The numbers and names used in this book are those adopted by the American Ornithologists’ Union, and are known both in this country and abroad. The lengths given are averages; our small birds often vary considerably and may be found either slightly larger or smaller than those quoted.
On some of the pages a number of sub-species are mentioned. Sub-species often cause confusion, because they are usually very similar to the original; they can best be identified by the locality in which they are found.
The nests and eggs are described, as they often lead to the identity of a bird. We would suggest that you neatly, and with ink, make a cross against the name of each bird that you see in your locality, and also that you write at the top of the page the date of the arrival and departure of each bird as you note it; these dates vary so much in different localities that we have not attempted to give them. As many will not wish to soil their books we would suggest that they have a leather-covered copy for the library and a cloth one for pocket use.
DIVING BIRDS – Order Pygopodes
GREBES – Family Colymbidæ
WESTERN GREBE
1. Æchmophorus occidentalis. 25 to 29 inches
This is the largest of the grebe family. In summer the back of the neck is black, but in winter it is gray like the back.
Nest.– A floating mass of decayed rushes, sometimes attached to the upright stalks; 2 to 5 pale bluish white eggs are laid, usually much nest stained (2.40 × 1.55). Breeding in colonies.
Range.– Western North America, from the Dakotas and Manitoba to the Pacific, and north to southern Alaska.
HOLBOELL GREBE
2. Colymbus Holboelli. 19 inches
This is next to the Western Grebe in size, both being larger than any of the others. In summer, they are very handsomely marked, as shown in the illustration, but in winter have the usual dress of gray and white.
Nest.– Similar to above, the eggs averaging smaller (2.35 × 1.25).
Range.– North America, breeding from northwestern Alaska, in the interior of Canada and North Dakota. Winters usually on the coasts.
HORNED GREBE
3. Colymbus auritus. 14 inches
In winter this Grebe is one of the plainest in its dress of gray and white, but summer brings a great change, making it one of the most attractive, with its black, puffy head, and buffy white ear tufts, the front of the neck a rich chestnut color. Their food consists almost wholly of small fish.
Nest.– Is a loosely built mass of vegetation floating in the bog and water holes of the western prairies. The eggs, 3 to 7 in number, are brownish yellow (1.70 × 1.15).
Range.– Breeds from Dakota and Illinois northward; winters to the Gulf of Mexico.
EARED GREBE
4. Colymbus nigricollis californicus. 13 inches
This species is rarely found as far east as the Mississippi River. In summer the neck is black, lacking the chestnut color of the former. It can always be distinguished from the Horned by the upper mandible being straight on the top.
Nest.– In colonies similar to the above, laying from 3 to 8 eggs, which are usually nest stained to a brownish cream color.
Range.– From the Mississippi to the Pacific, nesting from Texas to British Columbia.
PIED-BILLED GREBE
6. Podilymbus podiceps. 13½ inches
This species cannot be mistaken for any others of the grebes in any plumage, because of its stout compressed bill and brown eyes, all the others having red eyes. In summer the bill is nearly white, with a black band encircling it; the throat is black; breast and sides brownish-gray; the eye encircled with a white ring.
Nest.– Made of a mass of decayed weeds and rushes, floating in shallow ponds or on the edges of lakes among the rushes. Five to 8 brownish white eggs are laid (1.70 × 1.18).
Range.– Whole of N. A., breeding in small colonies or pairs.
LOON; GREAT NORTHERN DIVER
7. Gavia immer. 31 to 35 inches
In shape and motions the loons very much resemble the grebes, except in size, being much larger. The common loon is the most beautiful of them all, having a velvety black iridescent head with slashes of white on the throat and neck and spots of white on the wings and back.
Nest.– Usually built under some shelter of bushes or rushes on the edge of some of the larger ponds or lakes. The two eggs are a yellowish brown, with black spots (3.50 × 2.25).
PACIFIC LOON
10. Gavia pacifica. 30 to 32 inches
This species differs from the Loon in having the crown gray, and white streaks down the back of the neck, and in the color reflections of the black on the head. It is a trifle smaller also.
Nest.– Similar to the former, the eggs being more of a greenish brown, with the black spots mostly on the larger end (3.10 × 2).
Range.– Western N. A., breeding in Alaska and British Columbia; winters along the Pacific coast to Mexico.
RED-THROATED LOON
11. Gavia stellata. 25 inches
The smallest of the Loon family. The back and head are gray, there is a large patch of chestnut on the fore-neck; under parts white. Owing to the straight top to the upper mandible the bill has a slightly up-turned appearance.
Nest.– Similar to the other Loons, placed within a few feet of the water. The eggs are an olive brown with more markings usually than the others, and mostly on the larger end (2.90 × 1.75).
Range.– Along the western coast of North America.
AUKS, MURRES AND PUFFINS – Family Alcidæ
TUFTED PUFFIN; SEA PARROT
12. Lunda cirrhata. 13 inches
This is the largest of the family, they are odd looking birds, with short legs, stout bodies and very large, thin bills, highly colored with red and yellow, the feet are red and the eyes are white. They stand erect upon their feet and walk with ease.
Nest.– They breed commonly on the islands of the Pacific coast, laying their single white egg in burrows or crevices of the rocks. In some sections two or three broods are raised in a season (2.80 × 1.90).
Range.– Pacific coast from southern California to Alaska.
HORNED PUFFIN
14. Fratercula corniculata. 11 inches
This Puffin is similar to the common Puffin of the east, excepting that the blackish band across the throat extends upwards in a point to the bill.
Nest.– The same as the above, the single egg averaging smaller (2.65 × 1.80).
Range.– Islands of the northern Pacific to the Arctic ocean.
RHINOCEROS AUKLET
15. Cerorhinca monocerata. 11 inches
These birds have a much smaller bill than the Puffins; in the summer plumage there is a small horn at the base of the bill from which it is given its name. These birds do not stand upright as do the Puffins; but sit upon their tarsus.
Nest.– A single egg is laid in either burrows or in crevices of the rocks, usually without any attempt at nest making (2.70 × 1.80).
Range.– Coast and islands of the northern Pacific. Breeds from Oregon to northern Alaska.
CASSIN AUKLET
16. Ptychoramphus aleuticus. 9 inches
A plain appearing bird, breast and throat grayish and belly white with blackish upper-parts relieved only by a small white spot over the eye. This Auklet is fairly abundant on the Farallones and islands off the Lower California coast.
Nest.– A single egg, dull white, the inside of the shell being a pale green when held to the light. These are laid in burrows or tunnels under the rocks, at times three or four feet long (1.80 × 1.30).
Range.– Pacific coast of N. A., Alaska to Lower California.
PAROQUET AUKLET
17. Phaleris psittacula. 10 inches
This bird is much like Cassin Auklet, but lacking the white spot over the eye and having a white breast. The bill is very peculiar, being quite deep and rounded and having an upward tendency. It is orange red in color.
Range.– The Alaskan coast, usually farther south in winter. Nesting in the Aleutian Islands, a single white egg is laid (2.25 × 1.40).
WHISKERED AUKLET
19. Æthia pygmæa. 7½ inches
Breeds quite abundantly on some of the Aleutian Islands. The single white egg is laid in burrows or crevices of the rocks (2.00 × 1.25).
CRESTED AUKLET
18. Æthia cristatella. 8 to 9 inches
Similar in form and plumage to the Paroquet Auklet, except the whole under parts are gray.
Nest and Range.– On the islands and main land of the Alaskan coast, laying only one chalky white egg in crevices or burrows under the rocks.
LEAST AUKLET
20. Æthia pusilla. 6½ inches
This is the smallest of the Auklets, and in habits are the same as others of the same family. They are one of the most abundant of the water birds of the extreme Northwest.
Nest.– Only one single white egg is laid upon the bare rocks or in crevices, on the islands of the Alaskan coast (1.50 × 1.10).
ANCIENT MURRELET
21. Synthliboramphus antiquus. 11 inches
The Murrelets have no crests or plumes and the bills are more slender than the Auklets and are not highly colored.
Nest.– One or two eggs are laid either in burrows or crevices of the rocks, buffy white in color, with faint markings of light brown.
Range.– Pacific coast from southern California to Alaska, breeding north of the United States.
MARBLED MURRELET
23. Brachyramphus marmoratus. 10 inches
Nesting habits and eggs are similar to the Ancient Murrelet (2.20 × 1.40) and range is same as above, possibly breeding a little farther south.
XANTHUS MURRELET
25. Brachyramphus hypoleucus
This bird is a dull black above, and entirely white below, including the sides of the head below the eye. The under-surface of the wing is also white.
Nest.– The single egg is laid at the end of burrows or under the rocks in dark places similar to the other Murrelets. It is a pale buffy white, and thickly but finely dotted with brown over the entire surface, heaviest on the larger end (2.05 × 1.40).
Range.– Resident along the coast of southern and Lower California, where it breeds on many of the islands.
PIGEON GUILLEMOT
29. Cepphus columba. 13 inches
This bird is very similar to the Black Guillemot except that the under-surfaces of the wings are dark. The nearly straight and slender bill is black, feathered to the upper edge of nostrils. Feet and inside of mouth bright red.
Nest.– Their two eggs are laid on the bare rocks in dark places under the rocks, are pale blue or green in color with black or brown markings and paler spots of lilac.
Range.– Pacific coast of North America.
CALIFORNIA MURRE
30. Uria troille californica. 15 to 16 inches
This is one of the most abundant birds breeding on the Farallones. Large numbers of their eggs are taken yearly to the San Francisco and other market places and disposed of as a food product, and as yet the birds do not seem to diminish to any great extent.
Nest.– But a single white egg is laid on the bare ledges. They vary greatly in color, from nearly white without markings to a deep greenish blue with an endless variety of patterns in light and dark brown (3.40 × 2.00).
Range.– Pacific coast, breeding from the Farallones north to Alaska.
POMARINE JAEGER
36. Stercorarius pomarinus. 21 inches
These birds are slender and graceful in form and flight, but are the real pirates of bird life, especially among the terns and gulls. This species has two color phases regardless of sex or age. In the light plumage the top of the head is black, rest of the bird brownish. Easily identified by the lengthened central tail-feathers.
Nest.– Two olive brown eggs spotted with black (2.20 × 1.70).
PARASITIC JAEGER
37. Stercorarius parasiticus. 17 inches
This bird has the two phases of color similar to the last. The two central tail-feathers are longer and more pointed, projecting about four inches beyond the others. All of the Jaegers have grayish blue legs with black feet, and brown eyes.
Nest.– A slight hollow in the marshy ground in which the two brownish eggs are laid (2.15 × 1.65).
Range.– Northern part of North America, south in winter to southern California, breeding in the Arctic regions.
LONG-TAILED JAEGER
38. Stercorarius longicaudus. 20 inches
This is the most swift and graceful of this family in flight. Similar to the last species, but the central pointed tail-feathers extend eight or ten inches beyond the others. It is more often found in the lighter phase.
Nest.– Their eggs are either laid on the bare ground or in a slight depression, scantily lined with grass (2.10 × 1.50).
Range.– Arctic America; south in winter to South America.
GULLS AND TERNS – Family Laridæ
IVORY GULL
39. Pagophila alba. 17 inches
The little Snow Gull, as it is often called, in the breeding season is entirely white; the bill is tipped with yellow and there is a red ring about the eye.
Nest.– Of grasses and seaweed, on the cliffs in the Arctic regions. Three grayish buff eggs are laid marked with brown and black (2.30 × 1.70).
Range.– North of the Arctic Circle, and winters south to British Columbia.
PACIFIC KITTIWAKE
40a. Rissa tridactyla pollicaris. 16 inches
These birds breed in immense rookeries on some of the islands in the Bering Sea.
Nest.– On almost inaccessible cliffs, made of sticks, moss and seaweed, making the interior cup-shaped, to hold the two or three eggs, which are buffy brown or grayish, spotted with darker shades of brown (2.20 × 4.70).
Range.– Coast of the North Pacific, wintering as far south as Lower California.
RED-LEGGED KITTIWAKE
41. Rissa brevirostris. 16 inches
This Kittiwake is very much like the former, excepting that the legs are bright red, the mantle is darker and the bill shorter. They usually nest in separate colonies from the former, and can be readily identified when in flight by the red legs.
Nest.– They have been found abundantly on the islands of the Bering Sea, nesting on the higher ledges and cliffs. The color of the eggs is buffy or brownish, blotched and spotted with lilac and shades of brown.
Range.– Northwestern coast and islands of Bering Sea.
GLAUCOUS GULL
42. Larus hyperboreus. 28 inches
This is one of the largest of the Gulls; mantle light gray; it is distinguished by its size and the primaries, which are white to the tips. It is a powerful bird that preys upon the smaller Gulls, eating both the eggs and young.
Nest.– Of seaweed on ledge of sea cliff, eggs three in number, in shades of light drab to brown, spotted with brown and black.
Range.– Arctic regions, in winter south to San Francisco Bay.
GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL
44. Larus glaucescens. 25 to 27 inches
The primaries are the same color as the mantle on this gull except that the primaries are tipped with white. They breed in large numbers both on the rocky cliffs and on the low sandy islands of the Aleutians. On the cliffs large nests of seaweed are built, while on the low sandy islands no attempt is made at nest building.
Nest.– Two or three eggs are the usual complement, of a greenish brown ground color with various shades of brown spots, most thickly covered on the larger end (2.75 × 2.05).
Range.– North Pacific coast, breeding from British Columbia northwards, and wintering to southern California.
SLATY-BACKED GULL
48. Larus schistisagus. 27 inches
This large gull, with its almost pure white head and neck and slaty colored back, is one of the prettiest. They often nest in colonies with other gulls, building their small mounds of seaweed on the higher parts of the islands.
Nest.– Usually contains sets of two or three grayish colored eggs, spotted with dark brown and lavender (2.90 × 2.00).
Range.– Northern Pacific and Arctic oceans.
WESTERN GULL
49. Larus occidentalis. 26 inches
This bird is the most southerly distributed of any of the large Gulls, and can be seen about the harbors of California at all seasons of the year. They are great thieves, robbing the Murres and Terns wherever eggs are left unprotected, and are the greatest enemy that the Murres have to contend with.
Nest.– Their nests are made up of weeds and grass, and the full set contains three eggs of grayish brown spotted with dark brown, showing the usual variation found in color in the Gulls’ eggs (2.75 × 1.90).
Range.– Pacific coast, breeding from southern California to British Columbia.
HERRING GULL
51. Larus argentatus. 24 inches
These Gulls nest in colonies in favorable localities, usually on the ground, sometimes making a bulky nest of seaweed quite a distance from the water. A few pair nest on the islands of some of the inland lakes and it is not uncommon to see nests built in low trees ten or fifteen feet from the ground.
Nest.– They lay three eggs of a grayish brown color spotted with black and brown.
RING-BILLED GULL
54. Larus delawarensis. 18 inches
A small Gull with light gray mantle, black primaries with white tips and always to be identified in the breeding season by the black band around the middle of the greenish yellow bill. They nest in large colonies on the islands in the interior of the country. They frequent lakes and ponds at high altitudes in Colorado. Thousands of them breed about the lakes of the Dakotas and northward.
Nest.– Commonly lay three eggs, placing them in a slight hollow on the ground generally on the grassy portion of some island (2.80 × 1.75).
Range.– North America. On the Pacific coast from Lower California to British Columbia.
CALIFORNIA GULL
53. Larus californicus. 23 inches
This is a slightly smaller Gull than the Cal. Herring Gull and the primaries are grayish instead of black. Bill yellow, with red spot near end of lower mandible; feet greenish yellow.
Nest.– Abundantly around Great Salt Lake, placing their nests generally upon the bare ground. Three or four eggs constitute a set, and they are the usual color of the Gulls’.
SHORT-BILLED GULL
55. Larus brachyrhynchus. 17 inches
The short-billed Gull or American Mew Gull is much like the European variety. Adults in breeding plumage; mantle pearly gray; rest of white; outer primary nearly black with a white spot at the end. Bill, feet and legs greenish.
Nest.– On islands in the lakes and rivers of Alaska. The nest is generally made of moss, grass and weeds and placed on the ground.
Range.– Breeds from the interior of British Columbia to Alaska. Winters in the south to Lower California.
HEERMANN GULL
57. Larus heermanni. 17 inches
A handsome little species, often called the White-headed Gull. In summer the entire head, neck and throat are white, with a red bill and legs. The body color shades abruptly from the neck into slaty, both the upper and under parts. The primaries and tail are black.
Nest.– Similar to others of the Gull family, with three eggs greenish drab in color marked with brown, black and lilac (2.45 × 1.50).
Range.– Pacific coast of North America.
BONAPARTE GULL
60. Larus philadelphia. 14 inches
In summer, tip and outer web of outer primaries black; inner web and shaft white, with a black bill. The head and neck are gray; while in winter the head is white with gray spots back of the eyes. Young birds have the back mixed with brownish and the tail with a band of black near the tip. They are rarely found in the U. S. with the black hood.
Nest.– They nest in great numbers in the marshes of the northwest. The nests of sticks and grass are placed on the higher parts of the marshes and the usual complement of three eggs is laid. The eggs are grayish to greenish brown, marked with dark brown spots (1.90 × 1.30).
SABINE GULL
62. Xema sabini. 13 inches
A handsome bird, having the slaty hood bordered behind with a black ring; the primaries black, white tipped, and the tail slightly forked. In winter the head and throat white with the back of the neck dusky.
Nest.– They breed abundantly on the marshes of northern Alaska and Greenland. The two or three eggs are greenish brown in color and marked with dark brown (1.75 × 1.25).
CASPIAN TERN
64. Sterna caspia. 21 inches
The largest and most beautiful of the Tern family. The bill is large, heavy and bright red. The crest with which this species is adorned is black. The mantle is pearl color and the breast is white. Winter birds have the crown mixed with white, and the young are blotched with blackish in the wings and tail.
Nest.– They sometimes nest in large colonies and then again only a few pair will be found on an island. Eggs vary from gray to greenish buff, marked with brown and lilac. The two eggs usually being laid in a hollow in the sand.
Range.– North America, breeding from the Gulf Coast and Lower California to the Arctic regions.