Part 2

For much the same reason we should name those birds which show less pronounced variations, such as are exhibited by the Robin. Here we have a species in the making, and in tracing the relation between cause and effect, we learn something of the influences which create species. Thus, climate has been definitely proven so to alter a species, both in size and color that, as we have seen in the case of the Song Sparrows, marked climate changes are accompanied by correspondingly marked changes in the appearance of certain animals. In naming these animals we are, in effect, giving a 'handle to the fact' of their evolution by environment.

Since it is evident that a bird may vary much or little, according to the governing conditions and its tendency to respond to them, no fixed rule can be laid down which shall decide just what degree of difference are deserving a name. It follows, therefore, that in some cases ornithologists do not agree upon a bird's claim to subspecific rank.

In North America, however, questions of this kind are referred to a committee of seven experts of the American Ornithologists' Union, and their decision establishes a nomenclature, which is accepted as the standard by other American ornithologists and which has been adopted in this volume.

Foreign birds of wholly accidental occurrence, most of which have been found in North America but once or twice, are included in the systematic list of North American birds, but are not described or figured in the body of the book, where their presence would tend to convey an erroneous impression of their North American status. Furthermore, records of the presence of birds so rare as these can be properly based on only the capture of specimens.

In the preparation of the following pages both author and artist have had full access to the collections of the American Museum of Natural History, and they are also glad to acknowledge their indebtedness to William Brewster of Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Robert Ridgway, Curator of Birds in the United States National Museum, and to C. Hart Merriam, Chief of the Biologic Survey, for the loan of specimens for description and illustration.

SYNOPSIS OF ORDERS AND FAMILIES OF NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS.

The figures are all life-size, except as stated.

=WATER BIRDS.=

Order I. Grebes, Loons, and Auks. PYGOPODES.

(3 families, 32 species, 3 subspecies.)

Duck-like birds with the bill usually pointed, never wider than high, and without flutings, 'gutters,' or serrations on its side; wings short, never with a bright colored patch or 'speculum'; tail rudimentary, not noticeable; toes webbed or lobed. Color usually blackish above, white below; the throat often dark. The Grebes and Loons, when pursued, dive rather than fly; the Auks usually take wing.

Family 1. GREBES. PODICIPIDÆ.

Toes four with lobate webs; tipped with a broad nail; tail wanting.

Family 2. LOONS. GAVIIDÆ.

Toes four, webbed; toe-nails not broad and flat; tail present.

Family 3. AUKS, MURRES, AND PUFFINS. ALCIDÆ.

Toes three, webbed; toe-nails sharp; tail present.

Order II. Gulls, Terns, Jaegers, Etc. LONGIPENNES.

(3 families, 42 species, 1 subspecies.)

Birds generally seen on the wing, as a rule, over water. Bill strong, thick; hooked in the Gulls and Jaegers; sharply pointed in the Terns; often colored in part yellow or red; wings very long, the outer feathers much the longest; tail usually short and square in the Gulls, long and forked in the Terns; toes webbed. Color usually pearly gray above, white below in adult Gull and Terns; Jaegers and many young Gulls are dark.

Family 4. SKUAS AND JAEGERS. Stercorariidæ.

Toes four; three front ones webbed; bill with swollen, hooked tip, its base with a scaly shield.

Family 5. GULLS AND TERNS. Laridæ.

Toes usually four, three front ones webbed; upper mandible curved and hooked; tail usually square (Gulls, subfamily _Larinæ_). Bill straight and pointed; tail often forked (Terns, subfamily _Sterninæ_).

Family 6. SKIMMERS. Rynchopidæ.

Toes four, three front ones webbed; bill thin and blade like, the maxilla longer than the mandible; tail slightly forked.

Order III. Albatrosses, Shearwaters, Petrels, Etc. TUBINARES.

(2 families, 30 species, 1 subspecies.)

Sea-birds keeping, as a rule, well off shore, and flying low, near the water, often skimming over the waves. Bill, with upper mandible hooked; nostrils opening through tubes; wings long and pointed; tail short; feet webbed; hind-toe rudimentary or absent. Color usually gray or black and white; no bright markings.

Family 7. ALBATROSSES. DIOMEDEIDÆ.

Nostrils opening through tubes, separated and on either side of the bill.

Family 8. FULMARS, PETRELS AND SHEARWATERS. Procellariidæ.

Nostrils joined and situated on top of the bill.

Order IV. Cormorants, Pelicans, Gannets, Man-o'war Birds, and Tropic-Birds. STEGANOPODES.

(6 families, 19 species, 5 subspecies.)

Large birds, two feet or more in length, varying widely in appearance and habits; in external structure agreeing only in having all four toes joined by webs.

Family 9. TROPIC BIRDS. Phaëthontidæ.

Bill pointed, somewhat tern-like; central tail feathers much elongated; chin feathered.

Family 10. GANNETS. Sulidæ.

Bill stout, its tip not hooked; chin and eye space bare; tail pointed, its feathers not 'fluted.'

Family 11. ANHINGAS; SNAKE-BIRDS. Anhingidæ.

Bill straight and slender; chin and eye space bare; tail rounded; its middle feathers fluted.

Family 12. CORMORANTS. Phalacrocoracidæ.

Bill with a hooked tip; a small pouch at its base; plumage usually black or blackish.

Family 13. PELICANS. Pelecanidæ.

Bill hooked at tip, with a large pouch; tail short, square; eye space bare.

Family 14. MAN-O' WAR BIRDS. Fregatidæ.

Bill hooked; pouch small; tail long and forked; eye space feathered.

Order V. Ducks, Geese, and Swans. ANSERES.

(1 family, 49 species, 6 subspecies.)

Birds of familiar form; bill, except in Mergansers or Saw-billed Ducks, broad and with rows of 'strainers' or 'gutters' on either side; wings short, in the Ducks usually with a bright colored patch or speculum; tail generally short; legs short; feet webbed. Most species, unlike the Grebes, take wing rather than dive when pursued.

Family 15. DUCKS, GEESE, AND SWANS. Anatidæ.

Bill long, narrow, and rounded with tooth-like projections along its sides. (Mergansers. Subfamily _Merginæ_.)

Bill broad, flattened, typically duck-like; tarsus or leg with transverse scales; hind toe without a lobe. (River Ducks. Subfamily _Anatinæ_.)

Bill and tarsus as in preceding, but hind toe with a broad lobe or flap. (Sea and Bay Ducks. Subfamily _Fuligulinæ_.)

Bill proportionately narrower than in the River or Bay Ducks; gutters on its sides less developed; scales on front of tarsus rounded. (Geese. Subfamily _Anserinæ_.)

Large, usually white birds, with bare eye space. (Swans. Subfamily _Cygninæ_.)

Order VI. Flamingoes. ODONTOGLOSSÆ.

(1 family, 1 species.)

Bright red or pink and white birds, standing four feet or more in height; side of the bill with gutters, its end bent downward; wings rather short; legs long; feet webbed.

Family 16. FLAMINGOES. Phœnicopteridæ.

Characters of the Family similar to those of the Order.

Order VII. Herons, Bitterns, Ibises, and Spoonbills. HERODIONES.

(4 families, 19 species, 3 subspecies.)

Long-legged wading birds, generally found along shores or on muddy flats; bill variable; in the Herons straight and sharply pointed; in the Ibises, slender, rounded, and curved downward; in the Spoonbill, flattened: wings rounded; tail short; legs long; toes all on same level, long, slender, without webs. Herons and Bitterns fly with a fold in the neck, the head being drawn in; Ibises and Spoonbills fly with the neck straight, the head being extended.

Family 17. SPOONBILLS. Plataleidæ.

Bill flattened and much broadened at the end; crown and face bare in adults; toes partly webbed.

Family 18. IBISES. Ibididæ.

Bill long and curved down; its side with grooves; toes partly webbed.

Family 19. STORKS AND WOOD IBISES. CICONIIDÆ.

Bill stout, without grooves; tarsus reticulate.

Family 20. HERONS, EGRETS, AND BITTERNS. Ardeidæ.

Bill usually straight and sharply pointed; lores naked; head feathered; tarsus with transverse scales; middle toe-nail pectinate or with a comblike edge.

Order VIII. Cranes, Rails, Coots, Gallinules, Etc. PALUDICOLÆ.

(3 families, 16 species, 3 subspecies.)

Birds varying greatly in size and appearance, but all agreeing (and differing from _Herodiones_) in having the hind-toe elevated, that is, leaving the foot at a higher level than the front toes; tail short; legs usually long. All fly with the neck extended, a fact by which Cranes in flight may be known from Herons. Rails are short-winged skulkers in grassy marshes; Gallinules frequent reedy shores; Coots, which alone of the Order have webbed (lobate) toes, are as aquatic as Ducks, from which they may be known by their pointed, white bill, nodding motion of the head when swimming, and habit of pattering over the water when alarmed.

Family 21. CRANES. Gruidæ.

Large birds over three feet in length; head partly bare in adults.

Family 22. COURLANS. Aramidæ.

Bill long and slender; head wholly feathered; toes not webbed.

Family 23. RAILS, COOTS, AND GALLINULES. Rallidæ.

Bill variable; toes always long, webbed (lobed) in only one species; wings short and rounded; tail short.

Order IX. Snipes, Sandpipers, Curlews, Plovers, Etc. LIMICOLÆ.

(7 families, 55 species, 4 subspecies.)

Generally long-legged, slender-billed birds of shores and mud flats, and sometimes fields. Most of them are under a foot in length; none are so large as the Ibises; wings long and pointed; tail short; toes long and slender, usually without webs; color generally brown or blackish above, mottled and streaked with whitish and buff. Many species utter characteristic piping whistles as they fly or when they take wing.

Family 24. PHALAROPES. Phalaropodidæ.

Front toes with lobes or webs; tarsus flattened; plumage thick; swimming Snipe.

Family 25. AVOCETS AND STILTS. Recurvirostridæ.

Long legged, wading Snipe; in Avocets toes four, front three webbed; bill recurved; in Stilts toes three, almost unwebbed; bill straight.

Family 26. SNIPES, SANDPIPERS, CURLEWS, ETC. Scolopacidæ.

Toes usually four; tarsus with transverse scales; bill generally long, slender, and soft, used as a probe.

Family 27. PLOVERS. Charadriidæ.

Toes usually three, or when four, the fourth rudimentary; tarsus with rounded scales, bill, as compared with that of Snipe, short and stout.

Family 28. SURF BIRDS AND TURNSTONES. Aphrizidæ.

Toes four, tarsus with transverse scales; bill short, rather hard.

Family 29. OYSTER-CATCHERS. Hæmatopodidæ.

Toes three, webbed at base; tarsus stout, with rounded scales; bill heavy, compressed, and said to be used for opening shells.

Family 30. JACANAS. Jacanidæ.

Toes four, with their nails greatly elongated to support the bird while walking on aquatic vegetation; wing, with a sharp spur; bill with fleshy lobes at base and, in some species, on its sides.

LAND BIRDS.

Order X. Grouse, Partridges, Bob-Whites, Etc. GALLINÆ.

(3 families, 24 species, 25 subspecies.)

Ground-inhabiting birds of chicken-like form; bill stout, hen-like; wings short and rounded; tail variable; feet strong; hind-toe elevated. Color usually mixed brown, black, and buff, or bluish gray.

Family 31. GROUSE, PARTRIDGES, ETC. Tetraonidæ.

Characters the same as those of the Order; tarsus naked in Partridges and Quails; more or less feathered in Grouse and Ptarmigan.

Family 32. TURKEYS, PHEASANTS, AND CHICKENS. Phasianidæ.

Tarsus naked, often spurred, tail remarkably variable (for example, Turkey, Peacock); head often with a comb, wattles, or other excrescences.

Family 33. CURASSOWS AND GUANS. Cracidæ.

Large tree-haunting, pheasant-like birds; toes four, all on same level.

Order XI. Pigeons and Doves. COLUMBÆ.

(1 family, 13 species, 3 subspecies.)

Walking birds, feeding both on the ground and in trees; bill slender, grooved, nostrils opening in a fleshy membrane; tail variable, short and square, or long and pointed; feet stout, often reddish. Color usually grayish brown. Call-notes a characteristic cooing.

Family 34. PIGEONS AND DOVES. Columbidæ.

Characters those of the Order.

Order XII. Vultures, Hawks, and Owls. RAPTORES.

(4 families, 56 species, 33 subspecies.)

Generally large birds with hooked bill; strong, heavy feet, and long, curved nails; wings large; tail rather long, usually square.

Family 35. AMERICAN VULTURES. Cathartidæ.

Bill not strongly hooked; toe-nails comparatively weak; nostrils large, piercing the bill; head and more or less of neck, bare.

Family 36. FALCONS, HAWKS, EAGLES, ETC. Falconidæ.

Nostrils opening in a cere at the base of the bill; hook of bill and claws well developed; plumage firm and close; tarsus usually largely bare.

Family 37. BARN OWLS. Strigidæ.

Eyes black, set in a somewhat triangular facial disc; bill more or less concealed by feathers; nostril opening at the edge of a fleshy cere; inner edge of middle toe-nail serrate; no 'ears'; tarsus feathered.

Family 38. HORNED OWLS, ETC. Bubonidæ.

Eyes yellow or black, set in a circular facial disc; bill more or less concealed by feathers; nostrils opening at the edge of a fleshy cere; tarsus feathered.

Order XIII. Paroquets and Parrots. PSITTACI.

(1 family, 2 species.)

Usually bright green birds with, a heavy hooked bill, broad scoop-shaped lower mandible; long, pointed wings; tail, in Parrots, generally square; in Paroquets, pointed; feet heavy, two toes in front and two behind.

Family 39. PARROTS AND PAROQUETS. Psittacidæ.

Characters the same as those of Order.

Order XIV. Cuckoos, Trogons, Kingfishers, Etc. COCCYGES.

(3 families, 8 species, 2 subspecies.)

A composite Order of several groups of birds bearing no close relation to each other. Cuckoos have slightly curved bills, long tails, and two toes in front and two behind. Trogons have short, rather broad, stout bills, and soft, loose plumage, often green above, red below; moderately long tails; small feet with two toes in front, two behind. Kingfishers have long, rather stout, pointed bills; wings, long; tail, medium; three toes in front and one behind; middle and outer toes joined for half their length.

Family 40. CUCKOOS, ANIS. ETC. Cuculidæ.

Toes two in front, two behind; bill, usually, more or less decurved; tail, long and rounded, the outer feathers being, generally, much shorter than the middle pair.

Family 41. TROGONS. Trogonidæ.

Toes two in front, two behind; bill, short; upper mandible decurved and dentate; tail square; plumage, soft, loose, and generally shining green above.

Family 42. KINGFISHERS. Alcedinidæ.

Legs short; feet small; toes, three in front, one behind; third and fourth toes joined; bill, stout and long.

Order XV. Woodpeckers. PICI.

(1 family, 24 species, 22 subspecies.)

Climbing birds with stout, pointed bills, bristly nostrils, pointed, stiffened tail feathers, strong feet and nails; two toes in front and two behind, except in _Picoides_, which has two in front and one behind. Prevailing colors, black and white, the males usually with red on the crown.

Family 43. WOODPECKERS. Picidæ.

Characters the same as those of the Order.

Order XVI. Goatsuckers, Swifts, and Hummingbirds. MACROCHIRES.

(3 families, 27 species, 6 subspecies.)

Bill, in the Goatsuckers and Swifts, small; mouth large; in the Hummingbirds, bill long, slender, needle-like; wings and tail variable; feet, in all three groups, small and weak. Color, in Goatsuckers, mixed brown, buff and black; in Swifts, black and white; in Hummingbirds, usually shining green above with resplendent throat-patches of varied hues.

Family 44. GOATSUCKERS, ETC. Caprimulgidæ.

Feet usually small and weak; toes, three in front, one behind; middle toe-nail pectinate or combed; bill small; mouth very large and usually beset by long bristles.

Family 45. SWIFTS. Micropodidæ.

Bill small, triangular when seen from above; mouth large, no bristles; tail variable, in _Chætura_ with projecting spines; wings long and narrow; feet small and toes short; plumage usually dark.

Family 46. HUMMINGBIRDS. Trochilidæ.

Bill long and slender; feet slender; wings large and pointed; tail exceedingly variable, often assuming the most striking shapes.

Order XVII. Flycatchers, Jays, Blackbirds, Finches, Swallows, Warblers, Thrushes, and Other Perching Birds. PASSERES.

(18 families, about 325 species and 226 subspecies.)

Bill, wings, and tail variable; feet with four toes not connected, the hind-toe as long as the middle one; its nail generally longer than that of the middle toe. This Order contains more species than the remaining sixteen Orders put together. In it will be found over 80 per cent. of the birds commonly seen by field students. It is difficult of definition, but almost any small perching bird may, with more or less certainty, be referred to the _Passeres_.

Family 48. FLYCATCHERS. Tyrannidæ.

Bill broad, flat, hooked at tip, its base with bristles; wings rather pointed, the second to fourth primaries longest; tarsus rounded behind as well as in front; feathers of crown generally somewhat lengthened, forming when erected, a small crest; pose, when perching, erect; food of insects usually captured on the wing; voice generally unmusical.

Family 49. LARKS. Alaudidæ.

Hind toe-nail much lengthened; bill rounded, straight; tarsus rounded behind as well as in front; our species with a tuft of feathers on either side of the head; outer primary short or rudimentary; walking birds, singing while on the wing.

Family 50. CROWS AND JAYS. Corvidæ.

Large perching birds, usually twelve inches or more in length; bill stout; nostrils covered by projecting bristles; feet heavy; outer tail-feathers usually shortest; fourth to fifth primary longest, first about half as long.

Family 52. BLACKBIRDS, ORIOLES, ETC. Icteridæ.

Base of bill, between nostrils, extending back and dividing feathers on forehead; nostrils not concealed by bristles; first three primaries of equal length.

Family 53. FINCHES, SPARROWS, ETC. Fringillidæ.

Bill short, stout, conical; third or fourth primaries longest; first about half an inch shorter; the majority are small birds and but few are over eight inches in length.

Family 54. TANAGERS. Tanagridæ.

Bill somewhat finch-like but more swollen in outline; the upper mandible, in typical forms, toothed or dentate.

Family 55. SWALLOWS. Hirundinidæ.

Bill short, broad and flat; feet small and weak; wings long and narrow; tail notched and sometimes forked; birds of the air, feeding while on the wing.

Family 56. WAXWINGS. Ampelidæ.

Bill short, stout, and rounded, its tip notched; wings rather long; head crested.

Family 57. SHRIKES. Laniidæ.

Bill stout, its mandible hooked and hawk-like; feet truly Passerine; pose, in perching, erect; solitary grayish birds.

Family 58. VIREOS. Vireonidæ.

Bill small, but distinctly hooked; outer primary usually very small and sometimes apparently wanting; olive-green gleaners among the leaves.

Family 60. WARBLERS. Mniotiltidæ.

Bill, in most of the species, slender, sharply pointed, and without a notch or hook at the tip; in the genera _Wilsonia_ and _Setophaga_, flat and flycatcher-like; in _Icteria_ stout; back of tarsus compressed into a thin ridge; three outer primaries of nearly equal length.

Family 61. WAGTAILS. Motacillidæ.

Hind toe-nail much lengthened; bill slender, nostril not covered with bristles, as in true Larks; back of tarsus thin, not rounded; terrestrial, walking with a wagging motion of the tail.

Family 62. DIPPERS. Cinclidæ.

Thick-set birds with short wings and tail; plumage thick and water-proof; tarsus scaled; semi-aquatic in habit, haunting mountain streams.

Family 63. WRENS, THRASHERS, ETC. Troglodytidæ.

Tarsus scaled; tail rounded, the outer feathers being shortest; third to fourth primary longest, the outer half as long; bill in Thrashers often decurved, its base with bristles; In Wrens, bill without bristles; brown or grayish inhabitants of lower growth.

Family 64. CREEPERS. Certhiidæ.

Bill slender and much decurved; tail usually pointed and stiffened.

Family 65. NUTHATCHES AND TITS. Paridæ.

Fourth or fifth primary longest; first an inch or less in length. Chickadees (subfamily _Parinæ_) have a short, stout bill, the nostrils covered with bristles; the tail is rather long and rounded. Nuthatches (subfamily _Sittinæ_) have a long, slender bill, short, square tail, and large feet.

Family 66. KINGLETS, GNATCATCHERS, ETC. Sylviidæ.

Bill slender and Warbler-like, but first primary only one-third as long as the fourth.

Family 67. THRUSHES, BLUEBIRDS, ETC. Turdidæ.

Tarsus 'booted', without scales, (see foot of Robin under Synopsis of Order _Passeres_); tail square; mandible notched and slightly hooked; outer primary an inch or less in length; second to fourth of about equal length.

COLOR KEY TO