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The Musée du Louvre or officially the Grand Louvre — in English, the Louvre Museum or Great Louvre, or simply the Louvre — is the national museum of France, the most visited museum in the world, and a historic monument. It is a central landmark of Paris, located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement (neighborhood). Nearly 35,000 objects from the 6th century BC to the 19th century are exhibited over an area of 60,600 square meters (652,300 square feet).Charles Le Brun (February 24 1619 – February 22 1690) was a French painter and art theorist, one of the dominant artists in 17th century France."Little by little a method of ornamentation was introduced by successive decorators and architects, which was eminently suited to the French taste. Androuet Du Cercean and Jean Lepautre are especially noticeable as representatives of this school of establishment. The sumptuous Apollo Gallery in the Louvre is a characteristic example of the productions of the latter. [This image] exhibits a portion of the system of decoration which pervades the whole gallery."

Fragment from the Apollo Gallery in the Louvre at Paris

The Musée du Louvre or officially the Grand Louvre — in English, the Louvre Museum or Great Louvre,…

"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…

"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,…

"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…

The Musée du Louvre or officially the Grand Louvre — in English, the Louvre Museum or Great Louvre, or simply the Louvre — is the national museum of France, the most visited museum in the world, and a historic monument. It is a central landmark of Paris, located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement (neighborhood). Nearly 35,000 objects from the 6th century BC to the 19th century are exhibited over an area of 60,600 square meters (652,300 square feet)."Du Cerceau, who flourished during the reign of Henry IV., connected the block of buildings which belong to the Louvre, and had been constructed under Catherine dei Medici, by a gallery with the Tuileries [shown here]. This architect abandoned the characteristic feature of the French Renaissance, which had prevailed hitherto, namely, of giving its peculiar columnar order to each storey, and assimilated his designs to those of the late Roman Renaissance, in which a striking effect was produced at the expense of truth by continuous columns and pilasters extending over several storeys and rows of windows."

Flore Pavilion and part of the Gallery of the Louvre

The Musée du Louvre or officially the Grand Louvre — in English, the Louvre Museum or Great Louvre,…

The Musée du Louvre or officially the Grand Louvre — in English, the Louvre Museum or Great Louvre, or simply the Louvre — is the national museum of France, the most visited museum in the world, and a historic monument. It is a central landmark of Paris, located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement (neighborhood). Nearly 35,000 objects from the 6th century BC to the 19th century are exhibited over an area of 60,600 square meters (652,300 square feet)."Du Cerceau, who flourished during the reign of Henry IV., connected the block of buildings which belong to the Louvre, and had been constructed under Catherine dei Medici, by a gallery with the Tuileries. This architect abandoned the characteristic feature of the French Renaissance, which had prevailed hitherto, namely, of giving its peculiar columnar order to each storey, and assimilated his designs to those of the late Roman Renaissance, in which a striking effect was produced at the expense of truth by continuous columns and pilasters extending over several storeys and rows of windows.Although Du Cerceau was obligated to leave France in the year 1604, the impulse which he had given in the direction of the above-mentioned manner led to its being generally adopted. The new buildings were more correct, but less picturesque than those built during the earlier period of the French Renaissance, and a certain insipidity seems to characterize the various structures erected during the reigns of Henry IV., and especially Louis XIII. As is shown [here], a combination of free-stone and brick was restored to in such a way that the former was employed for the mouldings, and for the quoins and dressings of the doors and windows, whilst brick was used for the spaces between. In the case of the windows the free-stone introduced assumed the forms of quoins. If ornamentation had been previously excessive, it now retired into the background, and was only employed in moderation; and the method of its treatment began to be distinguished from that of the former period. The forms of the details above all began to lose in purity: rustications were inappropriately introduced in the walls and columns, and the roofs were made high and steep, which gave the rest of the building a heavy and squat appearance, whilst the numerous turret-shaped chimneys, which were necessitated by these high roofs, formed a peculiar feature in the construction."

Paris, Royal Palace Façade

The Musée du Louvre or officially the Grand Louvre — in English, the Louvre Museum or Great Louvre,…

The Château de Beaumesnil was begun in 1633 by Jacques de Nonant for his wife Marie Dauvet Desmaret. Construction lasted until 1640. Today, Beaumesnil is a commune, the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic, in the Eure department in Haute-Normandie in northern France. "Although Du Cerceau was obligated to leave France in the year 1604, the impulse which he had given in the direction of the above-mentioned manner led to its being generally adopted. The new buildings were more correct, but less picturesque than those built during the earlier period of the French Renaissance, and a certain insipidity seems to characterize the various structures erected during the reigns of Henry IV., and especially Louis XIII. As is shown [here], a combination of free-stone and brick was restored to in such a way that the former was employed for the mouldings, and for the quoins and dressings of the doors and windows, whilst brick was used for the spaces between. In the case of the windows the free-stone introduced assumed the forms of quoins. If ornamentation had been previously excessive, it now retired into the background, and was only employed in moderation; and the method of its treatment began to be distinguished from that of the former period. The forms of the details above all began to lose in purity: rustications were inappropriately introduced in the walls and columns, and the roofs were made high and steep, which gave the rest of the building a heavy and squat appearance, whilst the numerous turret-shaped chimneys, which were necessitated by these high roofs, formed a peculiar feature in the construction. The Roccoco, or Baroque Style, was beginning at the same time to exert its influence. Commencing from the second half of the seventeenth century, this new architectural deviation became prevalent in all civilized countries, owing to the splendor and influence of the French power and manners, and the influence of Italian art was consequently paralyzed. [This image] gives a characteristic example of French architecture of this period of the Later Renaissance, showing the peculiarities which have been described above."

Château de Beaumesnil

The Château de Beaumesnil was begun in 1633 by Jacques de Nonant for his wife Marie Dauvet Desmaret.…

Les Invalides in Paris, France, is a complex of buildings in the city's 7th arrondissement containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as well as a hospital and a retirement home for war veterans. The buildings house the Musée de l'Armée, the military museum of the Army of France, the Musée des Plans-Reliefs, and the Musée d'Histoire Contemporaine, as well as the burial site for some of France's war heroes, notably Napoleon Bonaparte."The principal architectural activity of this period was displayed by Jules Hardouin Mansard, who was head architect to the king and the head of the influential school, as Lenôtre at the same time was principal horticulturist. Mansard built the palaces of Versailles (1647-1708, Marly, the Grand Trianon, as also the Invalides at Paris [shown here]."

Invalides at Paris

Les Invalides in Paris, France, is a complex of buildings in the city's 7th arrondissement containing…

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…

"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 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…

"Coturnix. Bill smaller and much slenderer than that of any of the foregoing genera of Odontophorinae; nasal fossae feathered, except on the tumid nasal scale. Wings of moderate length, little vaulted and not rounded, pointed by the 1st-3d quills, the 1st not shorter than the next. First primary emarginate on inner web; 2d and 3d sinuate on outer web. Tail extremely short and slight, not half as long as the wing, pointed, its feathers very soft, the central pair lanceolate. Feet small; tarsus shorter than middle toe and claw, slightly feathered above in front, with two rows of alternating large scutella in front, two rows of smaller rounded scales meeting in a ridge behind, the sides filled in with small plates. Size smaller than that of any of the foregoing species; pattern of coloration somewhat as in Ortyx; sexes nearly alike." Elliot Coues, 1884

European Partridge

"Coturnix. Bill smaller and much slenderer than that of any of the foregoing genera of Odontophorinae;…

"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

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

"Skull of a chick, but seen from below. cv1, anterior cerebral vesicle; e, eye; m, mouth; pts, pituitary space; fn, fronto-nasal plate; tr, ends of the trabeculae, free again after their union and bent strongly from the original axis of the trabeculae; n, external nostril; mxp, subocular bar of cartilage, or pterygo-palatine rod, to form pa, palatine, and pg, pterygoid bone, and other parts of the upper jaw, as the maxillary, jugal and quadrato-jugal; q, quadrate cartilage, same as seen in fig 64; mk, meckelian cartilage, to form lower jaw; these parts are in the first post-oral visceral arch; ch, cerato-hyal, and bh, basihyal, of second postoral arch; cbr, cerato-branchial, ebr-branchial, bbr, basi-branchial, of third post-oral arch; the parts of the second and third arch all going into the hyoid bone. 1, 2, 3, 1st, 2d, 3d, visceral clefts, whereof the 1st is to be modified into the ear-passages, and the others are to be obliterated." Elliot Coues, 1884

Skull of a Chick Below

"Skull of a chick, but seen from below. cv1, anterior cerebral vesicle; e, eye; m, mouth; pts, pituitary…

"Orortyx picta. Plumed Partridge. Mountain Quail. Back, wings and tail olive-brown, the inner secondaries and tertiaries bordered with whitish or tawny, forming a lengthwise border in single line when the wings are folded; the primaries fuscous, the tail-feathers fuscous, minutely marbled with the color of the back. Fore-parts, above and below, slaty-blue (above more or less glossed with olive shade of the back, below minutely marbled with black); the throat chestnut, immediately bordered laterally with black, then framed in the firm white line, broken through the eye, reappearing around base of under mandible. Extreme forehead whitish, The arrow-plumes black. Belly chestnut, the sides banded with broad bars of black and white, or rufous-white; middle of the lower belly, tibia, and flanks, whitish or rufous; crissum velvety-black, streaked with chestnut. Bill dusky, paler below; feet brown." Elliot Coues, 1884

Mountain Quail

"Orortyx picta. Plumed Partridge. Mountain Quail. Back, wings and tail olive-brown, the inner secondaries…

"Lophortyx gambeli. Gambel's Partridge. Arizona Quail. Male: Without white loral line; forehead black with whitish lines; occiput chestnut; nuchal and cervical feathers with dark shaft lines, but few dark edgings or none, and no white specking. General color of upper parts clear ash, the edging of the inner quills white. Fore-breast like the back; other under parts whitish, the middle of the belly with a large jet-black patch; sides rich purplish-chestnut, with sharp white stripes; vent, flanks and crissum white with dusky streaks. Bill black, iris brown. Besides lacking the definite head-markings, the female wants the black abdominal area, where the feathers are whitish with dark lengthwise touches; crest dark brown, not recurved, and fewer-feathered than that of a cock. Top of had grayish-brown, nearly uniform from bill to nape; throat grayish-white with slight dark pencilling." Elliot Coues, 1884

Gambel's Partridge

"Lophortyx gambeli. Gambel's Partridge. Arizona Quail. Male: Without white loral line; forehead black…

"Lophortyx californica. Californian Partridge. Valley Quail. Male: With a small white line from bill to eye; forehead whitish with black lines; occiput smoky-brown; nuchal and cervical feathers with very dark edging and shaft-lines, and fine whitish speckling. General color of upper parts ashy, with strong olive-brown gloss, the edging of the inner quills brownish-orange. Fore breast slaty-blue; other under parts tawny, deepening centrally into rich golden-brown or orange-chestnut, all the feathers sharply edged with jet-black; sides olive-ashy like the back, with sharp white stripes; vent, flanks, and crissum tawny, with dark stripes." Elliot Coues, 1884

Californian Partridge

"Lophortyx californica. Californian Partridge. Valley Quail. Male: With a small white line from bill…

"Cyrtonyx massena. Massena Partridge. Male: Upper parts intimately waved with black and reddish-brown and tawny-brown, and marked with sharp buff or whitish shaft-lines; on the wings the irregular black variegation changing to black bars and round spots, in regular paired series on each feather. Outer quills fuscous, their outer webs spotted with white or buff. Under parts crowded with innumerable round white spots on a dark ground, several pairs on each feather; the middle line of the breast and belly mahogany-colored, the flanks, vent, and crissum velvety-black. Top of head black in front, with slight white touches, changing on the crest to brown. Sides of the head and throat fantastically striped with black and white; a broad black throat-patch; another on the cheeks, across lored alongside of crown; a third on the ear-coverts; a fourth bordering the white all around behind." Elliot Coues, 1884

Massena Quail

"Cyrtonyx massena. Massena Partridge. Male: Upper parts intimately waved with black and reddish-brown…

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…

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" "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. A further instance of this is afforded by [this image], which represents a portion of the façade , though, properly speaking, it belongs to the Roccocco style."

Façade of the Building of Henry the Wise in Heidelberg Castle (1601-1607)

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

"The glareoles (Glareolidae) are a remarkable Old World form, like long-legged swallows, wth a cuckoo's bill; the tail is forked; there are four toes; the wings are extremely long and pointed; the tarsi are scullate; the middle claw denticulate." Elliot Coues, 1884

European Lapwing

"The glareoles (Glareolidae) are a remarkable Old World form, like long-legged swallows, wth a cuckoo's…

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

American Golden Plover

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

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

Kildeer Plover

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

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

European Oyster-catcher

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

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

Turnstone

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

"Recurvirostra. Avocets. Bell slender, more or less recurved, then the upper mandible hooked at the extreme tip; much longer than head, more or less nearly equalling tail and tarsus; flattened on top, without culminal ridge. Wings short (for a wader). Tail very short, square, less than half the wing. Legs exceedingly long and slender; tibiae long-denuded; tarsus nearly twice as long as middle toe and claw; covering of legs skinny. Feet 4-toed; the front toes full-webbed, hind toe short, free. Body remarkably depressed and feathered underneath with thick duck-like plumage; altogether, as in swimming rather than as in wading birds. Altogether, as in swimming rather than as in wading birds. It is a modification like that seen in the lobe-footed phalaropes. Sexes and young alike; winter and summer plumage different." Elliot Coues, 1884

Avocets

"Recurvirostra. Avocets. Bell slender, more or less recurved, then the upper mandible hooked at the…

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

Part of the Back of the Pitti Palace at Florence

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

Borgund stave church is a stave church located in Borgund, Lærdal, Norway. It is classified as a triple nave stave church of the so-called Sogn-type. It was probably built in the end of the 12th century, and has not changed structure or had a major reconstruction since that date. The church site shows evidence of a previous building, which can point to an earlier church or perhaps an old pagan temple that had been taken into use as a church. The interior of the church, except for the pulpit and the altarpiece, is mainly free from the post-Reformation decorations seen in most other stave churches. An authentic medieval square-shaped baptismal font made of soapstone is still a part of the interior. Borgund stave church is owned by Fortidsminneforeningen (The Society for the Preservation of Norwegian Ancient Monuments). "The wood buildings of Norway lay claim to a certain monumental and historical importance, partly because they belong to the oldest class of buildings of this description, and partly owing to the purpose for which they were erected, namely, to serve as churches. The case is different as regards the merit of their artistic construction and beauty of shape, in both of which points the standard attained is not a high one, as shown by [this image]. The details principally show traces of the architectural styles prevalent at the time of their erection, viz., the Romanesque and Byzantine, while the main forms must be considered as the result of a severe climate. The perishable nature of the material employed was also naturally prejudicial to any advanced and regular development of architectural skills. From these causes the whole design assumed a pyramidal shape, whilst the climate necessitated mode of construction which is peculiar to the buildings in question. As a projection against its rigours the structures were surrounded by covered passages ornamented externally with those little arcades which are a distinguishing feature of the Romanesque style, whilst the roofs were necessarily very steep in shape on account of the heavy falls of snow, and were covered with wood shingles, tiles, or slates. The form of construction is rather rough, for the corners are generally formed of rude logs, whilst the walls between merely consist of upright boards jointed to one another. Churches of this description are know in Norway by the name of Fascine Churches. Although the construction is thus artless, yet an effort to enrich the whole by individual details and by employment of painted embellishments is frequently to be noticed. This especially effected by means of arabesque-like carvings on the doorways and gables."

Wood Church at Burgund

Borgund stave church is a stave church located in Borgund, Lærdal, Norway. It is classified as…

The Palais Garnier, also known as the Opéra de Paris or Opéra Garnier, but more commonly as the Paris Opéra, is a 2,200-seat opera house on the Place de l'Opéra in Paris, France. A grand landmark designed by Charles Garnier in the Neo-Baroque style, it is regarded as one of the architectural masterpieces of its time."The newest and most important building is the new Opera House at Paris," this image "presents an external view.The competition which was announced for the plans for this building brought out at the time the most eminent, artistic, and architectural talent of France, and aroused a very general and lively interest in the result: inasmuch as an architectural chef-d'œuvre was to be produced, such as Paris did not possess before, and one in which the architecture of the present day was to make the utmost possible effect to build a theatre, which in every respect should be worthy of the metropolis of the world, and should thanks to the almost unlimited means at disposal, be the most perfect of its kind."

View of the Opera House in Paris

The Palais Garnier, also known as the Opéra de Paris or Opéra Garnier, but more commonly as the Paris…

"In Belgium the Roman Renaissance was introduced about the same time as in France: but an unmistakable distinction is visible between the two styles. The buildings in Belgium have a certain stamp by which they essentially differ from those of France; in fact, the whole style might be designated as modern Belgian. The peculiarity of the treatment lies mainly in a predilection for that Renaissance which is called the Roccoco style in conjunction with heavy and often very [skillfully] managed; but still the details are for the most part heavier and more robust than those that belong to the best Renaissance style. [This image] shows this peculiarity, but it is somewhat less marked than in many other instances."

View of the Opera House in Paris

"In Belgium the Roman Renaissance was introduced about the same time as in France: but an unmistakable…

An illustration of the dorsal view of the scapula of a rabbit. "A, acromion; m, metacromion; g, glenoid fossa; c, coracoid process; v, vertebral border; s, spine." -Century, 1889

Dorsal View of the Scapula of a Rabbit

An illustration of the dorsal view of the scapula of a rabbit. "A, acromion; m, metacromion; g, glenoid…

A metronome is any device that produces a regulated aural, visual or tactile pulse to establish a steady tempo in the performance of music. It is a useful practice tool for musicians that dates back to the early 19th century.

Maezel's Metronome

A metronome is any device that produces a regulated aural, visual or tactile pulse to establish a steady…

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

Black-necked Stilt

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

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

Wilson's Phalarope

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

"Philohela. American Woodcock. First three primaries emarginate, attenuate and falcate, abruptly shorter and narrower than the 4th. Wings short and rounded; when folded, the primaries hidden by the coverts and inner quills. Legs short; tibiae feathered to the joint; tarsus shorter than middle toe and claw, scutellate before and behind; toes long and slender, cleft to the base Bill much longer than head, perfectly straight, stout at base, where the ridge rises high, knobbed at end of upper mandible, very deeply grooved nearly all its length, the culmen and line of gonys also furrowed toward end; very soft and sensitive; gape very short and narrow. Head large; neck short; ear under the eye, which is very full, set in back upper corner of the head. Sexes alike; Female largest." Elliot Coues, 1884

American Woodcock Head

"Philohela. American Woodcock. First three primaries emarginate, attenuate and falcate, abruptly shorter…

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

Red-breasted Snipe Head

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

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

House Martin Skull

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

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

Sanderling

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

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

Spoon-billed Sandpiper

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

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

Greater Yello-shanks

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

"Rhyacophilus solitarius. Solitary Tattler. American Green Sandpiper. Solitary Sandpiper. Above, dark lustrous olive-brown, streaked on the head and neck, elsewhere finely speckled, with white; no continuous white on rump or upper tail-coverts. Below, white; the jugulum and sides of neck shaded with brownish and streaked with dusky; sides, axillars, and `lining of wings regularly barred with dusky. Rump and upper tail-coverts like back; tail beautifully and regularly barred throughout with black and white; white prevailing on the outer feathers, where the dark bars may be broken, and white reduced to a series of marginal spots on the middle feathers. Primaries and edge of wing blackish, unmarked; secondaries like back, mostly unmarked, the inner ones gradually gaining white spots. Bill blackish; legs dull greenish." Elliot Coues, 1884

Solitary Sandpiper

"Rhyacophilus solitarius. Solitary Tattler. American Green Sandpiper. Solitary Sandpiper. Above, dark…

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

Spotted Sandpiper

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

"Ardea. Great Herons. Of largest size, former well feathered all around. Tibia extensively denuded below. Tarsus longer than middle toe and claw. Outer lateral toe longer than inner. Bill shorter than tarsus, equal to or longer than middle toe and claw. Colors dark and varied, exceptionally white; back without lengthened loosened plumes; scapulars lanceolate, lengthened, but not loosened; lower fore-neck with lengthened feathers; head crested, in breeding season with two long, slender, flowing, occipital plumes. Sexes alike; young similar, but lacking all lengthened feathers." Elliot Coues, 1884

Heron

"Ardea. Great Herons. Of largest size, former well feathered all around. Tibia extensively denuded below.…

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

Great Blue Heron

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

"Garzetta. Small Egret Herons. Color white; and occipital crest, and short recurved train of stiff-shafted loose-webbed feathers in the breeding season; lower neck-feathers lengthened, depending.

European Little White Egret

"Garzetta. Small Egret Herons. Color white; and occipital crest, and short recurved train of stiff-shafted…

"Parra. Jacanas. Bill plover-like, contracted in continuity, enlarged terminally; with culmen depressed to end of nasal groove, then convex and decurved; outline of mandibular rami about straight to the gonys, which is ascending; commissure about straight to the decurved end. Nasal grooves along the contracted portion of the bill; nostrils small, elliptical, situate in advance of the base of the bill. Angle of mouth with a leaf-like lobe of skin (rudimentary in our species). Forehead with a large leaf-like lobe of skin, with free lateral and posterior edges, adherent centrally and anteriorly where reaching base of upper mandible. A sharp horny spur on bend o wing Primaries 10, not peculiar in structure; outer 3 about equal and longest, overlaid by the inner quills in the closed wing. Tail very short, with soft rectrices concealed be the coverts. Tibia bare below, and with the tarsus scutellate before and behind, the scutella tending to become confluent in a continuous sheath. All the toes, claws included, longer than tarsus; middle toe alone nearly as long as tarsus; outer toe alone about as long as middle, its claw shorter than that of middle toe; inner toe a little shorter than outer, its claw longer; hind toe only about as long as basal joint of middle toe, but its claw much longer than itself; all the claws slender, about straight, very acute." Elliot Coues, 1884

Parra Jacana

"Parra. Jacanas. Bill plover-like, contracted in continuity, enlarged terminally; with culmen depressed…

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

Wild Duck

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

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

Mallards

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

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

Pin-tail Ducks

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

"Mareca americana. American Wigeon. Bald-pate. Bill grayish-blue, with black tip and extreme base; feet similar, duller, with dusky webs and claws; iris brown. Top of head white, or nearly so; sides the same, or more buffy, speckled with dusky-green, purer green forming a broad patch from and below eye to hind head; chin dusky. Fore neck and breast light brownish-red, or very pale purplish-cinnamon, each feather with paler grayish edge; along the sides of the body the same, finely waved with dusky; the breast and belly pure white, the crissum abruptly black. Lower hind neck and fore back and scapulars finely waved with the same reddish color and with dusky; lower back and rump similarly waved with dusky and whitish. Lesser wing-coverts plain gray; middle and greater coverts pure white, forming a large area, the greater black-tipped, forming the fore border of the speculum, which is glossy green, bordered behind by velvety black, internally by the black and white stripes on the inner secondaries. Tail brownish-gray, the lateral upper coverts black; axillary feathers white. Only old drakes have the crown immaculate white, the chin dusky, the auricular definitely green; generally the whole head and upper neck are pale brownish-yellow or reddish-white, speckled with greenish-Dusky." Elliot Coues, 1884

American Wigeon

"Mareca americana. American Wigeon. Bald-pate. Bill grayish-blue, with black tip and extreme base; feet…

"Fuligula vallisneria. Canvas-back. Adult male: The head close-feathered. Bill high at the base and narrow throughout or scarcely widened toward end, sloping gradually up to the top of the head in line with the sweep of the forehead, altogether somewhat like a goose's in shape; decidedly longer than head, 2 &1/2 inches to nearly or quite 3 in length, measured along the culmen; the nostrils reaching the middle of the bill, their fore end half-way from the upper corner to end of bill. Bill not blue, black-belted, but blackish throughout. Eyes red. Feet grayish-blue. Head and upper neck not coppery brownish-red, but dark reddish-brown, further much obscured with dusky or quite blackish about the bill and on top. Ground color of back white, very finely vermiculated with zigzag blackish bars much narrower than the intervening spaces, and tending to break up, or mostly broken up, into little chains or dots across the feathers; the resulting silvery-gray tone consequently several shades lighter than in the red-head." Elliot Coues, 1884

Canvas-back Head

"Fuligula vallisneria. Canvas-back. Adult male: The head close-feathered. Bill high at the base and…

"Fuligula vallisneria. Canvas-back. Adult male: The head close-feathered. Bill high at the base and narrow throughout or scarcely widened toward end, sloping gradually up to the top of the head in line with the sweep of the forehead, altogether somewhat like a goose's in shape; decidedly longer than head, 2 &1/2 inches to nearly or quite 3 in length, measured along the culmen; the nostrils reaching the middle of the bill, their fore end half-way from the upper corner to end of bill. Bill not blue, black-belted, but blackish throughout. Eyes red. Feet grayish-blue. Head and upper neck not coppery brownish-red, but dark reddish-brown, further much obscured with dusky or quite blackish about the bill and on top. Ground color of back white, very finely vermiculated with zigzag blackish bars much narrower than the intervening spaces, and tending to break up, or mostly broken up, into little chains or dots across the feathers; the resulting silvery-gray tone consequently several shades lighter than in the red-head." Elliot Coues, 1884

Large Canvas-backs Head

"Fuligula vallisneria. Canvas-back. Adult male: The head close-feathered. Bill high at the base and…

"Fuligula vallisneria. Canvas-back. Adult male: The head close-feathered. Bill high at the base and narrow throughout or scarcely widened toward end, sloping gradually up to the top of the head in line with the sweep of the forehead, altogether somewhat like a goose's in shape; decidedly longer than head, 2 &1/2 inches to nearly or quite 3 in length, measured along the culmen; the nostrils reaching the middle of the bill, their fore end half-way from the upper corner to end of bill. Bill not blue, black-belted, but blackish throughout. Eyes red. Feet grayish-blue. Head and upper neck not coppery brownish-red, but dark reddish-brown, further much obscured with dusky or quite blackish about the bill and on top. Ground color of back white, very finely vermiculated with zigzag blackish bars much narrower than the intervening spaces, and tending to break up, or mostly broken up, into little chains or dots across the feathers; the resulting silvery-gray tone consequently several shades lighter than in the red-head." Elliot Coues, 1884

Canvas-backs

"Fuligula vallisneria. Canvas-back. Adult male: The head close-feathered. Bill high at the base and…

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

Small Redhead

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

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

Large Redhead

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

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

Redheads

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

"Somateria fischeri. Spectacled Eider. Bill (in both sexes) peculiar in the extension upon it of dense velvety feathers which reach to a point on the culmen beyond the nostrils, thence sweeping past the nostrils obliquely downward and backward to the commissure, the nostrils opening just beneath the line of feathers. Feathers of chin extending in a point nearly as far as those on culmen. A peculiarly dense and puffy patch of velvety feathers about the eye, suggesting spectacles; frontal feathers erect, pious, in the male somewhat stiffened; occipital feathers lengthened into a crest; these characters of the head-feathering best marked in the male, but indicated also in the female. Nail of bill distinct. Adult male: General color grayish-black, the neck and most of the back white; lesser and median wing-coverts, the curved tertials, the lining of the wings and axillars, white; flanks white. On the head, the white of the neck gives way to rich sea-green, especially on the occipital crest; the frontal feathers are also tinged with greenish; but the 'spectacles' are pure silvery white, framed in black. Bill, in the dried state, dingy yellowish; feet the same, with dusky webs." Elliot Coues, 1884

Spectacled Eider

"Somateria fischeri. Spectacled Eider. Bill (in both sexes) peculiar in the extension upon it of dense…

"Somateria mollissima. European Eider Duck. Bill with lateral frontal process extending on each side of the forehead, between the short pointed extension of the feathers on the culmen and the much greater extension of those on the sides of the bill, which reach to below the nostril, about opposite those on the chin. The general upper outline of the bill nearly straight, and the frontal processes narrow, acute, and nearly parallel. Adult male: Plumage almost entirely black and white. Top of head glossy blue-black, including eyes, and forking behind to receive the white of the hind-head. Occiput more or less washed with sea-green. Neck all around, fore breast, most of the back, most of the wing-coverts above and below, the curly tertials, and sides of rump, white, on the breast tinged with pale creamy-brown." Elliot Coues, 1884

Eider Ducks

"Somateria mollissima. European Eider Duck. Bill with lateral frontal process extending on each side…