallic lustre, iridescing dark green on most parts, more steel-blue on the under parts, and violet or purplish-blue on the fore parts; more or less variegated throughout with pale ochraceous or whitish tips of the feathers. Wings and tail fuscous, the exposed parts of the feathers somewhat frosty or silvery, with velvety-black and pale ochrey marginings, the former within the latter. Bill yellowish; feet reddish." Elliot Coues, 1884

Starling

"Sturnus vulgaris. The Starling. Adult: General plumage of metallic lustre, iridescing dark green on…

"Pitangus derbianus. Derby Flycatcher. Under parts light wood-brown, with an olive tinge; wings and tail the same, but the feathers extensively bordered without and within with chestnut, forming a conspicuous continuous area on the wing-quills in the closed wing, and on most of the wing and tail-feathers more extensively than the brown portion of the inner webs. Below from the breast, including lining of wings, clear and continuous lemon-yellow. Whole chin and throat pure white, widening behind up under ear-coverts. Top and sides of head black, a circle of white from forehead over eyes to nape white, the enclosed black enclosing black a lemon and orange patch. Or, middle of crown yellow and orange, enclosed and partly concealed in black, this black enclosed in white, then the long and broad black bar on side of head, separating the white of side of crown from that of side of throat. The coronal feathers lengthened and erectile as in a king-bird, or more so; crown-patch of same character but more extensive. Bill and feet black; iris hazel Sexes alike." Elliot Coues, 1884

Derby Flycatcher

"Pitangus derbianus. Derby Flycatcher. Under parts light wood-brown, with an olive tinge; wings and…

"Milvulus forficatus. Swallow-tailed Flycatcher. Scissor-tail. Crown patch orange or scarlet. General color hoary-ash, paler or white below; sides at insertion of wings scarlet or bloody-red, and other parts of the body variously tinged with the same, or a paler salmon-red. Wings blackish, with whitish edgings. Tail black, but several of the long feathers extensively white or rosy; these are narrow and linear, sometimes widening somewhat in spoon-shape." Elliot Coues, 1884

Swallow-tailed Flycatcher

"Milvulus forficatus. Swallow-tailed Flycatcher. Scissor-tail. Crown patch orange or scarlet. General…

"Myiarchus crinitus. Great Crested Flycatcher. Decidedly olivaceous above, a little browner on head, where the feathers have dark centres; throat and fore pure dark ash; rest of under parts bright yellow, the two colors meeting abruptly; primaries margined on both edges with chestnut; secondaries and coverts edges and tipped with yellowish-white; tail with all the feathers but the central pair chestnut on the whole of the inner web (excepting perhaps a very narrow space next the shaft); outer web of outer feathers with yellowish; middle feathers, outer webs of the rest, and wings except as stated, dusky-brown. The foregoing phrases are intended to be chiefly antithetical to those used in describing cinerescens, below, No. 375. Other diagnostic points are: bill dark but not quite black, pale at base below; stout and comparatively short, hardly or not as long as tarsus, the latter perhaps never .90, the olive back, ash throat, and yellow belly severally pure in color; all tail-feathers but middle pair so extensively rufous on inner webs that a mere line, if any, of fuscous persists next the shaft (compare erythrocercus and cooperi), and this fuscous line,if any, running of same narrowness to ends of the feathers (compare cinerescens); never more than a trace of rufous on outer webs." Elliot Coues, 1884

Great Crested Flycatcher

"Myiarchus crinitus. Great Crested Flycatcher. Decidedly olivaceous above, a little browner on head,…

"Myiarchus cinerescens. Ash-throated Crested Flycatcher. Rather olivaceous-brown above, quite brown on the head; throat very pale ash, sometimes almost whitish, changing gradually to very pale yellow or yellowish-white on the rest of the under parts. Primaries edged as in crinitus, but secondares and coverts edged with grayish-white. Tail-feathers as in crinitus, but the rufous of the inner webs hardly or not reaching their ends, being cut off from the tip by widening of the fuscous stripe (in young birds, in which the quills and tail-feathers are more extensively rufous-edged, the last distinction does not hold)Elliot Coues, 1884

Ash-throated Flycatcher

"Myiarchus cinerescens. Ash-throated Crested Flycatcher. Rather olivaceous-brown above, quite brown…

"Sayiornis fusca. Pewit Flycatcher. Water Pewee. Pewit. Phaebe. Dull olivaceous-brown, the head much darker fuscous-brown, almost blackish, usually in marked contrast with the back; below, solid whitish, or palest possible yellow, particularly on the belly; the sides, and the breast nearly or quite across, shaded with grayish -brown; wings and tail dusky, the outer tail-feather, inner secondaries, and usually the wing-coverts, edged with whitish; a whitish ring round the eye; bill and feet black. Varies greatly in shade; the foregoing is the average spring condition. As summer passes, the plumage becomes much-duller and and darker brown, from wearing of the feather; then, after the moult, fall specimens are much brighter than in spring, the under parts being decidedly yellow, at least on the belly." Elliot Coues, 1884

Pewit Flycatcher

"Sayiornis fusca. Pewit Flycatcher. Water Pewee. Pewit. Phaebe. Dull olivaceous-brown, the head much…

"Antrostomus vociferus. Whippoorwill. Night-jar. Upper parts variegated with gray, black, whitish, and tawny; prevailing tone gray; black streaks sharp on the head and back, the colors elsewhere delicately marbled, including the four median tail-feathers; wings and their coverts with bars of rufous spots; lateral tail-feathers black, with large white (male) or small tawny (female) terminal spaces; a white (male) or tawny (female) throat-bar. Adult male: Assuming stone-gray as the ground-color of the upper parts: Crown with a purplish cast, heavily dashed lengthwise with black; back darker, with smaller streaks; tail beautifully marbled with slate-gray and black tending crosswise on the 4 middle feathers; scapulars with bold black centre-fields set in frosty marbling; hind neck with white specks, as if continued around from the white throat-bar. Primaries black, with a little marbling at their ends, fully broken-barred with tawny-reddish; no white spaces. Three lateral tail-feathers mostly black, with pure white terminal spaces 1-2 inches long. Under parts quite blackish, on the breast powdered over with hoary-gray, more posteriorly marbled with gray and tawny, tending crosswise. Lores and ear-coverts dark brown. It is only in perfect plumage that the colors are as slaty and frosty as described; ordinarily more brown and ochrey." Elliot Coues, 1884

Small Whippoorwill

"Antrostomus vociferus. Whippoorwill. Night-jar. Upper parts variegated with gray, black, whitish, and…

"Antrostomus vociferus. Whippoorwill. Night-jar. Upper parts variegated with gray, black, whitish, and tawny; prevailing tone gray; black streaks sharp on the head and back, the colors elsewhere delicately marbled, including the four median tail-feathers; wings and their coverts with bars of rufous spots; lateral tail-feathers black, with large white (male) or small tawny (female) terminal spaces; a white (male) or tawny (female) throat-bar. Adult male: Assuming stone-gray as the ground-color of the upper parts: Crown with a purplish cast, heavily dashed lengthwise with black; back darker, with smaller streaks; tail beautifully marbled with slate-gray and black tending crosswise on the 4 middle feathers; scapulars with bold black centre-fields set in frosty marbling; hind neck with white specks, as if continued around from the white throat-bar. Primaries black, with a little marbling at their ends, fully broken-barred with tawny-reddish; no white spaces. Three lateral tail-feathers mostly black, with pure white terminal spaces 1-2 inches long. Under parts quite blackish, on the breast powdered over with hoary-gray, more posteriorly marbled with gray and tawny, tending crosswise. Lores and ear-coverts dark brown. It is only in perfect plumage that the colors are as slaty and frosty as described; ordinarily more brown and ochrey." Elliot Coues, 1884

Large Whippoorwill

"Antrostomus vociferus. Whippoorwill. Night-jar. Upper parts variegated with gray, black, whitish, and…

"Fig 63 - Skull of a duck (Clangula islandica), nat. size; Dr. R.W. Shufeldt, U.S.A. a, premaxillary bone; b, partly ossified internasal septum; b', pervious part of nostril; c, end of premaxillary, perforated form numerous branches of second division of the fifth cranial nerve; d, dentary bone of under mandible; e, groove of nerves, etc.; f, a vacuity between dentary and other pieces of the mandible; g, articular surface; h, recurved "angle of the jaw;" i, occipital protuberance; j, vacuity in supraoccipital bone; k, muscular impression on back of skull; l is over the black ear-cavity; m, post-frontal process; n, quadrate bone; o, pterygoid; p, palatine; q, quadrato-jugal; r, jugal; s, maxillary; t, fronto-parietal dome of the brain-cavity; u; u, the lacrymal bone, immense in a duck, nearly completing rim of the orbit by approaching m; v, vomer; w, supra-orbital depression for the nasal gland; x, cranio-facial hinge; y, optic foramen; z, etc. interorbital vacuities." Elliot Coues, 1884

Duck Skull

"Fig 63 - Skull of a duck (Clangula islandica), nat. size; Dr. R.W. Shufeldt, U.S.A. a, premaxillary…

"Fig 72 - Hyoid bones of a goose, nat. size; Dr. R.W. Shufeldt, U.S.A. a, cartilaginous end-piece of b, the great glosso-hyal, which has absorbed or replaced cerato-hyals or "lesser cornua"; c, basihyal, movably articulated with b, and combined completely with d, basibranchial, commonly called "urohyal;" e, ceratobranchial: f, epibranchial; e and f are together known as " thyrohayals," or "greater cornua." Elliot Coues, 1884

Goose Hyoid

"Fig 72 - Hyoid bones of a goose, nat. size; Dr. R.W. Shufeldt, U.S.A. a, cartilaginous end-piece of…

Alcedo Ispida. European Kingfisher. Small bird, upper parts blue-green; under parts orange; rump and back azure-blue head large; rufous patch on ear; stripe on neck blue-green; bill long and black with some red at base; short tail.

Common Kingfisher

Alcedo Ispida. European Kingfisher. Small bird, upper parts blue-green; under parts orange; rump and…

"Ceryle alcyon. Belted Kingfisher. Upper parts, broad pectoral bar, and sides under the wings, dull blue with fine black shaft lines. Lower eyelid, spot before eye, a cervical collar and under parts except as said, pure white; the female with chestnut belly-band and the sides of the same color. Quills and tail-feathers black, speckled, blotched or barred on the inner webs with white; outer webs of the secondaries and tail feathers like the back; wing-coverts frequently sprinkled with white. Bill black, pale at base below. Feet dark; tibiae naked below. A long, thin, pointed occipital crest; plumage compact and oily to resist water, into which the birds constantly plunge after their finny prey." Elliot Coues, 1884

Belted Kingfisher

"Ceryle alcyon. Belted Kingfisher. Upper parts, broad pectoral bar, and sides under the wings, dull…

"Geococcyx californianus. Ground Cuckoo. Chaparral Cock. Road Runner. Snake Killer. Paisano. Most of the feathers of the head and neck bristle-tipped; a naked area around eye; crown crested; plumage course. Above, lustrous bronzy or coppery-green, changing to dark steel-blue on the head and neck, to purplish-violet on the middle tail-feathers; everywhere except on rump conspicuously streaked with white, mixed with tawny on the head, neck, and wings - this white and buff streaking consisting of the edges of the feathers, which are frayed out, fringe-like, producing a peculiar effect. Breast, throat and sides of neck mixed tawny-white and black; other under parts dull soiled whitish. Primaries white, tipped and with oblique white space on outer webs. Lateral tail-feathers steel-blue with green violet reflections, their outer webs fringed part way with white, their tips broadly white. Lower back and rump, where covered by the folded wings, dark colored and unmarked; under surface of wings sooty-brown. Bare space around eye bluish and orange. Bill dark horn-color; feet the same, the larger scales yellowish." Elliot Coues, 1884

Ground Cuckoo Head

"Geococcyx californianus. Ground Cuckoo. Chaparral Cock. Road Runner. Snake Killer. Paisano. Most of…

"Geococcyx californianus. Ground Cuckoo. Chaparral Cock. Road Runner. Snake Killer. Paisano. Most of the feathers of the head and neck bristle-tipped; a naked area around eye; crown crested; plumage course. Above, lustrous bronzy or coppery-green, changing to dark steel-blue on the head and neck, to purplish-violet on the middle tail-feathers; everywhere except on rump conspicuously streaked with white, mixed with tawny on the head, neck, and wings - this white and buff streaking consisting of the edges of the feathers, which are frayed out, fringe-like, producing a peculiar effect. Breast, throat and sides of neck mixed tawny-white and black; other under parts dull soiled whitish. Primaries white, tipped and with oblique white space on outer webs. Lateral tail-feathers steel-blue with green violet reflections, their outer webs fringed part way with white, their tips broadly white. Lower back and rump, where covered by the folded wings, dark colored and unmarked; under surface of wings sooty-brown. Bare space around eye bluish and orange. Bill dark horn-color; feet the same, the larger scales yellowish." Elliot Coues, 1884

Ground Cuckoo

"Geococcyx californianus. Ground Cuckoo. Chaparral Cock. Road Runner. Snake Killer. Paisano. Most of…

"Picus borealis. Red-Cockaded Woodpecker. Body spotted and crosswise banded, but not streaked. Head black on top, with a large silky white auricular patch embracing the eye and extending on the side of the neck, bordered above in the male by a scarlet stripe not meeting its fellow on the nape; nasal feathers and those on the side of the jay white; black of the crown connected across the lores with a black stripe running from the corner of the bill down the side of the breast in black spots continued less thickly along the whole side and on the crissum; under parts otherwise soiled white. Central tail-feathers black; others white, black-barred. Back and wings barred with black and white, the larger quills and many coverts with the white bars resolved into paired spots. Female lacking the red cockade. A peculiar isolated species; wings longer and more pointed than usual in this genus." Elliot Coues, 1884

Red-cockaded Woodpecker

"Picus borealis. Red-Cockaded Woodpecker. Body spotted and crosswise banded, but not streaked. Head…

"Picus scalaris nutalli. Nuttall's Woodpecker. Similar; rather larger' more white, this prevailing on the back over the black bars; nape chiefly white; nasal tufts white; lateral tail-feathers, especially, sparsely or imperfectly barred. The Californian coast race, differing decidedly in some respects, and constantly; but connected with general series of ladder-backs. Barring restricted to the back proper, the hind neck being black, succeeded anteriorly by a white space adjoining the red, wanting in scalaris, where red joins black. Red chiefly confined to the occiput, the rest of the crown black, spotted with white. Lateral tail-feathers white, not barred throughout, having not 1-3 black bars, all beyond their middles, all but the terminal one of these broken. White postocular stripe running into the white nuchal area, but cut off from the white of the shoulders. White maxillary stripe enclosed in black as in scalaris, but this black continuous with the cervical black patch, which is not the case in scalaris. No Smoky-brown state of the under parts observed." Elliot Coues, 1884

Nuttall's Woodpecker

"Picus scalaris nutalli. Nuttall's Woodpecker. Similar; rather larger' more white, this prevailing on…

"Picus villosus. Hairy Woodpecker. Spotted and lengthwise streaked, but not banded. Usually 9-10 long; outer tail-feathers wholly white. Back black, with a long white stripe down the middle. Quills and wing-coverts with a profusion of white spots; usually 6-7 pairs on the primaries, several on all the secondaries, and one or more on each of the coverts. Four middle tail-feathers black; next pair black and white; next two pairs white, as stated. Under parts white. Crown and sides of head black, with a white stripe over and behind the eye; another from the nasal feathers running below the eye to spread on the side of the neck; a scarlet nuchal band in the male, sometimes broken in two, wanting in the female. Young with the crown mostly red or bronzy, or even yellowish." Elliot Coues, 1884

Hairy Woodpecker

"Picus villosus. Hairy Woodpecker. Spotted and lengthwise streaked, but not banded. Usually 9-10 long;…

"Picoïdes. Three-toed Woodpeckers. Three-toed: the hallux (1st toe) absent, the 4th toe reversed as usual in the family. Bill as in Picus proper, about as long as the head, stout, straight, with bevelled end and lateral ridges, and nasal tufts hiding the nostrils; very broad and much depressed at base, with the lateral ridges very low down, in most of their length close to and parallel with commissure; nostrils very near commissure; gonys about as long as from nostrils to end of bill. Wings very pointed; 1st quill spurious; 2d between 6th and 7th in length. Crown with a square yellow patch in the male; sides of head striped, of body barred, with black and white; under parts otherwise white; quills but not coverts with white spots; tail-feathers unbarred, the outer white, the central black. All the species of this genus are unquestionably modified derivatives of one circumpolar stock; the American seem to have become completely differentiated from the Asiatic and European, and further divergence seems to have perfectly separated arcticus from americanus; but dorsalis and americanus are still linked together. Elliot Coues, 1884

Three-toed Woodpeckers

"Picoïdes. Three-toed Woodpeckers. Three-toed: the hallux (1st toe) absent, the 4th toe reversed…

"Sphyropicus varius. Yellow-bellied Woodpecker. Male: Crown crimson, bordered all around with black; chin, and breast black, enclosing a large crimson patch on the former (in the male; in the female this patch white); sides of head with a white line starting from the nasal feathers and dividing the black of the throat from a trans-ocular black stripe, this separated from the black of the crown by a white post-ocular stripe; all these stripes frequently yellowish. Under parts dingy yellow, brownish and and with sagittate dusky marks on the sides. Back variegated with black and yellowish. Wings black with a large oblique white bar on the coverts; the quills with numerous paired white spots on the edges of both webs. Tail black, most of the feathers white-edged, the inner webs of the middle pair, and the upper coverts, mostly white. Bill brownish; feet greenish-plumbeous; iris brown." Elliot Coues, 1884

Yellow-bellied Woodpecker

"Sphyropicus varius. Yellow-bellied Woodpecker. Male: Crown crimson, bordered all around with black;…

"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…

"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,…

"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…