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"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…

"Cuculus canorus the familiar Cuckoo of Britain and nearly all the Old World, is greyish-brown above and on the throat, the lower parts being white barred with dusky, and the wings and tail shewing a few white markings. A chestnut-brown or "hepatic" phase is sometimes met with. The young are brown mottled with white on the nape."

Cuckoo

"Cuculus canorus the familiar Cuckoo of Britain and nearly all the Old World, is greyish-brown above…

This Old World bird's plumage is gray or brown. They have a long tail, strong legs, and a slim body.

Common Cuckoo

This Old World bird's plumage is gray or brown. They have a long tail, strong legs, and a slim body.

"Numenius arquatus. Eurasian Curlew. European Curlew. Bill of very variably length, always longer than head, probably always exceeding the tarsus, sometimes more than length of entire leg; slender, curved downwards, the tip of the upper mandible knobbed and overhanging the end of the lower; obsoletely grooved nearly to end. Gape of mouth extended beyond base of culmen. Feathers reaching about equally far on sides of each mandible. Wings and tail ordinary; latter barred in color. Legs rather stout; tibia largely denuded below; tarsus much longer than middle toe and claw, scutellate in front only, elsewhere reticulate. Toes short and thick, fattened underneath, broadly margined on sides. Of large and medium stature, and plump form. Coloration variegated; rufous usually prevailing. Sexes alike; changes of plumage not pronounced." Elliot Coues, 1884

Eurasian Curlew

"Numenius arquatus. Eurasian Curlew. European Curlew. Bill of very variably length, always longer than…

"Bill shorter that head, slender and compressed throughout, higher that broad at the nostrils, about straight, but seeming to be slightly recurved, owing to a sort of upward tilting of the superior mandible; culmen, notched near the end; gonys convex. Nostrils linear, opening beneath a large scale partly covered with feathers. No rictal vibrissae, nor any trace of bristles or bristle-tipped feathers about the nostrils. Plumage soft, lustreless, remarkably full and compact, water-proof. Body stout, thick set. Habits aquatic." Elliot Coues, 1884

European Dipper

"Bill shorter that head, slender and compressed throughout, higher that broad at the nostrils, about…

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

European Ring Dove

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

"Merops Apiaster, the Bee-eater, has ruddy-brown head, neck, upper back, and broad alar bar, buff lower back, green wings and tail with black tips to the long median rectrices, light blue upper tail-coverts, pale green and white forehead, black ear-coverts, and bright yellow throat, divided from the greenish-blue under parts by a black band." A. H. Evans, 1900

Bee Eater

"Merops Apiaster, the Bee-eater, has ruddy-brown head, neck, upper back, and broad alar bar, buff lower…

"Herodias. Great Egret Heron. Character of Ardea proper, excepting in plumage; color white; no crest; a long depending train of still-shafted loose-webbed scapular feathers in the breeding season. Size large, only exceeded by the species of Ardea." Elliot Coues, 1884

European Great White Egret

"Herodias. Great Egret Heron. Character of Ardea proper, excepting in plumage; color white; no crest;…

"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…

"Gallinula. Gallinules. Water Hens. Mud Hens. Bill not longer than head, stout at base, tapering, compressed, the culmen running directly up on the forehead and expanding into a frontal plate of different shape in different species. Nostrils near middle of bill, linear. Feet large and stout; tibia naked below; tarsus moderately compressed, scutellate; toes very long, the outer longer than the inner, with an evident though slight marginal membrane; claws long, slender, little curved, acute. Wings short and rounded, but ample. Tail very short, of 12 weak feathers, with long ample under coverts, as in Rails. Plumage not rich blue." Elliot Coues, 1884

Gallinule

"Gallinula. Gallinules. Water Hens. Mud Hens. Bill not longer than head, stout at base, tapering, compressed,…

"Buteo vulgaris. hawk of Europe, Upper parts dark brown, very variable in shade according to season or wear of the feathers, varied with paler brown, or even reddish-brown edging of the feathers, but without the clear fawn color of the young; the feathers of the crown showing whitish when distributed, and usually sharp, dark shaft-lines; the upper tail-coverts chestnut and white, with blackish bars. Quills and tail-feathers as below, but the inner webs of the former showing more decided dark cross-bars upon a lighter marbled-whitish ground, and the latter having broader and sharper, dark wavy bars. These large quills, and particularly those of the tail, vary much in shade according to wear, the new feathers being strongly slate-colored, the old ones plain dark brown. The tail, however, never shows any trace often rich chestnut that obtains in the adult B borealis. Iris brown, never yellow; feet, cere, gape, and base of under mandible rich chrome-yellow; rest of bill and claws bluish-black." Elliot Coues, 1884

European Hawk

"Buteo vulgaris. hawk of Europe, Upper parts dark brown, very variable in shade according to season…

A small European crow.

Jackdaw

A small European crow.

"Corvus monedul. Jackdaw. The species throughout uniform lustrous black, including the bill and feet; nasal bristles about half as long as the bill, which exhibits the typical cultrirostral style. Nostrils large, but entirely concealed. Wings much longer than tail, folding about to its end. Several outer primaries sinuate-attenuate on inner webs. Tail rounded, with broad feathers, sinuate-truncate at ends, with mucronate shafts. Feet stout; tarsus more or less nearly equal to middle toe and claw, roughly scutellate in front, laminar behind, with a set of small plates between." Elliot Coues, 1884

jackdaw

"Corvus monedul. Jackdaw. The species throughout uniform lustrous black, including the bill and feet;…

"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…

Falco tinnunculus. Common Kestral. This bird is a European bird of prey. Plumage on upperside, chestnut-brown with black spots; underside narrow black streaks; tail has a black tip with thin white rim; male has bluish-gray head; female has a brown tail with black bars.

Common Kestral

Falco tinnunculus. Common Kestral. This bird is a European bird of prey. Plumage on upperside, chestnut-brown…

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…

The Crex pratensis, Land-Rail, or Cork Crake, is mostly brown with the upper parts spotted, a blue-green head and neck, chestnut wings, and flanks streaked with a reddish colour. "The Land-Rail extends from most of Europe to the North of Central Asia, wintering in Africa, and occurring accidentally in North America, or even Greenland and Australia." A. H. Evans, 1900

Land-Rail

The Crex pratensis, Land-Rail, or Cork Crake, is mostly brown with the upper parts spotted, a blue-green…

"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…

"Crown clear hair-brown; a white spot on nape; middle tail-feathers plain." Elliot Coues, 1884.

European Nuthatch

"Crown clear hair-brown; a white spot on nape; middle tail-feathers plain." Elliot Coues, 1884.

"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…

"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;…

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

Common Quail of Europe

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

"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.…

"Alauda arvensis, the Sky-Lark, breed in Britain. The normal coloration is light-brown with darker longitudinal streaks, the under parts being whitish and frequently spotted anteriorly." A. H. Evans, 1900

Skylark

"Alauda arvensis, the Sky-Lark, breed in Britain. The normal coloration is light-brown with darker longitudinal…

"Gallinago media. European Snipe. English Snipe. In size, form, and general coloration indistinguishable from No. 608, but axillary feathers almost entirely white, with slight and sparse dark markings, and the feathers of the flanks and sides less frequently and less regularly barred with dark gray." Elliot Coues, 1884

English Snipe

"Gallinago media. European Snipe. English Snipe. In size, form, and general coloration indistinguishable…

"Platalea leucorodia, the Spoonbill, has white plumage, with bare lores, orbits, and throat, and a fine nuchal crest in the breeding season, the fore-neck being tinged with buff. P. leucorodia has yellow naked areas, black feet and bill, with yellow bars and tip to the latter." A. H. Evans, 1900

Spoonbill Standing on One Leg

"Platalea leucorodia, the Spoonbill, has white plumage, with bare lores, orbits, and throat, and a fine…

"European Spoonbill. Platalea leucorodia. Bill long, flat, remarkably widened, rounded, and spoon-shaped at the end. Birds of this group are known at a glance, by the singularity of the bill; they closely resemble the foregoing in structure and habit, being simply spoon-billed Ibises. The trachea is peculiarly convoluted within the thorax." Elliot Coues, 1884

European Spoonbill

"European Spoonbill. Platalea leucorodia. Bill long, flat, remarkably widened, rounded, and spoon-shaped…

"Ciconia ciconia, the White Stork, ...is white with black wings and orbits, red bill and feet." A. H. Evans, 1900. This bird is a large wading bird that inhabits areas of Europe, Africa, and Asia.

White Stork

"Ciconia ciconia, the White Stork, ...is white with black wings and orbits, red bill and feet." A. H.…

"Cygynus. White Swans. Neck of extreme length. Trachea normally entering sternum. Bill tuberculate or not, the skinny covering in the adults reaching to the eyes; not shorter than head, very high at base, where deeper than wide, broader and flattening toward the rounded end; culminal ridge at base about horizontal, very broad and flat or even excavated, the sides of the bill there nearly vertical. Nostrils near middle of bill, high up. Leg behind centre of equilibrium when the body is horizontal. Tibia bare below. Tarsus shorter than middle toe and claw, entirely reticulate; toes long, with full webs, the anterior reticulate on top for a distance, then scutellate. Hallux small, elevate, with slight lobe. Wings very long and ample. Tail short, rounded or wedged, of twenty or twenty-four feathers. Size large: adults entirely white, with black bill and feet, former usually in part yellow." Elliot Coues, 1884

Mute Swan

"Cygynus. White Swans. Neck of extreme length. Trachea normally entering sternum. Bill tuberculate or…

"Turdus viscivorus, Mistletoe Thrush, the coloration is ordinarily plain black or brown, more or less varied with grey, white, rufous, or chestnut, occasionally in the form of a collar; many Thrushes, moreover, exhibit the characteristic white breast spotted with brown. The bill if frequently orange or yellow." A. H. Evans

Mistletoe Thrush

"Turdus viscivorus, Mistletoe Thrush, the coloration is ordinarily plain black or brown, more or less…

"Head not crested. Wings and tail rounded, of approximately equal lengths, and about as long as the body. Bill typically parine." Elliot Coues, 1884. Head and neck are black; cheeks and ear coverts are white; male has a thick black strip going through its yellow breast; upper parts are olive; and outer tail feathers and wing bars are white

European Greater Titmouse

"Head not crested. Wings and tail rounded, of approximately equal lengths, and about as long as the…

A group of vultures, three on the ground, eat their prey. Several vultures are approaching those already on the ground.

Vultures

A group of vultures, three on the ground, eat their prey. Several vultures are approaching those already…

"Motacilla raii, the Yellow Wagtails, are generally black and white, grey and white, grey with a yellow breast (or even head), greenish with yellow lower parts and greyish or black heads, or almost entirely yelowish." A. H. Evans, 1900

Yellow Wagtail

"Motacilla raii, the Yellow Wagtails, are generally black and white, grey and white, grey with a yellow…

"Both sexes of our irregular winter-visitor the Waxwing (Ampelis garrulus) are silky greyish-brown, with blackish wigs, and tail relieved by yellow and white; a black forehead, eye-stripe, and throat; chestnut under tail-coverts and basil margin of the erectile crest; and, in the adults, flattened wax-like tips to the shafts of the secondaries or even rectrices. The young are streaked below." A. H. Evans, 1900

One Waxwing Sitting on a Branch in the Forefront with Three Waxwings Sitting on Branches and Four Flying Around in the Background

"Both sexes of our irregular winter-visitor the Waxwing (Ampelis garrulus) are silky greyish-brown,…

"Picus major. European Spotted Woodpecker. Bill more or less nearly equal to head in length, stout, straight, truncate at tip, bevelled toward end, with sharp culmen and distinct lateral ridges on upper mandible; at base rather broader than high, with large nasal tufts hiding the nostrils; culmen, commissure and gonys straight or nearly so. Feet with the outer posterior longer than outer anterior toe; inner anterior intermediate between these. Wing long, pointed by the 4th, 3d, and 5th quills; 2d decidedly shorter (shorter than 7th, except in P. borealis); 1st fairly spurious. Species of medium and small size. All black and white (one brown-backed), the back striped or barred, the wings with numerous small round white spots on the quills; Male with red on the head." Elliot Coues, 1884

European Spotted Woodpecker

"Picus major. European Spotted Woodpecker. Bill more or less nearly equal to head in length, stout,…

"Picus martius, the Black Woodpecker, an inhabitant of the pine-forests of Europe and Asia to Japan, quite erroneously asserted to have occurred in England. The colour is black with exception of a red head, while the feathering extends down two-thirds of the metatarsus in front." A. H. Evans, 1900 Distinction between the male and the female can be seen on the crown. The male's is entirely red, while the female's shows just a touch of red on the tip.

The Great Black Woodpecker

"Picus martius, the Black Woodpecker, an inhabitant of the pine-forests of Europe and Asia to Japan,…

"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…

"European Wren. Feet strictly laminiplanter, as usual in Oscines. Tail thin, with narrow parallel-edged feathers. Wings and tail more or less completely barred cross-wise. Large. Upper parts uniform in color, without streaks or bars; rump with concealed white spots. Belly unmarked; a conspicuous superciliary stripe." Elliot Coues, 1884

European Wren

"European Wren. Feet strictly laminiplanter, as usual in Oscines. Tail thin, with narrow parallel-edged…