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"Diomedea brachyura. Short-tailed Albatross. Bill 5.00 or 6.00 inches long, with long, with moderately concave culmen and prominent hook. Frontal feathers forming almost no reentrance on culmen, running nearly straight around whole base of upper mandible, and extending scarcely farther on sides of under mandible, with hardly any convexity. Tail very short, contained rather more than 3 times in length of wing. Adult plumage white, the head and neck usually washed with shining rusty-yellow; wings and tail dark or blackish, with a wholly indeterminate amount of white on the coverts and inner quills - sometimes nearly all the wing-coverts white excepting a line along the border of the fore-arm - sometimes the white restricted to a small space at the elbow. Bill pale reddish-yellow, drying pale dingy-yellowish; feet flesh-color." Elliot Coues, 1884

Bill and Foot of a Short-tailed Albatross

"Diomedea brachyura. Short-tailed Albatross. Bill 5.00 or 6.00 inches long, with long, with moderately…

"Phoibetria fuliginosa. Sooty Albatross. Plumage ordinarily uniform sooty-brown; quills and tail blackish with white shafts; eyelids white; bill black, with long yellow (perhaps in life pink or red) groove; feet pale or flesh-color, drying yellow. In some cases the plumage lightens to a clearer more ashy-gray coloration on various prats. The head and neck frequently washed with rusty-yellow. Pacific ocean at large; off coast of N. Am." Elliot Coues, 1884

Sooty Albatross

"Phoibetria fuliginosa. Sooty Albatross. Plumage ordinarily uniform sooty-brown; quills and tail blackish…

"Simorhynchus pusillus. Least Auk. Knob-nosed Auk. Bill small and simple. but stout for its length, scarcely higher than wide at base, rather obtuse at tip. A small knob or tubercle at the base of the culmen, which is deciduous." Elliot Coues, 1884

Least Auk Adult

"Simorhynchus pusillus. Least Auk. Knob-nosed Auk. Bill small and simple. but stout for its length,…

"Simorhynchus pusillus. Least Auk. Knob-nosed Auk. Bill small and simple. but stout for its length, scarcely higher than wide at base, rather obtuse at tip." Elliot Coues, 1884

Least Auk Adult

"Simorhynchus pusillus. Least Auk. Knob-nosed Auk. Bill small and simple. but stout for its length,…

"Ceratorhina monocerata. Unicorn Auk. Horn-bill Auk. Adults in summer: Bill orange-yellow. Culmen and base of upper mandible dusky; feet some yellow color, the tarsi behind and the soles blackish; claws black. The sharp feathers of the head white, about an inch long. Entire upper parts glossy blue-black; a line of white along edge of forearm. Sides of head and neck, of body along under the wings, with chin, throat, and fore-breast, clear grayish-ash, or pale bluish-gray; under parts from breast pure white, shading insensibly into the color of the sides and flanks. Inner webs of wing- and tail-feathers grayish-brown, paler toward base, the shafts of the primaries dull whitish at base." Elliot Coues, 1884

Horn-billed Auk in Summer

"Ceratorhina monocerata. Unicorn Auk. Horn-bill Auk. Adults in summer: Bill orange-yellow. Culmen and…

"Ceratorhina monocerata. Unicorn Auk. Horn-bill Auk. In winter: Bill orange-yellow. Culmen and base of upper mandible dusky; feet some yellow color, the tarsi behind and the soles blackish; claws black. The sharp feathers of the head white, about an inch long. Entire upper parts glossy blue-black; a line of white along edge of forearm. Sides of head and neck, of body along under the wings, with chin, throat, and fore-breast, clear grayish-ash, or pale bluish-gray; under parts from breast pure white, shading insensibly into the color of the sides and flanks. Inner webs of wing- and tail-feathers grayish-brown, paler toward base, the shafts of the primaries dull whitish at base." Elliot Coues, 1884

Horn-billed Auk in Winter

"Ceratorhina monocerata. Unicorn Auk. Horn-bill Auk. In winter: Bill orange-yellow. Culmen and base…

"Simorhynchus psittaculus. Parroquet Auk. Pug-nosed Auk. Adult in summer with the nasal saddle, moulted in one piece in winter; shape of bill not materially altered, however, the piece being small and flattish. Bill vermillion or coral-red, usually enamel-yellow at tip and along edges. No curly crest on forehead, but a series of long white filamentous feathers from the eye downward and backward. Entire upper parts, with chin, throat, breast, and flanks sooty brownish-black, grayer below than above; other under parts white; lining of wings dark. Feet dull greenish or yellowish, darker behind and below." Elliot Coues, 1884

Parroquet Auk

"Simorhynchus psittaculus. Parroquet Auk. Pug-nosed Auk. Adult in summer with the nasal saddle, moulted…

"Simorhynchus pygmaeus. Whiskered Auk. Red-nosed Auk. Bill (dry) orange-red, more salmon color or yellow enamel at end. feet (dry) undefinably dark." Elliot Coues, 1884

Whiskered Auk

"Simorhynchus pygmaeus. Whiskered Auk. Red-nosed Auk. Bill (dry) orange-red, more salmon color or yellow…

"Ceratorhina monocerata. Unicorn Auk. Horn-bill Auk. Young: Bill like that of adults in winter, lacking horn, but every way weaker, hardly more than half as large. Mostly dark-colored. No white feathers on side of head. White under parts overlaid and marbled with dark-gray ends of the feathers; black of upper parts brownish. The first spring the horn grows, the accessory piece develops, and the plumage clears up. Nestlings are covered with smoky-brown down." Elliot Coues, 1884

Young Horn-billed Auk

"Ceratorhina monocerata. Unicorn Auk. Horn-bill Auk. Young: Bill like that of adults in winter, lacking…

"Simorhynchus pygmaeus. Whiskered Auk. Red-nosed Auk. Bill very small and weak, much compressed. No sign of crest nor of white feathers on head. Above blackish-cinereous, quite black on head, wings, and tail; under parts lighter and more grayish-plumbeous, bleaching on the belly and crissum. Bill reddish-dusky; tarsi behind and soles black; eye black and white." Elliot Coues, 1884

Young Whiskered Auk

"Simorhynchus pygmaeus. Whiskered Auk. Red-nosed Auk. Bill very small and weak, much compressed. No…

" A needle rock tenanted by Cormorants, Auks, etc." Elliot Coues, 1884 The rock is protruding from the ocean as the birds fly through the air in the sunshine

Auks and Cormorants

" A needle rock tenanted by Cormorants, Auks, etc." Elliot Coues, 1884 The rock is protruding from the…

"Simorhynchus pusillus. Least Auk. Knob-nosed Auk. Bill small and simple, but stout for its length, scarcely higher than wide at base, rather obtuse at tip. A small knob or tubercle at the base of the culmen, which is deciduous. No crest; but front, and sides of head more or less thickly lined with delicate white thready feathers; a similar series, exceedingly fine, from the eye along sides of hind head and nape. Excepting these filaments, the entire upper parts glossy black; region about under mandible, and a few feathers along the sides of body and flanks, blackish; under parts white, more or less extensively mottles or clouded with blackish. Lining of wings white, with dark feathers along edge. Bill red, the know and base of upper mandible dark. Legs (dry) undefinably dark, the front of tarsus and tops of toes lighter." Elliot Coues, 1884

Least Auks

"Simorhynchus pusillus. Least Auk. Knob-nosed Auk. Bill small and simple, but stout for its length,…

"North American White Pelican. Bill and feet ordinarily yellow; much reddened in the breeding season, when the general tone of the bill is reddish salmon color, the under mandible brighter than the upper, which has the ridge whitish; pouch passing from livid whitish anteriorly through yellow and orange to red at base. Bill a foot or more." Elliot Coues

Pelican Bill

"North American White Pelican. Bill and feet ordinarily yellow; much reddened in the breeding season,…

"Phalacrocorax bicristatus. Red-Faced Cormorant. Frontal feathers not reaching base of the culmen, the bill being entirely surrounded by naked red skin which also encircles the eyes, somewhat carunculate, forming a kind of wattle on each side of the chin; base of under mandible blue; feet black, blotched with yellow. Crown with a median bronzy black crest, and nape with another, in the same line. In the specimens examined, a large white flank-patch, but few if any white plumes on neck. Plumage richly iridescent, mostly green, but violet and steel-blue on the neck, purplish, violet, and bronzy on the back and wings, the feathers there without definite dark edgings." Elliot Coues, 1884

Red-faced Cormorant and Nest

"Phalacrocorax bicristatus. Red-Faced Cormorant. Frontal feathers not reaching base of the culmen, the…

"Phalacrocorax bicristatus. Red-Faced Cormorant. Skull showing sto, occipital style or nuchal bone; The style is somewhat tilted upward from its natural position." Elliot Coues, 1884

Cormorant Skull

"Phalacrocorax bicristatus. Red-Faced Cormorant. Skull showing sto, occipital style or nuchal bone;…

"Phalacrocorax bicristatus. Red-Faced Cormorant. Sternum and the shoulder from the skeleton of a Cormorant." Elliot Coues, 1884

Cormorant Sternum and Shoulder

"Phalacrocorax bicristatus. Red-Faced Cormorant. Sternum and the shoulder from the skeleton of a Cormorant."…

"Phalacrocorax dilophus. Double-crested Cormorant. Tail of 12 feathers. Gular sac convex behind. No colored gorget. Glossy greenish-black; feathers of the back and wings coppery-gray, black-shafted, black-edged. Adult with curly black lateral crests in the breeding season, but few if any other filamentous white ones, over the eyes and along the sides of the neck; white flank-patch not observed in any specimens examined, probable not occurring; iris green; gular sac and lores orange. Winter spec. with bill bright yellow, blackening along culmen, gular sac red anteriorly, ochrey-yellow posteriorly; legs dull black." Elliot Coues, 1884

Double-crested Cormorant

"Phalacrocorax dilophus. Double-crested Cormorant. Tail of 12 feathers. Gular sac convex behind. No…

"Alle. Sea Dove. Size small. Bill very short, stout, and obtuse, as well as high at base, the sides of both mandibles turgid, the edge of the upper much infected; culmen very convex; rictus ample, decurved at end; gonys straight, very short, the mandibular rami correspondingly long, and widely divaricated; nasal fossae short, wide, deep, partly, patly feathered. Nostrils sub basal, more nearly circular than in any other genus excepting the next." Elliot Coues, 1884

Sea Dove Bill

"Alle. Sea Dove. Size small. Bill very short, stout, and obtuse, as well as high at base, the sides…

A man is gathering Murre's eggs from their nesting cliff. Birds lay single eggs and eggs are elongated and cone shaped.

Murre's Eggs

A man is gathering Murre's eggs from their nesting cliff. Birds lay single eggs and eggs are elongated…

"Tachypetes aquilus. Frigate. Man-of-War Bird. brownish-black, glossed with green of purplish, duller on the belly, wings showing brown and gray; Female with white on neck and breast." Elliot Coues, 1884

Frigate Birds

"Tachypetes aquilus. Frigate. Man-of-War Bird. brownish-black, glossed with green of purplish, duller…

"Tachypetes aquilus. Frigate. Man-of-War Bird. brownish-black, glossed with green of purplish, duller on the belly, wings showing brown and gray; Female with white on neck and breast." Elliot Coues, 1884

Frigatebird Head

"Tachypetes aquilus. Frigate. Man-of-War Bird. brownish-black, glossed with green of purplish, duller…

"Fulmarus. Fulmar. Adult: White; mantle pale pearly-blue, restricted to back and wings, or extending on head and tail; usually a dark spot in front of eye; quills dark ashy-brown. Bill yellow, tinged with sea-green on culmen and lower mandible, the opening of the nostrils black; feet drying dingy yellowish, said to be delicate French gray in life; iris brown." Elliot Coues, 1884

Fulmar and Nest

"Fulmarus. Fulmar. Adult: White; mantle pale pearly-blue, restricted to back and wings, or extending…

"Priocella tenuirostris. Slender-billed Fulmar. Adult: Plumage white, with clear pearly-blue mantle, and black primaries, just like a gull; the mantle beginning faintly on the nape, continuing over whole back, rump, tail, wing-coverts and inner quills; edge of the wing slaty-gray; primaries black, their shafts yellowish-white at base, their inner webs pearly-white to near the ends; white of first primary extending to within two inches of the tip, further on the rest successively, reaching the end on the 6th; outer webs of secondaries slaty-black, inner white; a small dusky spot before eye; a faint pearly shade on sides of breast and body. Bill and feet (dry) yellow; nasal tube and hood obscured with bluish horn-color." Elliot Coues, 1884

Slender-billed Fulmar

"Priocella tenuirostris. Slender-billed Fulmar. Adult: Plumage white, with clear pearly-blue mantle,…

"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…

"Ichthyornis victor and I. dispar, ...were small forms of about the size of a Partridge, with the habits and appearance, it is presumed, of Terns or Gulls. The head was extremely large in proportion to the remainder of the skeleton; the beak was long and pointed, with entirely separate rami to the mandible; the sharp teeth, fixed regularly in distinct sockets, were inclined backwards, and occupied the whole of the lower and at least the posterior half of the upper jaw; the keel of the sternum was large and broad; the dorsal and cervico-dorsal vertebrae were biconcave. the quadrate articulated to the skull by one knob,... the metatarsus was short and the whole foot small; a furcula was probably present; the wings were well developed, indicating great powers of flight; while the tail was comparatively short, and ended in a pygostyle." A. H. Evans, 1900

Skeleton Head of a Ichthyornis

"Ichthyornis victor and I. dispar, ...were small forms of about the size of a Partridge, with the habits…

"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,…

"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…

"Cymochorea melaena. Black Petrel. Form of the last very nearly; bill more robust; tarsus a little longer than middle toe and claw. No white anywhere. Plumage sooty brownish-black, darkest above and on head, more smoky-brown on under parts, grayer on wing-coverts, quite black on wing- and tail-feathers; bill and feet black; iris brown." Elliot Coues, 1884

Black Petrel

"Cymochorea melaena. Black Petrel. Form of the last very nearly; bill more robust; tarsus a little longer…

"Cymochorea leucorrhoa. Leach's Petrel. White-rumped Petrel. Coloration as in the last species (pygmy petrel), with white upper tail-coverts, forming a conspicuous mark; but apt to be lighter - rather of a grayish or even ashy hue on some parts; but easily recognized, whatever the shade of color. Bill and feet black; iris brown." Elliot Coues, 1884

Leach's Petrel

"Cymochorea leucorrhoa. Leach's Petrel. White-rumped Petrel. Coloration as in the last species (pygmy…

"Fratercula arctica. Common Puffin. Sea Parrot. Crown of head grayish-black, sharply defined against color of sides of head, separated by a slight ashy cervical collar from the dark color of the upper parts. Sides of head, with chin and throat, ashy-white nearly white between eyes and bill, with a dark ashy patch on side of throat. Upper parts glossy blue-black, continuous with a broad collar around the neck in front, not extending to the bill. A narrow line of white along border of fore-arm. Under parts from the neck pure white, the long feathers of the sides and flanks blackish. Under surface of wings pearly-gray; inner webs of primaries and secondaries grayish-brown, the shafts brown, with black ends and whitish bases. Iris brown. Eyelids vermilion-red, the excrescences grayish-blue. Basal collar of bill and first ridge dull yellowish; nasal saddle and corresponding shoe of lower mandible grayish-blue; rest of bill vermilion-red, the tip of the lower mandible and two terminal grooves often yellowish; rosette of mouth orange-yellow; feet coral or vermilion-red; claws black." Elliot Coues, 1884

Puffin

"Fratercula arctica. Common Puffin. Sea Parrot. Crown of head grayish-black, sharply defined against…

"The name for the marine diving birds of the genus Fratercula. The common puffin is a native of the arctic and northern temperate regions. It can fly with great rapidity when once upon the wing." -Marshall

Common Puffin

"The name for the marine diving birds of the genus Fratercula. The common puffin is a native of the…

"Fratercula corniculata Horned Masking Puffin. Crown of head grayish-black, narrowing to a point at base of culmen. Sindes of head white; the postocular furrow and sides of lower jaw ashy. A distinct narrow line of white along edge of fore-arm. Entire upper parts glossy blue-black; a sootier shade of black encircling the fore-neck, running forward on throat to bill. Other under parts white, except a few elongated blackish feathers on sides of flanks. Lining of wings pearly-ash. Bill entirely vermilion-red, even the basal collar; edges of eyelids red; excrescences of eyelids bluish-gray; iris brown; feet orange-red, the webs tinged with vermilion; claws brownish-black; rosette of mouth bright yellow-orange. Lunda cirrata. Tufted Puffin. Crests about 4 inches long, straw-yellow, some of the posterior feathers black at base; these bundles of silky, glossy feathers with very delicate shafts and loosened webs; they chiefly sprout from what corresponds to the furrow in the plumage of F. artica. Face white, broadly of this color on sides of head to beyond eyes (as far as the crests), narrowly across forehead and chin, the bill being thus entirely surrounded by white. Crown between the crests, and entire upper parts, excepting the extreme forehead and a line along the forearm, glossy blue-black. Entire under parts, excepting extreme chin, and including sides of hind head and sides of neck, sooty brownish-black, more grayish on the belly, the lining of wings smoky-gray, the under tail-coverts quite black. Wings and tail black, their inner webs brownish-black, the shaft of the primary whitish underneath near base. Bill, feet, and eye-ring vermilion-red; the basil parts of the bill when about to desquamate showing more yellowish or enamel color, or even showing the living color of the subjacent membrane. Rosette of mouth yellow. Claws black." Elliot Coues, 1884

Horned and Tufted Puffins

"Fratercula corniculata Horned Masking Puffin. Crown of head grayish-black, narrowing to a point at…

"Puffinus opisthomelas. Black-vented Shearwater. Dark color of upper parts extending farther on sides of head than in obscurus, leaving no white about eye. Under tail-coverts entirely sooty-blackish, except a few of the shortest just at the vent. More dark color on flanks, on lining of wings and axillars than in obscurus. In the dry state, bill yellowish or reddish-brown, the nasal tubes and culmen blackish, the hook mostly bluish-white. Outside of tarsus for the most part, outer toe and edges of webs, blackish; rest of foot pale yellowish flesh-color; "iris brown" Elliot Coues, 1884

Black-vented Shearwater

"Puffinus opisthomelas. Black-vented Shearwater. Dark color of upper parts extending farther on sides…

"Puffinus fuliginosus. Sooty Shearwater. Nearly uniform dark sooty-brown, blackening on quills and tail-feathers, more sooty-gray below, paler still on the throat; lining of wings mixed sooty and whitish. Bill drying an undefinable dark color, in life dusky bluish-horn color, the tube, ridge, and hook blackish; feet drying dark outside, pale inside; in life the inside of tarsus and upper side of feet livid flesh-color, the outside of outer toe and under side of feet blackish; eye blackish." Elliot Coues, 1884

Sooty Shearwater

"Puffinus fuliginosus. Sooty Shearwater. Nearly uniform dark sooty-brown, blackening on quills and tail-feathers,…

"...one or both webs may be so deeply incised, that is, cut away, that the palmation is practically reduced to semipalmation, as in terns of the genus Hydrochelidon." Elliot Coues, 1884

Incised Webbed Foot of a Tern

"...one or both webs may be so deeply incised, that is, cut away, that the palmation is practically…

"In the palmate or ordinary webbed foot, all the front toes are united by ample webs." Elliot Coues, 1884

Webbed Foot of a Tern

"In the palmate or ordinary webbed foot, all the front toes are united by ample webs." Elliot Coues,…

"Sterna aleutica. Aleutian Tern. Bill of ordinary shape, as in hirundo, macrura, etc., entirely black. Feet small, as in the species just named, but the webs more deeply incised; emargination not so great, however, as in Hydrochelidon; much as in Haliplana. Tibia bare to the usual extent. Wings and tail exactly as in Sterna proper, the latter, in its length and depth of fork, recalling macrura and forsteri. Crown and nape black; a large white frontal crescent, the horns of which reach to the posterior border of the eyes, the convexity of which extends into the nasal fossae, the concavity of which is opposite the anterior border of the eyes; thus broader than in most species similarly marked. The black vertex sends through the eye a band that crosses the cheeks and reaches the bill just posterior to the point of greatest extension of the feathers on the latter. The chin, auriculars, and other parts of the head bordering this vitta below, and pure white, presently deepening insensibly into the hue of the under parts. Tail wholly pure white; no pearly wash on either vane of any of the feathers. Upper parts at large dark pearl-gray, with a dull leaden hue, different from the clear pearly of macrura, etc., yet not of the smoky cast of panayensis, etc.; it is a tint intermediate between these, that I find difficult to name satisfactorily. The whole under parts, from the white of the chin, just noticed, to the under tail-coverts, paler and more decidedly pearly, more nearly as in full-plumaged macrura, yet more grayish. Both under and upper tail-coverts, like the tail, white. The color of the back mounts on the neck behind to the black of the nape without intervention of the white. Under wing-coverts and edge of wing pure white; as are all the shafts of the primaries. Primaries blackish lead-color, with silvery hoariness, and each with a large white space on inner web; this white space on the first primary occupies at the base the whole width of the inner web, but grows narrower toward the tip of the feather, ending about an inch from the tip, which is wholly blackish lead-color, this color running down as a narrow margining of the inner vane for two inches or more." Elliot Coues, 1884

Aleutian Tern

"Sterna aleutica. Aleutian Tern. Bill of ordinary shape, as in hirundo, macrura, etc., entirely black.…

Sterna fluviatilis, the Common Tern, occupying the coasts and inland waters of Europe, temperate Asia, and temperate America-chiefly on the eastern side in the last case- and migrating to South Africa, India, Ceylon, and Brazil, has red feet, and bill with horn-coloured tip, the lower parts being vinaceous grey." A. H. Evans, 1900

Common Tern

Sterna fluviatilis, the Common Tern, occupying the coasts and inland waters of Europe, temperate Asia,…

"Sterna (T.) elegans. Elegant Tern. Princely Tern. Bill bright red, salmon-colored toward tip. Feet black; soles and under surfaces of claws slightly yellowish. crown of head, including long-flowing occipital crest, pure black, reaching down on the sides of the head to a straight line just on a level with the lower border of the eye; the white of the cheeks accompanying the black to the foremost point of extension of the feathers in the nasal fossae. All the under parts rosy-white, with satin gloss. Tail entirely pure white, longer and more deeply forked than in winter. Back and wings pale pearl-blue; the usual pattern of coloration of the primaries." Elliot Coues, 1884

Elegant Tern

"Sterna (T.) elegans. Elegant Tern. Princely Tern. Bill bright red, salmon-colored toward tip. Feet…

"Sterna (T.) maxima. Cayenne Tern. Royal Tern. Adult in summer: Pileum glossy greenish-black, not extending below eyes, so narrow on side of upper mandible that a broad white streak extends to extreme tip of the feathers. Mantle exceedingly light pearl-blue, fading imperceptibly into white on the rump and towards the extremities of the tertials. Tail white, with a faint tinge of pearly, especially on the central feathers and inner webs of the other. Secondaries pure white for their whole length except a small space on the outer web near the tip, which is grayish-blue, deeper than the mantle. Outer web of first primary grayish-black; in the inner web of the same has a space of black extending the whole length of the feather, very narrow at the base, widening as it runs toward the tip. within 1 & 1/2 inches of which it occupies the whole web; the rest of the web white. separated from the black by a straight distinct line of division. The second, third, fourth, and fifth primaries have the same general characteristics, but the white space grows narrow and shorter, and round up further in the centre than along the edge of the web, so that for a little way from its end it has a border of blackish along its outer margin; other primaries wholly pearl-blue, their inner webs margined with white. Bill coral and orange-red, with a slightly lighter tip; feet blackish, their soles dull yellowish." Elliot Coues, 1884

Royal Tern

"Sterna (T.) maxima. Cayenne Tern. Royal Tern. Adult in summer: Pileum glossy greenish-black, not extending…

"Sterna (T.) cantiaca. Sandwich Tern. Ducal Tern. Bill black, the tip 1/2 to 3/4 an inch bright yellow, sharply defined against the black; "inside of mouth deep blue." Feet dull black. Pileum and occipital crest glossy black, with a tinge of green; the color extending just below the eyes, but leaving a space along the side of the mandible white to the extremity of the feathers. Mandible exceedingly light pearly-blue, fading on the rump and upper tail-coverts into pure white; but the rectrices themselves have a slight shade of pearly-bluish. Primaries colored as in maxima. On the inner web of the first the black space is broad and deep in color; when about 1& 1/2 inches from the apex of the quill it quite suddenly grows wider, so as to exclude the white portion from the tip altogether. The second, third, and fourth primaries have the same general pattern, but he white runs up further on the central portion than on the edge of the web, so that toward its end it receives a narrow edging of blackish. The other primaries have no blackish, but are simply pearl-blue, with broad white margins along the whole length of heir inner webs. The outer primaries are all heavily silvered when the quills are new.

Sandwich Tern

"Sterna (T.) cantiaca. Sandwich Tern. Ducal Tern. Bill black, the tip 1/2 to 3/4 an inch bright yellow,…