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"Shore Lark or Horned Lark. Upper parts in general pinkish-brown, this pinkish or vinaceous or liliaceous tint brightest on the nape, lesser wing-coverts, and tail-coverts, the rest of the upper parts being duller and more grayish-brown, boldly variegated with dark brown streaks; middle pair of tail-feathers and several of the inner secondaries rufous-brown, with darker centres. Under parts, from the breast backward, white; the sides strongly washed with the color of the upper parts, and mottling of same across the lower part of the breast. A large, distinct, shield-shaped black area of the breast. Tail-feathers, except the middle pair, black, the outermost edged with whitish. Wings quills, except the innermost, plain fuscous, the outer web of the 1st primary whitish. Lesser wing-coverts usually tipped with grayish-white. Top of head like nape; bar across front of vertex, thence extended along sides of crown, and produced into a tuft, or "horn" black; front and line over eye, also somewhat produced to form part of the tuft, white or yellowish; a broad bar from nostrils along the lores, thence curving below the eye and widening as it descends in front of the auriculars, black; rest of the sides of the head and whole throat white or sulphury-yellow. Bill plumbeous-blackish, bluish-plumbeous at base below (sometimes there yellowish); feet and claws black; iris brown." Elliot Coues, 1884

Shore Lark

"Shore Lark or Horned Lark. Upper parts in general pinkish-brown, this pinkish or vinaceous or liliaceous…

"Shore Lark or Horned Lark. Upper parts in general pinkish-brown, this pinkish or vinaceous or liliaceous tint brightest on the nape, lesser wing-coverts, and tail-coverts, the rest of the upper parts being duller and more grayish-brown, boldly variegated with dark brown streaks; middle pair of tail-feathers and several of the inner secondaries rufous-brown, with darker centres. Under parts, from the breast backward, white; the sides strongly washed with the color of the upper parts, and mottling of same across the lower part of the breast. A large, distinct, shield-shaped black area of the breast. Tail-feathers, except the middle pair, black, the outermost edged with whitish. Wings quills, except the innermost, plain fuscous, the outer web of the 1st primary whitish. Lesser wing-coverts usually tipped with grayish-white. Top of head like nape; bar across front of vertex, thence extended along sides of crown, and produced into a tuft, or "horn" black; front and line over eye, also somewhat produced to form part of the tuft, white or yellowish; a broad bar from nostrils along the lores, thence curving below the eye and widening as it descends in front of the auriculars, black; rest of the sides of the head and whole throat white or sulphury-yellow. Bill plumbeous-blackish, bluish-plumbeous at base below (sometimes there yellowish); feet and claws black; iris brown." Elliot Coues, 1884

Shore Lark

"Shore Lark or Horned Lark. Upper parts in general pinkish-brown, this pinkish or vinaceous or liliaceous…

"a, b, c, d, inferior laryngeal or syringeal muscles, not well made out in this figure; But typical oscine arrangement (acromyodian) is perceived, inasmuch as anterior (a) and posterior (d) intrinsic muscular masses go to ends of the first tracheal half-ring, at b and c; the extrinsic slip e passing to sternum." Elliot Coues, 1884

The Laryngeal Muscles of a Rook

"a, b, c, d, inferior laryngeal or syringeal muscles, not well made out in this figure; But typical…

"Muscles of the larynx. - thyro-hyoids." Elliot Coues, 1884

The Larynx Muscles of a Rook

"Muscles of the larynx. - thyro-hyoids." Elliot Coues, 1884

"Muscles of the larynx. thyro-arytenoids, or openers of the glottis" Elliot Coues, 1884

The Larynx Muscles of a Rook

"Muscles of the larynx. thyro-arytenoids, or openers of the glottis" Elliot Coues, 1884

"Muscles of the larynx. Oblique arytenoids" Elliot Coues, 1884

The Larynx Muscles of a Rook

"Muscles of the larynx. Oblique arytenoids" Elliot Coues, 1884

"Muscles of the larynx. Thyro-cricoids, posterior thyro-cricoids." Elliot Coues, 1884

The Larynx Muscles of a Rook

"Muscles of the larynx. Thyro-cricoids, posterior thyro-cricoids." Elliot Coues, 1884

"Muscles of the larynx. Posterior thyro-cricoids." Elliot Coues, 1884

The Larynx Muscles of a Rook

"Muscles of the larynx. Posterior thyro-cricoids." Elliot Coues, 1884

"Larynx viewed from before (below); a, thyroid bone or cartilage." Elliot Coues, 1884

The Larynx of a Rook

"Larynx viewed from before (below); a, thyroid bone or cartilage." Elliot Coues, 1884

"Larynx viewed from behind (above); a, thyroid bone; b, b, its appendages; c, cricoid; d, d, arytenoids; e, e, anterior border of thyroid, to which d, d, are connected by two arytenoid ligaments." Elliot Coues, 1884

The Larynx of a Rook

"Larynx viewed from behind (above); a, thyroid bone; b, b, its appendages; c, cricoid; d, d, arytenoids;…

"Larynx viewed from the right side; a, thyroid; b, appendage; c, cricoid; d, arytenoid; f, f, cartilage attached to arytenoid; g, a tracheal ring." Elliot Coues, 1884

The Larynx of a Rook

"Larynx viewed from the right side; a, thyroid; b, appendage; c, cricoid; d, arytenoid; f, f, cartilage…

"Larynx viewed from behind; a, thyroid; b, b, its appendages; c, cricoid; d, d, arytenoid." Elliot Coues, 1884

The Larynx of a Rook

"Larynx viewed from behind; a, thyroid; b, b, its appendages; c, cricoid; d, d, arytenoid." Elliot Coues,…

"Fig 34 - Bones of a bird's hind limb: from a duck, Clangula islandica. A, hip: B, knee: C, heel or ankle-joint; D, bases of toes. A to B, thigh or "second joint"; B to C, crus, leg proper, "drumstick," often wrongly called "thigh"; C to D, metatarsus, foot proper, corresponding to instep, or foot from ankle to bases of toes; in descriptive ornithology the tarsus; often called "shank" From D outward are the toes or digits. fm. femur; tb, tibia, principal (inner) bone of leg; fi, fibula, lesser (outer) bone of leg; mt, principal metatarsal bone, consisting chiefly of three fused metatarsal bones; am, accessory metatarsal, bearing 1t, first or hind toe, with two joints; 2t second toe, with three joints; 3t, third toe, with four joints; 4t, fourth toe, with five joints. At C there are in the embryo some small tarsal bones, not shown in the figure, uniting in part with the tibia, which is therefore a tibio-tarsus, in part with the metatarsus, which is therefore a tarso-metatarsus; the ankle-joint being therefore between two rows of tarsal bones, not, as it appears to be, directly between tibia and metatarsus." Elliot Coues, 1884

Bones of a Bird's Hind Limb

"Fig 34 - Bones of a bird's hind limb: from a duck, Clangula islandica. A, hip: B, knee: C, heel or…

"Bill small, short, straight, very acute, more or less compressed, the lateral outlines usually a little concave, those of culmen and gonys straight; commissure straight to the slight angulation. Base of bill thickly beset with a ruff of antrorse plumules, concealing the small nasal fossae and round nostrils. Wings longer than tail, pointed by first 3 primaries. Tail rather long for this group, forked. Feet small and weak, but tarsi longer than middle toes without claw; lateral toes of equal lengths, their claw-tips falling beyond base of middle claw. Hind claw much longer, stouter and more curved than the middle, exceeding its digit in length. Size small; plumage streaky with dusky, white, and flaxen colors, crown crimson, face and throat blackish; sexes otherwise dissimilar; with rosy or carmine on breast, wanting in. Scarcely different from Linota (flavirostris, etc.) the pattern of coloration being the most available distinction." Elliot Coues, 1884

Red-poll Linnets

"Bill small, short, straight, very acute, more or less compressed, the lateral outlines usually a little…

"Rhynchophanes maccowni. Black-breasted Longspur. Bay-winged Longspur. Upper parts slate-gray, streaked with dusky and grayish or yellowish-brown, especially on the interscapulars. No cervical collar, but a chestnut patch on the wings, formed by median coverts. Crown jet-black, bounded by a white superciliary line; sides of head whitish, but auriculars more or less slaty. Throat white, bounded by firm black maxillary stripes. Breast jet-black in broad crescentic form, sharply defined against the white throat, shading behind into slaty-blackish, becoming more and more mixed with white on the belly and sides, till posteriorly the parts are pure white; lining of wings white. All the tail-feathers, except the middle pair, and bases and tips of intermediate ones, white, ending squarely across both webs. Bill blackish-plumbeous, pale at base below; feet brownish-black. Elliot Coues, 1884

Black-breasted Longspur

"Rhynchophanes maccowni. Black-breasted Longspur. Bay-winged Longspur. Upper parts slate-gray, streaked…

"Centrophanes lapponicus. Lapland Longspur. Whole head, throat and breast jet-black, bordered with buffy or whitish, which forms a post-ocular stripe separating black of crown from that of sides of head, sometimes continues to the bill. A broad cervical chestnut collar, separated from the black cap by whitish or buffy line and nuchal spot. Upper parts brownish-black completely streaked with buff or whitish edges of the feathers; under parts white, the sides streaked with black. Wings dusky, with pale or brownish edgings of the feathers, but no strong markings. Tail like wing, with large white spaces on outer 3 feathers. Bill yellow, black-tipped. Legs and feet black." Elliot Coues, 1884

Lapland Longspur

"Centrophanes lapponicus. Lapland Longspur. Whole head, throat and breast jet-black, bordered with buffy…

"Colymbus torquatus. Common Loon. Great Northern Diver. Adult: Bill black, the tip and cutting edges sometimes yellowish. Feet black. Iris red. Head and neck deep glossy greenish-black, with lustrous purplish reflections on the front and sides of the head. A patch of sharp white streaks on the throat, and another larger triangular patch of the same on each side of the neck lower down, the two last nearly or quite meeting behind, separate in front. Sides of breast striped with black and white. Entire upper parts, wing-coverts, inner secondaries, and sides under the wings, glossy black; all except the sides thickly marked with white spots; those of the scapulars, tertials, and middle back, large, square, and regular; those of other parts smaller, oval, smallest on rump, most numerous on wing-coverts. Upper tail-coverts greenish-black, immaculate. Wing-quills brownish-black, lighter on inner webs. Under surface of wings, axillars, and under parts generally from the neck, pure white; the lower belly with a dusky band. The white throat-patch consists usually of five or six streaks; in this, as in the lateral neck-stripes, the individual feathers are broadly black, with sharp white edges toward their ends." Elliot Coues, 1884

Common Loon

"Colymbus torquatus. Common Loon. Great Northern Diver. Adult: Bill black, the tip and cutting edges…

"Colymbus torquatus. Common Loon. Great Northern Diver. Adult: Bill black, the tip and cutting edges sometimes yellowish. Feet black. Iris red. Head and neck deep glossy greenish-black, with lustrous purplish reflections on the front and sides of the head. A patch of sharp white streaks on the throat, and another larger triangular patch of the same on each side of the neck lower down, the two last nearly or quite meeting behind, separate in front. Sides of breast striped with black and white. Entire upper parts, wing-coverts, inner secondaries, and sides under the wings, glossy black; all except the sides thickly marked with white spots; those of the scapulars, tertials, and middle back, large, square, and regular; those of other parts smaller, oval, smallest on rump, most numerous on wing-coverts. Upper tail-coverts greenish-black, immaculate. Wing-quills brownish-black, lighter on inner webs. Under surface of wings, axillars, and under parts generally from the neck, pure white; the lower belly with a dusky band. The white throat-patch consists usually of five or six streaks; in this, as in the lateral neck-stripes, the individual feathers are broadly black, with sharp white edges toward their ends." Elliot Coues, 1884

Loons

"Colymbus torquatus. Common Loon. Great Northern Diver. Adult: Bill black, the tip and cutting edges…

"The Lyre-bird of Australia, Menura superba, to show the unique lyrate shape of the tail." "... the male of the lyre-bird, in which the feathers are anomalous both in shape and in texture, and the resulting form of the whole is unique." Elliot Coues, 1884

Lyre-bird

"The Lyre-bird of Australia, Menura superba, to show the unique lyrate shape of the tail." "... the…

"Pica. rustica hudsonica. Lustrous black, with green, purple, violet, and even golden iridescence, especially on the tail and wings. Below, from the breast to the crissum, a scapular patch, and a great part of the inner webs of the primary quills, white; some whitish touches on the throat; lower back showing gray, owing to mixture of white with black; bill and feet black; eyes blackish." Elliot Coues, 1884

magpie

"Pica. rustica hudsonica. Lustrous black, with green, purple, violet, and even golden iridescence, especially…

"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…

"Mergus merganser. Merganser. Goosander. Nostrils near middle of bill. Frontal feathers extending acutely on culmen about half way from those on side of bill to nostrils; loral feathers sweeping in nearly vertical line across side of base of upper mandible, about opposite those on side of lower mandible. Head scarcely crested, merely a line of little lengthened feathers along occiput and nape, better developed, however, in female than in male. Adult male: Bill and feet vermilion-red in breeding season, with black hook; iris carmine. Head and neck splendid dark green. Under parts salmon-colored, the flanks and lower belly marbled or watered with dusky. Upper parts glossy-black, fading to ashy on rump and tail; surface of wing mostly pure white, crossed by a black bar formed by bases of greater coverts. Primaries and outer secondaries black, intermediate secondaries white, inner secondaries and scapulars black and white. Female: Bill red with dusky culmen, iris yellowish, feet chrome or orange with dusky webs, crest better developed than in male; still flimsy, however long. Head and neck reddish-brown; throat white; under parts less salmon-tinted. Black parts of the male ashy-gray; scapulars without white; white of wing restricted to secondaries and greater coverts, which are black at base; smaller coverts ashy." Elliot Coues, 1884

Merganser

"Mergus merganser. Merganser. Goosander. Nostrils near middle of bill. Frontal feathers extending acutely…

"Mergus serrator. Red-breasted Merganser. Nostrils near base of bill. Frontal feathers extending obtusely on culmen, and not beyond those on sides of upper mandible; the loral sweeping forward convex beyond those on side of lower mandible. A long, thin, pointed and nuchal crest in both sexes. Adult Male: Head and neck all around splendid dark green. A white ring round neck. Under parts white, more or less salmon-tinged, the fore-breast brownish-red streaked with dusky, the sides finely waved with dusky. A white black-bordered patch of broad feathers in front of the wing. Fore-back, interscapulars, and long inner scapulars, black; middle and lower back gray waved with whitish and dusky. Surface of wing mostly white, including outer scapulars; inner secondaries edged on outer web with black, and wing crossed by two black bars at bases and just beyond ends of greater coverts. Bill carmine-red, dusky along the top; eyes carmine; feet bright red. Female: Bill and feet duller color; head grayish-chestnut; throat and under parts white, shaded with ashy-gray along sides. Upper parts plumbeous-gray, the feathers with paler edges; white of wing restricted to a patch formed by the ends of the greater coverts, and much of the outer secondaries; not divided by a black bar." Elliot Coues, 1884

Red-breasted Merganser

"Mergus serrator. Red-breasted Merganser. Nostrils near base of bill. Frontal feathers extending obtusely…

"Mocking-Birds. Bill much shorter than head, scarcely curved as a whole, but with gently-curved commissure, notched near the end. Rictal vibrissae well developed. Tail rather longer than wings, rounded, the lateral feathers being considerably graduated. Wings rounded. (Tarsal scutella sometimes obsolete.) Tarsi longer than the middle toe and claw. Of this genus there are two well marked sections (represented by the mocking-bird and cat-bird respectively), which ay be distinguished by color:" Elliot Coues, 1884

Mockingbird

"Mocking-Birds. Bill much shorter than head, scarcely curved as a whole, but with gently-curved commissure,…

"Synthliborhamphus antiquus. Nipper-nosed Murrelet. Bill somewhat as in Brachyrhamphus, but stouter and deeper for its length; greatly compressed throughout, its depth at base about half as much as length of culmen; culmen moderately convex, gonys ascending. Nostrils sub-basal, broadly oval or nearly circular; nasal fossae small and shallow, feathered to nostrils." Elliot Coues, 1884

Black-throated Murrelet

"Synthliborhamphus antiquus. Nipper-nosed Murrelet. Bill somewhat as in Brachyrhamphus, but stouter…

"Synthliborhamphus umizusume. Japanese Murrelet. Temminck's Auk. Bill more elongate and acute than in the type of the genus, less compressed, not so deep for its length. Bill yellow, with black ridge; feet livid-bluish, with dusky webs. A large crest, of a dozen (more or fewer) feathers springing from extreme forehead, not recurved, but drooping backward over the occiput." Elliot Coues, 1884

Japanese Murrelet Bill

"Synthliborhamphus umizusume. Japanese Murrelet. Temminck's Auk. Bill more elongate and acute than in…

"Brachyrhamphus craverii. Craveri's Murrelet. Entire upper parts unvararied cinereous, slightly darker on head; this color extending on head to include eyelids, and a little farther down on the nape; thence in a straight line along middle of side of neck to shoulders, thence along sides of body in a strip nearly an inch broad, the elongated flank-feathers being also of this color; other under parts pure white, under surface of wing dark. Primaries black, the greater part of their shafts and inner webs whitish. Bill black, the base of lower mandible pale; feet whitish-blue, black below." Elliot Coues, 1884

Craveri's Murrelet

"Brachyrhamphus craverii. Craveri's Murrelet. Entire upper parts unvararied cinereous, slightly darker…

"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

Murres

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

"Chordediles poptue. Night-hawk. Bull-bat. Above, mottled with black, brown, gray and tawny, the former in excess; below from the breast transversely barred with blackish and white or pale fulvous; throat with a large white (male) or tawny (female cross-bars tail blackish, with distant pale marbled cross-bars and a large white spot (wanting in the female) on one or both webs of nearly all the feathers toward the end; primaries dusky, unmarked except by one large white spot on outer five, about midway between their base and tip; secondaries like primaries, bit with whitish tips and imperfect cross-bars. Sexes nearly alike: Female with the white spaces on the quills, but that on the tail replaced by tawny or not evident." Elliot Coues, 1884

Large Night-hawk

"Chordediles poptue. Night-hawk. Bull-bat. Above, mottled with black, brown, gray and tawny, the former…

"Chordediles poptue. Night-hawk. Bull-bat. Above, mottled with black, brown, gray and tawny, the former in excess; below from the breast transversely barred with blackish and white or pale fulvous; throat with a large white (male) or tawny (female cross-bars tail blackish, with distant pale marbled cross-bars and a large white spot (wanting in the female) on one or both webs of nearly all the feathers toward the end; primaries dusky, unmarked except by one large white spot on outer five, about midway between their base and tip; secondaries like primaries, bit with whitish tips and imperfect cross-bars. Sexes nearly alike: Female with the white spaces on the quills, but that on the tail replaced by tawny or not evident." Elliot Coues, 1884

Small Night-hawk

"Chordediles poptue. Night-hawk. Bull-bat. Above, mottled with black, brown, gray and tawny, the former…

"Trachea of the nightengale." Elliot Coues

Nightengale Trachea

"Trachea of the nightengale." Elliot Coues

"In ornithology, having the beak broad and deeply cleft, as a swallow, swift, or goatsucker" or nightjar. -Whitney, 1911

Fissirostral Bill of Nightjar

"In ornithology, having the beak broad and deeply cleft, as a swallow, swift, or goatsucker" or nightjar.…

"Picicorvus. American Nutcracker. General characteristics of the European Nucifraga. Bill slenderer, more acute, with more regularly curved culmen and commissure, and straight instead of convex and ascending gonys as a whole somewhat decurved. Nostrils circular, concealed by a full tuft of plumules. Wings long and pointed, folding to the end of the tail; 5th quill longest; 4th, 3d, 6th little less; 2d much shorter, 1st not half as long as 5th. Tail little over half as long as wing, little rounded. Tarsus shorter than middle toe and claw; the envelope divided into small plates on the sides behind the bottom. Claws very large, strong, acute and much curved, especially that of the hind toe; the lateral reaching beyond base of the middle claw. Coloration peculiar; gray, with black-and-white wings and tail. Habits much the same as those of Nucifraga; alpine and sub-boreal, pinicoline, and pinivorous. One species, confined to West Amer." Elliot Coues, 1884

American Nutcracker

"Picicorvus. American Nutcracker. General characteristics of the European Nucifraga. Bill slenderer,…

"Uro-genital organs of female embryo bird; from Owen, after Muller. a, kidneys: b, wolffian bodies; c, genital glands, to become overies; d, adrenals; e, ureters f, wolffian ducts, to disappear; g, mullerian ducts, to become oviducts." Elliot Coues, 1884

Female Uro-genital Organ

"Uro-genital organs of female embryo bird; from Owen, after Muller. a, kidneys: b, wolffian bodies;…

"Uro-genital organs of male embryo bird; from Owen, after Muller. a, kidneys: b, ureters; c, wolffian bodies; d, their ducts, to be sperm-ducts; e, genital glands, to become testicles; f, adrenals." Elliot Coues, 1884

Male Uro-genital Organ

"Uro-genital organs of male embryo bird; from Owen, after Muller. a, kidneys: b, ureters; c, wolffian…

"Uro-genital organs of female embryo bird; from Owen, after Muller. a, testis; b, epididymis; c, sperm-duct or vas deferens; d, adrenal; k, cloaca; x, kidney; y, ureter." Elliot Coues, 1884

Female Uro-genital Organ

"Uro-genital organs of female embryo bird; from Owen, after Muller. a, testis; b, epididymis; c, sperm-duct…

"Female organs of domestic fowl, in activity; from Owen, after Carus. a, b, c, d, mass of ovarian ova, in all stages of development; b, a ripe one; c, its stigma, where the ovisac or calyx ruptures; d, a ruptured empty calyx, to be absorbed; e, infundibulum, or funnel-shaped orifice of the oviduct; f, next portion of oviduct; g, follicular art of oviduct; m, mesometry, membrane steadying the oviduct; the reference line, m, crosses the constricted part or isthmus of the oviduct; these parts secrete the white of the egg; k, shell-forming or uterine part of oviduct, in which is a completed egg, i; l, lowest or vaginal part of oviduct, opening into uro-genital sinus of the cloaca; n, anus." Elliot Coues, 1884

Female Fowl Organs

"Female organs of domestic fowl, in activity; from Owen, after Carus. a, b, c, d, mass of ovarian ova,…

"Resipratory and vocal organs of the Rook, Corvus frugilegusm an Oscine Passerine bird; 1 a, tongue; b, basi-branchial, commonly called uro-hyal; c, c, horns of hyoid bone; d, d, genio-hyoid muscles; e, e, stylo-hyoid muscles; f, f, cleido-hyoid muscles; g, h, i, aesophagus; j, proventriculus; or secretory stomach; k, gizzard, or gigerium, the muscular stomach; l, m, n, n, intestine, duodenum to rectum; o, p, trachea, or windpipe; q, inferior larynx, or syrinx; r, r, right and left bronchus; ss, ss, contractor muscles or trachea; t, t, lungs with u, u, apertures communicating with thoracic air-cells; v, v, v, three pairs of muscular slips answering to a rudimentary diaphragm; 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, as many ribs. Elliot Coues, 1884

The Respiratory and Vocal Organs of a Rook

"Resipratory and vocal organs of the Rook, Corvus frugilegusm an Oscine Passerine bird; 1 a, tongue;…

An Osprey catching a fish. "Pandion haliaetus. Fish Hawk. Osprey. Adult. dark vandyke- brown, blackening on the quills, the feathers of the upper parts more or less completely edged with white - the older the bird, the more conspicuous the white markings. Tail dark brown with dusky bars, white tip and shafts, and inner webs of all but the middle pair of feathers regularly barred with white and dark. Head, neck, and under parts white, the crown more or less extensively streaked with blackish, and a heavy blackish postocular stripe to the nape; the breast more or less spotted with dusky brown; the white more or less tinged with tawny in some places, especially under the wings and on the head. Coloration very variable in the relative amounts of the dark and white colors; young darker, the upper parts without the white crescents. Bill blackish, bluing at base and on cere; feet grayish-blue; claws black; iris yellow or red." Elliot Coues, 1884

Osprey

An Osprey catching a fish. "Pandion haliaetus. Fish Hawk. Osprey. Adult. dark vandyke- brown, blackening…

"Dromaeognathous skull of ostrich, nat. size specimen no. 16,629, U.S. Nat Museum, by Dr. R. W. Shufeldt, U.S.A. RR, rostrum, beyond which the ossified nasal septum continues in the axis of the skull to the letters "Pmx." V, the short vomer, borne upon R, uniting laterally with Mxp, the broad maxillo-palatines; Pl, palatines, remote from rostrum, underrunning beyond Mxp, but not to Pmx. Pt, expanded scroll-like pterygoids, atriculating behind with Btp, the strong basipterygoid processes on the body (not rostum) of the sphenoid; they underlap R, but do not articulate there. Pmx, premaxillaries; Mx, maxillaries, whose ends run forward to opposite the letters "Pmx"; jugal; qj, quadrato-jugal; Qu, quadrate. (N.B. This is the most exceptional case of dromaeognathism. Each of the Ratite families - Struthionidae, Rheidae, Casuariidae, Dinornithidae, and Apterygidae, - as well as the Carinate family Tinamidae, offers a special case of such formation, as explained in the text.)." Elliot Coues, 1884

The Skull Structure of an Ostrich

"Dromaeognathous skull of ostrich, nat. size specimen no. 16,629, U.S. Nat Museum, by Dr. R. W. Shufeldt,…

"Golden-crowned Wagtail Warbler. Golden-crowned Accentor. Golden-crowned Thrush. Oven-bird. Seiurus aurocapillus. Entire upper parts, including the wings and tail, uniform bright olive-green, without markings. Top of head with black lateral stripes, bounding a golden-brown or dull orange space. A white ring round eye; no white superciliary stripe. Under parts white, thickly spotted with dusky on the breast, the spots lengthening into streaks on the sides; a narrow black maxillary line; under wing-coverts tinged with yellow. Legs flesh-colored." Elliot Coues, 1884

Ovenbird

"Golden-crowned Wagtail Warbler. Golden-crowned Accentor. Golden-crowned Thrush. Oven-bird. Seiurus…

"Meroblastic ovum (yelk) of domestic fowl, bat. size, in section; after haeckel. a, the thin yelk-skin, enclosing the yellowfood-yelk, which is deposited in concentric layers, c, d; b, the cicatricle or tread with its nuclues, whence passes a cord of white yelk (here represented in black) to the central cavity, d'" Elliot Coues, 1884

Fowl Ovum

"Meroblastic ovum (yelk) of domestic fowl, bat. size, in section; after haeckel. a, the thin yelk-skin,…

An adult owl being mobbed by a group of smaller birds. Mobbing occurs when smaller birds, in fear, will swarm in an attack other birds.

The Mobbing of an Owl

An adult owl being mobbed by a group of smaller birds. Mobbing occurs when smaller birds, in fear, will…

"Strix nebulosa. Barred Owl. Hoot Owl. American Wood Owl. Toes fully feathered, nearly or quite to the claws, which are blackish; bill yellow; iris black. Of medium size in this genus. Markings of back and breast in cross-bars, of belly in lengthwise stripes. Above, umber-brown or liver-color, everywhere with white or tawny, or both; breast the same; on the belly the pattern changing abruptly to heavy dusky shaft-stripes on a white or tawny ground; crissum the same; feet speckled with dusky; wings and tail like the back or rather darker, regularly barred with gray, light brown or tawny, some of the bars usually making white spots at their ends, and the markings of the wing-coverts rather in spots than bars. Lining of wings tawny, with some dusky spotting. Facial disc set in a frame of black and white specks, with blackened eye-lids, and obscurely watered with lighter and darker colors in rings around the eye as a centre, the bristly feathers about the bill mixed black and white, or white at base, blackened terminally. A notably large and somewhat impressive owl of Eastern North America, common in woodland of the U.S. especially southerly; not known to range much north of the U.S. though occurring in parts of Canada, and not reported from the West, where apparently replaced by S. occidentalis." Elliot Coues, 1884

Barred Owl

"Strix nebulosa. Barred Owl. Hoot Owl. American Wood Owl. Toes fully feathered, nearly or quite to the…

"Speotyto cunicularia hypogae'a. Burrowing Owl. Adult: Above, dull grayish-brown, profusely spotted with whitish; the markings mostly rounded and paired on each feather, but anteriorly lengthened. Quills with 4-6 whitish bars, entire or broken into cross-rows of spots; tail-feathers similarly marked. There is much individual variation in the tone of the ground-color, and size and number of the spots, which may also be rather ochrey than whitish. Superciliary line, chin, and throat, white, the two latter separated by a dark brown jugular collar; auruculars brown; facial bristles black-shafted. Under parts white or pale ochrey, the breast, belly, and sides barred with traverse spots of brown, in a pretty regular manner; legs and under tail-coverts unmarked. Lining of wings tawny-white, dusky-spotted on the primary coverts." Elliot Coues, 1884

Burrowing Owl

"Speotyto cunicularia hypogae'a. Burrowing Owl. Adult: Above, dull grayish-brown, profusely spotted…

"Bubo virginianus. Great Horned Owl. Hoot Owl. Cat Owl. Distinguished by its large size and conspicuous ear-tufts, our other species of similar stature being tuftless or nearly so. Plumage varying interminably, no concise description meeting all its phases. A white collar on the throat is the most constant color-mark. On the upper parts, the under-plumage tawny, but so overlaid with course mottling of blackish and white, that it shows chiefly on the head, nape, and scapulars; the mottling chiefly transverse, and resolving into 7-9 continuous or broken bars on the wings and tail. Under parts white, indefinitely tawny-tinged, and for the most part barred crosswise with blackish, changing on the fore breast to ragged and rather lengthwise blotches. Feathering of feet nearly plain tawny. Ear-tufts black and tawny; a dark mark over eye; border of the facial disc black, the face white or tawny, but the feathers mostly black shafted. Bill and claws black; iris yellow; pupil always circular; when fully dilated as large as a finger-ring, contractile to the size of a pea." Elliot Coues, 1884

Great Horned Owl

"Bubo virginianus. Great Horned Owl. Hoot Owl. Cat Owl. Distinguished by its large size and conspicuous…

"Surnia funerea. American Hawk Owl. Day Owl. Bill and eyes yellow; claws brownish-black. Upper parts bistre-brown, darkest and almost blackish on the head, where profusely spotted with small round white mark, to which succeeds a nuchal interval less spotted or free from spots, then an area of larger and lengthened spots; scapulars profusely spotted with white in large pattern, forming a scapular bar as in Scops; back and wing-coverts more or less spotted with white also; primaries and secondaries with with white spots in pairs on opposite edges of the feathers. Tail broken-barred with white or pale gray, usually narrowly and distinctly, on one or both webs, and tipped with the same; but there is great individual variation in this respect, as may also be said of the amount and character of the spotting of the upper parts. Under parts from the breast backward, including the crissum, closely and regularly cross-barred with rich reddish-brown, or even reddish-brown, or even reddish-black, upon a white ground, the alternating bars of color usually of about equal widths - if anything, the white the broadest.

Hawk Owl

"Surnia funerea. American Hawk Owl. Day Owl. Bill and eyes yellow; claws brownish-black. Upper parts…

Scops. Little Horned Owls. Screech Owls. Like the miniature Bubo in form (all our species under a foot long). Skull and ear-parts symmetrical; latter small, simply elliptical, with rudimentry operculum; facial disc moderately developed; plumicorns evident; nostrils at edge of cere, which is not inflated, and shorter than the rest of the culmen. Wings rounded, but long, about twice the length of the short rounded tail, about to the end which they fold; in our species the 4th and 5th primaries longest, the 1st quite short; 3 or 4 outer primaries sinuate or emarginate on inner webs. Tarsus feathered (in our species), but toes only partly bristly (in the S. asio group) or quite naked (as in S. Flammeola). Plumage dichromatic in some cases; i.e. some individuals of the same species normally mottled gray, while others are reddish, the two phases very distinct when fully developed, but shading insensibly into each other, and entirely independent of age, season, or sex. In normal plumage, a white or whitish scapular stripe; lower parts with lengthwise blotches or shaft-lines and crosswise bars or waves of blackish or dark colors; upper parts with black or blackish shaft-lines on a finely-dappled brown or gray ground (more or less obliterated in the red phase); facial disc black-bordered nearly all around; wing-quills spotted or marbled on outer webs, barred on inner webs. Tail with light and dark bars. A large and nearly cosmopolitan genus, especially rich in tropical species; but only two are known to inhabit N. Am. one of them running into several local races very difficult to characterize satisfactorily." Elliot Coues, 1884

Screech Owl

Scops. Little Horned Owls. Screech Owls. Like the miniature Bubo in form (all our species under a foot…

"Asio accipitrinus. Short-eared Owl. Marsh Owl. Ear-tufts inconspicuous, much shorter than middle toe and claw, few-feathered. First and 2d primaries emarginate on inner webs. Above, completely variegated, chiefly in streaks, with fulvous or tawny, and dark brown; breast much the same, but other under parts paler ochrey, usually bleaching on the belly, which in sparely but sharply streaked (never barred) with dark brown; feet pale tawny or whitish, usually immaculate; lining of wings interruptedly whitish. Wing-quills varied, mostly in large pattern, and tail pretty regularly barred (about 5 bars) with the two colors of the upper parts. Facial area white or nearly so, but with a large black eye-patch; the disc minutely speckled with fulvous and blackish, bordered with white internally and usually having a blackish patch behind the ear; radiating feathers of the oper-culum streaked with blackish and fulvous. Iris bright yellow; bill and claws dusky-bluish; the naked granular soles yellowish. The ear-opening of this species is extremely large, being two inches or more across the longest way." Elliot Coues, 1884

Short-eared Owl

"Asio accipitrinus. Short-eared Owl. Marsh Owl. Ear-tufts inconspicuous, much shorter than middle toe…

"Aluco flammeus pratincola. Barn Owl. above, including upper surfaces of wings and tail, tawny, fulvous, or orange-brown delicately clouded or marbled with ashy and white, and dotted with blackish, sometimes also with white; suck marking resolved, or tending to resolve, into four or five bars of dark mottling on the wings and tail. below, including lining of wings, varying from pure white to tawny, ochrey, or fulvous, but usually paler than the upper parts and dotted with small but distinct blackish specks. Face varying from white to fulvous or purplish-brown, in some shades as if stained with claret, usually quite dark or even black. About the eyes, and the border of the disc, dark brown. Thus extremely variable in tone of coloration, but the pattern more constant, while the generic characters render the bird unmistakable. Nestlings are covered with fluffy white down." Elliot Coues, 1884

Small Barn Owls

"Aluco flammeus pratincola. Barn Owl. above, including upper surfaces of wings and tail, tawny, fulvous,…

"Nyctea scandiaca. Snowy Owl. Pure white, spotted and barred with brownish-black markings, wholly indeterminate in size and number; but entirely white specimens are very rare. There is often more black then white; and in the darkest birds, the markings tend to bar the plumage with with rows of spots, such pattern specially evident of the wings and tails. A common average plumage is spotted all over the upper parts, broken-barred on the quills and tail-feathers, regularly barred on the under parts, and with white face and paws. The face, throat, and feet are usually whitest. Bill and claws black; iris yellow. Nearly or about two two feet long." Elliot Coues, 1884

Snowy Owl

"Nyctea scandiaca. Snowy Owl. Pure white, spotted and barred with brownish-black markings, wholly indeterminate…

"Aluco flammeus pratincola. Barn Owl. above, including upper surfaces of wings and tail, tawny, fulvous, or orange-brown delicately clouded or marbled with ashy and white, and dotted with blackish, sometimes also with white; suck marking resolved, or tending to resolve, into four or five bars of dark mottling on the wings and tail. below, including lining of wings, varying from pure white to tawny, ochrey, or fulvous, but usually paler than the upper parts and dotted with small but distinct blackish specks. Face varying from white to fulvous or purplish-brown, in some shades as if stained with claret, usually quite dark or even black. About the eyes, and the border of the disc, dark brown. Thus extremely variable in tone of coloration, but the pattern more constant, while the generic characters render the bird unmistakable. Nestlings are covered with fluffy white down." Elliot Coues, 1884

Barn Owls

"Aluco flammeus pratincola. Barn Owl. above, including upper surfaces of wings and tail, tawny, fulvous,…

"Nyctala - Saw-whet Owls. Skull and ear-parts highly unsymmetrical, the the latter of great size, and fully operculate. Head very large (as in Strix), without plumicorns; facial disc complete, with centric eye. Nostril at edge of the cere, which is inflated or not. Tail from 1/2 to 2/3rds as long as the wing, rounded. Third and 4th primaries longest; 1st quite short; 2 or 3 emarginate on inner webs. Feet thickly and closely feathered to the claws. In this interesting genus the ear-parts are of great size, and reach the extreme of asymmetry, the whole skull seeming misshapen." Glaucidium. Gnome Owls. Sparrow Owls. Pygmy owls. Size very small. Head perfectly smooth; no plumicorns; ear-parts small, non-operculate; facial disc very incomplete, the eye not centric. Nostril circular, opening in the tumid cere; bill robust. Tarsus fully and closely feathered, but toes only bristly for the most part. Wings short and much rounded, the 4th primary longest, the 1st quite short, the 3 outer ones emarginate, and next one or two sinuate. Tail long, about 3/4ths as long as the wing, even or nearly so. Claws strong, much curved. A large genus of very small owls, mostly of tropical countries. The numerous species, chiefly of warm parts of America, are in dire confusion, but the only two known to inhabit N. Am. are well determined. The plumage of many or most species is dichromatic, as in Scops, there being a red and a gray phase independently of age, season, or sex; but the red is not known to occur in our G. gnoma. The upper parts are marked with spots or lines; bars, or rows of spots, cross the wings and tail; the under parts are streaked; there is a cervical collar." Elliot Coues, 1884

Saw-whet and Sparrow Owls

"Nyctala - Saw-whet Owls. Skull and ear-parts highly unsymmetrical, the the latter of great size, and…

"Scops. Little Horned Owls. Screech Owls. Like the miniature Bubo in form (all our species under a foot long). Skull and ear-parts symmetrical; latter small, simply elliptical, with rudimentry operculum; facial disc moderately developed; plumicorns evident; nostrils at edge of cere, which is not inflated, and shorter than the rest of the culmen. Wings rounded, but long, about twice the length of the short rounded tail, about to the end which they fold; in our species the 4th and 5th primaries longest, the 1st quite short; 3 or 4 outer primaries sinuate or emarginate on inner webs. Tarsus feathered (in our species), but toes only partly bristly (in the S. asio group) or quite naked (as in S. Flammeola). Plumage dichromatic in some cases; i.e. some individuals of the same species normally mottled gray, while others are reddish, the two phases very distinct when fully developed, but shading insensibly into each other, and entirely independent of age, season, or sex. In normal plumage, a white or whitish scapular stripe; lower parts with lengthwise blotches or shaft-lines and crosswise bars or waves of blackish or dark colors; upper parts with black or blackish shaft-lines on a finely-dappled brown or gray ground (more or less obliterated in the red phase); facial disc black-bordered nearly all around; wing-quills spotted or marbled on outer webs, barred on inner webs. Tail with light and dark bars. A large and nearly cosmopolitan genus, especially rich in tropical species; but only two are known to inhabit N. Am. one of them running into several local races very difficult to characterize satisfactorily." Elliot Coues, 1884

Screech Owls

"Scops. Little Horned Owls. Screech Owls. Like the miniature Bubo in form (all our species under a foot…

"Haematopus. Oyster-catcher. Bill peculiar - longer than tarsus, twice as long as head, constricted near the base, much compressed, almost like a knife-blade toward end, and truncate, something like a woodpecker's (it is an efficient instrument for prying open shells of bivalve mollusks), hard, straight or or deflected sideways, highly colored. Nasal groove very short, broad, and shallow; grooving of lower mandible slight; interramal space very short, scarcely a third the length of the long ascending gonys. Nostrils remote from the feathers, linear, close to edge of bill." Elliot Coues, 1884

Oyster-catcher Bill

"Haematopus. Oyster-catcher. Bill peculiar - longer than tarsus, twice as long as head, constricted…

"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…

"Conuropsis carolinensis. Carolina Parroquet. Green; head yellow; face red; bill white; feet flesh-color; wings more or less variegated with blue and yellow. Sexes alike." Elliot Coues, 1884

Carolina Parroquet

"Conuropsis carolinensis. Carolina Parroquet. Green; head yellow; face red; bill white; feet flesh-color;…

"Conuropsis carolinensis. Carolina Parroquet. Green; head yellow; face red; bill white; feet flesh-color; wings more or less variegated with blue and yellow. Sexes alike." Elliot Coues, 1884

Carolina Parroquets

"Conuropsis carolinensis. Carolina Parroquet. Green; head yellow; face red; bill white; feet flesh-color;…

"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;…