"Crotophaga ani. Smooth-billed Ani. Black Witch. Savanna Blackbird. Bill smooth or with a few transverse; culmen regularly curved. Color black, with violet and steel-blue reflections, duller below, the lanceolate feathers of the head and neck with bronze borders. Iris brown." Elliot Coues, 1884

Smooth-billed Ani

"Crotophaga ani. Smooth-billed Ani. Black Witch. Savanna Blackbird. Bill smooth or with a few transverse;…

"Ortyx virginiana. Virginia Partridge or "Quail". Bobwhite. Male: Forehead, superciliary line, and throat, white, bordered with black; crown, neck all round,and upper part of breast, brownish-red; other parts tawny-whitish, all with more or fewer doubly-crescentic black bars; crissum rufous; sides broadly striped with brownish-red; upper parts variegated with chestnut, black, gray and tawny, the latter edging in the inner quills, forming a continuous line when the wing in closed. Female: Known by having the throat buff instead of white, less black about the fore-parts, and general coloration subdued. The reddish of this bird is of a peculiar dull pinkish shade. The black crescents of the under parts are scarcely or not half the width of the intervening white spaces; the bill is not jet black." Elliot Coues, 1884

Bob-white Family

"Ortyx virginiana. Virginia Partridge or "Quail". Bobwhite. Male: Forehead, superciliary line, and throat,…

"Ortyx virginiana. Virginia Partridge or "Quail". Bobwhite. Male: Forehead, superciliary line, and throat, white, bordered with black; crown, neck all round,and upper part of breast, brownish-red; other parts tawny-whitish, all with more or fewer doubly-crescentic black bars; crissum rufous; sides broadly striped with brownish-red; upper parts variegated with chestnut, black, gray and tawny, the latter edging in the inner quills, forming a continuous line when the wing in closed. Female: Known by having the throat buff instead of white, less black about the fore-parts, and general coloration subdued. The reddish of this bird is of a peculiar dull pinkish shade. The black crescents of the under parts are scarcely or not half the width of the intervening white spaces; the bill is not jet black." Elliot Coues, 1884

Male and Female Bob-whites

"Ortyx virginiana. Virginia Partridge or "Quail". Bobwhite. Male: Forehead, superciliary line, and throat,…

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

Canada Goose

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

"Philacte canagica. Painted Goose. Emperor Goose. Wavy bluish-gray, with lavender or lilac tinting, and sharp black crescentic mark; head, nape, and tail white, former often washed with amber-yellow; throat black, white-speckled; quills varied with black and white; eye brown; feet flesh-color." Elliot Coues, 1884

Emperor Goose

"Philacte canagica. Painted Goose. Emperor Goose. Wavy bluish-gray, with lavender or lilac tinting,…

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

Prairie Hen

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

"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…

"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;…

"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…

English Pheasant. Common Pheasant. Phasianus colchicus. Adult plumage: Maroon breast, orangey flanks, white ring round neck; tail brown with dark brownish barring, rump gray; green iridescent head with lighter tufts and a bare red face

English Pheasant

English Pheasant. Common Pheasant. Phasianus colchicus. Adult plumage: Maroon breast, orangey flanks,…

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

Black-bellied Plover

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

"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…

"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…

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

Buff-breasted Sandpiper

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

"Zonotrichia albicollis. White-throated Crown Sparrow. Peabody-bird. Crown black divided by a median white stripe, bounded by a white superciliary line, and yellow spot from nostril to eye; below this a black stripe through eye; below this a maxillary black stripe bounding the definitely pure white throat, sharply contrasted with the dark ash of the breast and sides of the neck and head. Edge of wing yellow. back continuously streaked with black, chestnut, and fulvous-white; rump ashy, unmarked. wings much edged with bay, the white tips of the median and greater coverts forming two conspicuous bars; quills and tail-feathers dusky, with pale edges. Below, white, shaded with ashy-brown on sides, the ash deeper and purer on the breast; bill dark; feet pale." Elliot Coues, 1884

White-throated Sparrow Head

"Zonotrichia albicollis. White-throated Crown Sparrow. Peabody-bird. Crown black divided by a median…

"Zonotrichia albicollis. White-throated Crown Sparrow. Peabody-bird. Crown black divided by a median white stripe, bounded by a white superciliary line, and yellow spot from nostril to eye; below this a black stripe through eye; below this a maxillary black stripe bounding the definitely pure white throat, sharply contrasted with the dark ash of the breast and sides of the neck and head. Edge of wing yellow. back continuously streaked with black, chestnut, and fulvous-white; rump ashy, unmarked. wings much edged with bay, the white tips of the median and greater coverts forming two conspicuous bars; quills and tail-feathers dusky, with pale edges. Below, white, shaded with ashy-brown on sides, the ash deeper and purer on the breast; bill dark; feet pale." Elliot Coues, 1884

White-throated Sparrow

"Zonotrichia albicollis. White-throated Crown Sparrow. Peabody-bird. Crown black divided by a median…

"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…