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

Cardinal Grosbeak

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

"Hesperophona vespertina. Evening Grosbeak. General color sordid yellow, overlaid with sooty-olive shade, deepest on fore parts, quite black on crown, clearest below behind. forehead and line over eye, scapulars, and rump, yellow. Wings and tail black; several inner secondaries and inner half of the greater coverts white; lining of wings black and yellow. A narrow black line around base of upper mandible; tibiae black. Bill greenish-yellow; feet apparently dusky flesh-color." Elliot Coues, 1884

Evening Grosbeak

"Hesperophona vespertina. Evening Grosbeak. General color sordid yellow, overlaid with sooty-olive shade,…

"Pinicola enucleator. Pine Grosbeak. Light carmine or rosy-red, feathers of back with dusky centres; lower belly and under tail-coverts gray, and, in general, the red continuous only in highly plumaged specimens. Nasal tufts and lores blackish. Wings blackish; primaries with narrow white or rosy edging, inner secondaries more broadly edged with white, ends of greater and middle coverts white or rosy, forming conspicuous wing-bars. Tail like wings, with narrow edgings like those of primaries. Bill blackish, with or without paler base below; feet blackish." Elliot Coues, 1884

Pine Grosbeak

"Pinicola enucleator. Pine Grosbeak. Light carmine or rosy-red, feathers of back with dusky centres;…

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

Rose-breasted Song Grosbeak

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

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

Blue Grosbeak Bill

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

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

Song Grosbeak Bill

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

"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,…

"Pelvis of a young grouse, showing three distinct bones. Il,P, ilium, ischium, pubis. In front of former a dorsal vertebra protrudes." Elliot Coues, 1884

The Pelvis of a Young Grouse

"Pelvis of a young grouse, showing three distinct bones. Il,P, ilium, ischium, pubis. In front of former…

"Fig. 29., from a young grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus, six months old), is designed to show the composition of the carpus and metacarpus before the elements of these bones fuse together: r, radius; u, ulna; s, scapholunar or radiale; c, cuneiform or ulnare; om, a carpal bone believed to be os magnum, later fusing with the metacarpus; z, a carpal bone, supposed to be unciform, later fusing with metacarpus; 8, an unidentified fifth carpal bone, which may be called pentosteon, later fusing with the metacarpus; 7, radial or outer metacarpal bone, bearing the pollex or outer digit, consisting of two phalanges, d and k; 9', principal (median) metacarpal bone, bearing the middle finger, consisting of the two phalanges, d', d"; 9, inner or ulnar metacarpal, bearing a digit of one phalanx, d'". The pieces marked om, z, 7, 8, 9,. all fuse with 9'. (From nature by Dr. R. W. Shufeldt, U.S.A.)."Elliot Coues, 1884

The Wing Bones of a Young Grouse

"Fig. 29., from a young grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus, six months old), is designed to show the…

"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,…

"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,…

"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…

"Bill averaging somewhat longer, about 1.90; culmen, commissure, and gonys nearly straight; upper mandible somewhat dilated toward the base along the cutting edges, and less feathered; gonydeal angle prominent. Bill consequently approaches that of the next species, in width and depth, but exaggerates the length and straightness of that of the last species." Elliot Coues, 1884

Californian Guillemot Bill

"Bill averaging somewhat longer, about 1.90; culmen, commissure, and gonys nearly straight; upper mandible…

"Bill black; bill along culmen 1.75; gape 2.50; gonys 1.15; depth at base .55; width .30." Elliot Coues, 1884

Common Guillemot Bill

"Bill black; bill along culmen 1.75; gape 2.50; gonys 1.15; depth at base .55; width .30." Elliot Coues,…

"Uria columba. Pigeon Guillemot. Bill stouter than that of grylle, and more obtuse." Elliot Coues, 1884

Pigeon Guillemot Bill

"Uria columba. Pigeon Guillemot. Bill stouter than that of grylle, and more obtuse." Elliot Coues, 1884

"Bill larger than Pigeon Guillemot, 1.5-1.70 along culmen, along gape 2.20, from feathers on side of lower mandible 1.50; depth at base .50; width .38."

Sooty Guillemot Bill

"Bill larger than Pigeon Guillemot, 1.5-1.70 along culmen, along gape 2.20, from feathers on side of…

"Lomvia arra. Thick-billed Guillemot. Arrie. Bill short, stout, wide, deep; culmen curved throughout; commissure decurved at end; gonys if anything concave in outline, the angle very protuberant; cutting edges of the upper mandible dilated and denuded toward the base, this bare turgid space flesh-colored in life, drying pale yellowish." Elliot Coues, 1884

Thick-billed Guillemot Bill

"Lomvia arra. Thick-billed Guillemot. Arrie. Bill short, stout, wide, deep; culmen curved throughout;…

"Lomvia troile. Common Guillemot, or Murre. Adult in summer: Head and neck all around rich dark maroon brown, changing on upper parts into dark slaty-brown, nearly uniform, but most of the feathers of the back and rump with slightly lighter, more grayish-brown, edges. Secondaries narrowly but distinctly tipped with white. Under parts from the throat pure white, the sides and flanks marked with dusky or slaty, the lining of the wings varied with white and dusky. Bill black; mouth yellow; eyes brown; feet blackish. In some cases, not in most, a white "eye-glass," consisting of a rim around eye and handle back of eye in the furrow of the plumage." Elliot Coues, 1884

Common Guillemot

"Lomvia troile. Common Guillemot, or Murre. Adult in summer: Head and neck all around rich dark maroon…

"Uria grylle. Black Guillemots. Bill much shorter than head, about equal to tarsus, straight, rather stout, moderately compressed; culmen at first straight, then decurved; gape straight to near tip; gonys short straight, ascending, about 1/2 as long as culmen. No nick or groove near tip of upper mandible; its tomial edge scarcely inflected. Nasal fossae large and deep, partially filled with feathers which do not entirely cover the nostrils." Elliot Coues, 1884

Black Guillemot Bill

"Uria grylle. Black Guillemots. Bill much shorter than head, about equal to tarsus, straight, rather…

"Gular pouch of bustard; a, tongue; b, the pouch, opening under a, hanging in front of c, the trachea, behind which is the aesophagus, d, with its crop, e." Elliot Coues, 1884

Bustard Gular Pouch

"Gular pouch of bustard; a, tongue; b, the pouch, opening under a, hanging in front of c, the trachea,…

The bill of the gull (Laridae) is epignathous: "hook-billed; having the end of the upper mandible decurved over and beyond that of the lower one." -Whitney, 1911

Gull Bill

The bill of the gull (Laridae) is epignathous: "hook-billed; having the end of the upper mandible decurved…

"Chroicocephalus atricilla. Laughing Gull. Black-headed Gull. Bill longer than middle toe and claw, shorter than tarsus or head, moderately compressed, rather stout for this genus. Culmen and commissure both decurved and the end, the latter somewhat sinuate at the base. Gonys considerably concave in front of the angle, somewhat so between the angle and tip; although the angle id well defined, the tip of the bill is so decurved that a chord from tip to base does not touch it." Elliot Coues, 1884

Laughing Gull Bill

"Chroicocephalus atricilla. Laughing Gull. Black-headed Gull. Bill longer than middle toe and claw,…

"Larus heermanni. White-headed Gull. Bill shorter than head or tarsus, rather slender, moderately compressed, the tip rather acute; its color red in part in the adult. Folded wings reaching beyond the tail. Tail of moderate length, even, slightly emarginate in the young. Feet rather large. Tarsus equal to the middle toe and claw. General colors dark; tail mostly blackish. Adult, breeding plumage: Bill bright vermilion red, black for its terminal third, sometimes wholly red; a red ring around eye. Head white; this color gradually merging on the neck into plumbeous-ash, which extends over the whole under parts, being lighter on the abdomen and under tail-coverts than elsewhere. The back is deep plumbeous-slate, lighter on the rump. Upper tail-coverts clearly ashy. Upper surfaces of wings like the back; the primaries black; the tips of all, except the two or three outer ones, narrowly white. Tail black, narrowly tipped with white. Legs and feet reddish-black." Elliot Coues, 1884

White-headed Gull Head

"Larus heermanni. White-headed Gull. Bill shorter than head or tarsus, rather slender, moderately compressed,…

Harpy, depicted as a bird with a female face.

Harpy

Harpy, depicted as a bird with a female face.

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

Harrier Ear Parts

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

"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…

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

Sharp-shinned Hawk

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

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

Sparrow Hawk

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

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

Sharp-shinned Hawk - Small

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

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

The Foot of a Prairie Hen

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

" Fig 110 - Hens egg, nat. size, in section; from Owen, after A. Thompson. A, cicatricle or "tread," with its nucleus, of white germ-yelk, floating on surface of pale thin nutritive yelk, leading to central yelk-cavity, x; a, the yellow yelk-ball, deposited in the successive layers, forming a set of halones, and enveloped in the chalaziferous membrane which is spun out at opposite poles into the twisted strings, chalazae, c, c; b, b', successive investments of softer white albumen; d, membrana putaminis, the "soft shell" or egg-pod, between layers of which at the great end of the egg is the air space, f;e, the shell." Elliot Coues, 1884

Hen's Egg

" Fig 110 - Hens egg, nat. size, in section; from Owen, after A. Thompson. A, cicatricle or "tread,"…

"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,…

"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.…

"Pelvis of a heron (ardea herodias), nat. size, viewed from below; from nature by Dr. R.W. Shufeldt, U.S.A. dl, dorso-lumbar vertebrae to and including the last one, sc; below sc, for the extent of the large black spaces (opposite the arrow) are the true sacral vertebrae; us, urosacral vertebrae (opposite the five oval black spaces; Il, ilium; Is, ischium; P, pubis; ob, obturator foramen. The arrow flies into the acetabulum.

The Pelvis of a Heron

"Pelvis of a heron (ardea herodias), nat. size, viewed from below; from nature by Dr. R.W. Shufeldt,…

"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…

"Nyctiardea grisea naevia. Black-crowned Night Heron. Qua-bird. Squawk. Crown, scapulars and interscapulars very dark glossy green; other upper parts, wings and tail, pale bluish-gray with a lilac or lavender tinge, most decided on the neck. Forehead and throat-line white, shading into the lilaceous of the neck; under parts whitish,tinged with lilac. The long occipital plumes white. Eyes red; lores greenish; bill black; legs yellow; claws brown." Elliot Coues, 1884

Night Heron

"Nyctiardea grisea naevia. Black-crowned Night Heron. Qua-bird. Squawk. Crown, scapulars and interscapulars…

"Hesperornis regalis, (a fossilized restoration) which stood about three feet high, had blunt teeth in the grooves of both maxilla and mandible, the number being thirty or more below, but considerably less above, where they did not reach to the exterior extremity. The bill was long and pointed, the rami of the lower jaw being entirely separate; the head was rather small, the neck long, and the quadrate bone articulated with the skull by one knob only. The sternum was long, broad, and flat, without keel; the furcula was decidedly reduced, the metatarsus, being little more than a humerus; the tail was fairly long and broad, but had no pygostyle." A. H. Evans, 1900

Restoration of Hesperornis regalis

"Hesperornis regalis, (a fossilized restoration) which stood about three feet high, had blunt teeth…

"Trochilus colubris. Ruby-throated Humming-bird. Tail forked, its feathers all narrow and pointed; no scales on crown; metallic gorget reflecting ruby-red. Above, golden-green; below, white, the sides green; wings and tail dusky-purplish. Female: Lacking gorget; throat white, speckled with dusky; tail double rounded, the central feathers shorter than the next, the lateral then graduated; all broader than in males to near the end, then rapidly narrowing with concave inner margin; tail with black bars, and the lateral feathers white-tipped; no rufous on tail in either sex." Elliot Coues, 1884

Ruby-throated Humming-bird

"Trochilus colubris. Ruby-throated Humming-bird. Tail forked, its feathers all narrow and pointed; no…

Three Humming-birds feeding on the nectar of flowers as two birds fly by overhead.

Humming-Birds

Three Humming-birds feeding on the nectar of flowers as two birds fly by overhead.

"Hyoid bone; a, glosso-hyal, tipped with cartilage, its posterior horn being certo-hyals proper; b, basi-hyal; c, basi-branchial proper, commonly called uro-hyall d, d, cerato-branchials proper, commonly called apo-hyals; e, e, epibranchials proper, commonly called cerato-hyals, tipped with cartilage, f, f.

The Hyoid-bone of a Rook

"Hyoid bone; a, glosso-hyal, tipped with cartilage, its posterior horn being certo-hyals proper; b,…

"Tantalops loculator. American Wood Stork. Wood Ibis. Colorado Turkey. Plumage white, the wing-quills, primary coverts, alula, and tail, glossy black. The bald head livid bluish and yellowish. Bill dingy yellowish. Legs blue, becoming blackish on the toe, the webs tinged with yellow. Iris dark brown." Elliot Coues, 1884

Wood Ibis

"Tantalops loculator. American Wood Stork. Wood Ibis. Colorado Turkey. Plumage white, the wing-quills,…

"Ichthyornis, though the wings are well developed, with fused metacarpals, and the sternum is keeled, the vertebrae present the extraordinary primitive character of being biconcave." Elliot Coues, 1884. This bird is believed to come from the Cretaceous of North America and is a seabird."

Restoration of Ichthyornis

"Ichthyornis, though the wings are well developed, with fused metacarpals, and the sternum is keeled,…

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

Indigo-bird

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

"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…

"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;…

"Cyanocitta cristata. Blue Jay. Male: Purplish-blue, below pale purplish-gray, whitening on throat, belly, and crissum. A black collar across lower throat and up the sides of the neck and head behind the crest; a black frontlet bordered with whitish. Wings pure rich blue, with black bars, the greater coverts, secondaries, and tail-feathers, except the central, broadly tipped with pure white; tail much rounded, the graduation over an inch." Elliot Coues, 1884

Blue Jay

"Cyanocitta cristata. Blue Jay. Male: Purplish-blue, below pale purplish-gray, whitening on throat,…

"Perisoreus canadensis. Canada Jay. Whiskey Jack. Moose-bird. Gray whitening on head, neck, and breast; a dark cap on hind and nape, separated by a gray cervical collar from ashy-plumbeous back; wings and tail plumbeous, the feathers obscurely tipped with whitish. Bill and feet black." Elliot Coues, 1884

Canada Jay

"Perisoreus canadensis. Canada Jay. Whiskey Jack. Moose-bird. Gray whitening on head, neck, and breast;…

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

Eurasian Jay

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

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

Long-crested Jay

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

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…

Tyrannus carolinensis. King-bird. Bee-martin. No olive nor decided yellow. Only outer primaries obviously emarginate. Tail nearly even - if anything a little rounded. Blackish-ash, still darker or quite black on head, crown with a flaming spot. Below, pure white, the breast shaded with plumbeous. Wings dusky, with much whitish edging. Tail black, broadly and sharply tipped with white, the outer feather sometimes edged with the same. Bill and feet black." Elliot Coues, 1884

King-bird

Tyrannus carolinensis. King-bird. Bee-martin. No olive nor decided yellow. Only outer primaries obviously…

"Fig. 23 - A feather from the tail of a kingbird, Tyrannus carolinensis, almost entirely pennaceous; no after-shaft. A feather fit for writing with." Elliot Coues, 1884

A Feather from the Tail of a Kingbird

"Fig. 23 - A feather from the tail of a kingbird, Tyrannus carolinensis, almost entirely pennaceous;…

"Fig. 44- Syndactyle foot of a kingfisher. Thus a kingfisher shows what is called a syndactyle or syngnesious foot (fig. 44), where the outer and middle toes cohere for most of their extent and have a broad sole in common. It is a degradation of the insessorial foot, and not a common one either; seen in those perching birds which scarcely use their feet for progression, but simply for sitting motionless." Elliot Coues, 1884

The foot of a Kingfisher

"Fig. 44- Syndactyle foot of a kingfisher. Thus a kingfisher shows what is called a syndactyle or syngnesious…

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

Belted Kingfisher

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

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…

"Upper parts olive-green, more or less bright, sometimes rather olive-ashy, always brightest on the rump; under parts dull ashy-white or yellowish-white. Wings and tail dusky, strongly edged with yellowish, the inner wing-quills with whitish. On the secondaries, this yellowish edging stops abruptly in advance of the ends of the coverts, leaving a pure blackish interval in advance of the white tips of the greater coverts: this, and the similar tips of the median coverts, form two white bars across the wings; inner webs of the quills and tail feathers edged with white. Supercilary line and extreme forehead hoary-whitish. Crown black, enclosing a large space, the middle of which is flame colored, bordered with pure yellow. The black reaches across the forehead; but behind, the yellow flame-color reach the general olive of the upper parts. Or, the top of the head may be described as a central bed of flame-color, bounded in front and on the sides with clear yellow, this similarly bounded by black, this again in the same manner by hoary-whitish. Smaller than R. calendula; overlying nasal plumes larger." Elliot Coues, 1884

Golden Crested Kinglet

"Upper parts olive-green, more or less bright, sometimes rather olive-ashy, always brightest on the…

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

Swallow-tailed Kite

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

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

Two Swallow-tail and One Mississippi Kites

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

"Bony labyrinth at the bottom of the trachea of the male Clangula islandica, seen from behind." Elliot Coues, 1884

The Bony Labyrinth of a Sea Duck

"Bony labyrinth at the bottom of the trachea of the male Clangula islandica, seen from behind." Elliot…

"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…