Birds of North America Illustrations

Eared Grebe: Small grebe with black upperparts, dark chestnut-brown flanks, and white underparts. Head and neck are black with orange feathers on face. Eyes are red. Sexes are similar. Winter adult is gray with darker upperparts, mottled underparts, and dark face with distinct white lower margin.

Eared Quetzal Male: Small headed with long, broad tail. Black head, black-green back and breast, black-blue tail. Bright red belly, dark bill.

Eastern Bluebird Breeding Male: Small thrush with bright blue upperparts, rust-brown throat and breast, and white belly and vent. Female is similar but much duller. Juvenile has gray-brown upperparts, white spots on back, brown breast with white scaling, white belly and eye ring, and blue-tinged wings and tail.

Eastern Kingbird Breeding Male: Large flycatcher with blue-black back and wings, black tail with white terminal band, and white underparts. Head is black and has inconspicuous red crown feathers visible when bird is displaying. Sexes are similar. Juvenile is similar but browner.

Eastern Meadowlark Breeding Male: Short, stocky ground-dwelling bird with buff- and black-streaked, brown upperparts. Head has black-and-white striped crown, white face, black eyestripe and a sharply pointed bill. Throat to belly is bright yellow with broad black V on breast. Tail is brown with white edges and undertail coverts. Sexes are similar. Juvenile is paler yellow with black spots on underparts.

Eastern Phoebe Worn Summer: Small flycatcher with dark gray-brown upperparts and slightly darker wings and tail. Underparts are pale with hint of olive-brown or yellow on sides and breast. Bill, legs, and feet are black. Sexes are similar.

Eastern Screech-Owl Gray Morph: Small owl with gray-mottled upperparts, rows of white spots at shoulders and heavily streaked and barred underparts. Facial disk is lightly mottled with prominent dark rim. Ear tufts are small. Eyes are bright yellow and bill is yellow or olive-green. Short, rounded wings and tail are barred. Sexes are similar. Juvenile has a downy appearance. Red morph is similar but gray tones are replaced with red-brown.

Eastern Towhee Breeding Male: Large sparrow with black upperparts, hood and upper breast, rufous flanks, and white underparts. Wings are black with white markings. Tail is long and black with white corners. Female is similar but is brown instead of black. Juvenile is dark-streaked brown overall with pale chin.

Eastern Wood-Pewee Breeding Male: Small flycatcher with gray-olive upperparts and pale gray underparts. Bill is dark except for yellow base of lower mandible. Wings are dark with two white bars. Sexes are similar. Juvenile has all-dark bill.

Eastern Yellow Wagtail (tschutschensis) Breeding Male: Small wagtail with olive-green upperparts and yellow underparts with brown spots on sides of breast. Throat is white with faint brown necklace. Gray head has black ear patches and distinct white eyebrows. Wings are dark with two white bars. Tail is very long, black with white edges and wags constantly. Sexes are similar. Juvenile has buff underparts.

Elegant Tern Breeding Adult: Medium-sized tern with pale gray upperparts and white underparts that may be tinged pink. Black cap has shaggy crest; orange or red-orange bill is long and slightly decurved. Outermost primaries have faint black smudges. Tail is deeply forked and legs are black. Sexes are similar. Winter adult has receded black cap with white forehead. Juvenile is similar to winter adult but with back faintly spotted brown and yellow bill and legs.

Elegant Trogon: Iridescent green upperparts and breast. Red undertail and belly, separated from green breast by white band, long iridescent copper green square tail tipped in black. Often seen perching upright. Female has brown head and upperparts, pale brown-white lower breast, white patch behind eye, white bar across brown upper breast. Juvenile similar to female but paler.

Elf Owl: Small owl with gray-brown body heavily mottled with white and cinnamon-brown. Head is round and lacks ear tufts; facial disk is bordered by a thin, black line. Eyes are pale yellow highlighted by thin white eyebrows. Wings are relatively long. Bristly feathers sparsely cover feet and legs. Tail is short with 3 to 5 pale bars. Sexes are similar.

Emperor Goose: Small goose with slate-gray plumage subtly barred white and black. Head and hindneck are white while foreneck is dark. Bill is short and pink. Tail is white with black undertail coverts. Legs are bright yellow-orange. Sexes are similar. Juvenile has dark head, neck, bill, and legs.

Eskimo Curlew: Small curlew with strongly marked underparts and pale cinnamon wing linings. Bill is moderately short and not as strongly curved as similar curlews. Crown has two dark stripes. Wings noticeably long on perched bird. Sexes similar. Juvenile nearly identical to adult.

Eurasian Bullfinch Breeding Male: Small finch with gray back and white rump. Cap is black and cheeks, breast, and belly are red. Wings are black with single white bar. Tail is black and slightly notched. Female is gray-brown.

Eurasian Collared-Dove Breeding Male: Medium-sized dove, pale gray overall with a darker cinnamon-brown wash over back. Nape is ringed with half-black collar that does not extend to throat. Wings are mottled gray with dark primaries. Tail is long, broad, and edged with white (black near base). Sexes are similar.

Eurasian Coot: Medium-sized, squat marsh bird, all black with white bill and frontal shield. Eye-rings are red and legs are yellow-gray. Sexes are similar. Juvenile is dusky gray overall.

Eurasian Curlew: Large curlew with strongly marked underparts that lack rich orange or buff tones that other long billed curlews often show. Unique among curlews in showing prominent white back and rump in flight and wing underwing linings. Sexes similar. Juvenile is very similar to adult but underparts not as strongly marked.

Eurasian Dotterel: Medium-sized shorebird with gray upperparts, rust-brown flanks and belly with black lower margin, and white vent. Narrow white breast band is prominent. Cap is dark and two white eyestripes meet in a V at nape. Feet and legs are yellow. Female is similar but brighter. Winter adult and juvenile are duller with buff eyebrows, vague breast band, scaled gray-brown back, and white or buff underparts.

Eurasian Hobby: Small falcon with dark slate-gray upperparts and white underparts with heavy, dark gray streaks. White face has bold black mask and moustache stripe, and thin white eyebrows. Wings are long and pointed. Leggings are orange. Tail is square and finely barred. Sexes are similar. Juvenile has dark brown upperparts finely edged with brown, heavily streaked underparts, and lacks orange leggings.

Eurasian Jackdaw Breeding Male: Small, black crow with glossy blue-black metallic sheen on back and shoulders. Nape and ear patches are gray, eyes are pale gray, and bill is short and pointed. Sexes are similar.

Eurasian Kestrel: Small falcon with spotted rufous upperparts and brown-streaked buff underparts. Head is gray with black moustache stripe. Tail is black- and blue-gray banded with black tip. Female has pale brown-streaked head and black-banded tail.

Eurasian Tree Sparrow Breeding Male: Small, introduced sparrow with black-streaked red-brown upperparts, buff underparts and single white wing-bar. Head has chestnut-brown crown and small black mask, chin, and ear patches. Sexes are similar. Juvenile is paler brown.

Eurasian Wigeon Male: Large dabbling duck with gray back and finely speckled gray flanks. Head is dark rufous-brown with buff crown and forehead; breast, neck and upper back are pale rufous brown and belly is white. Bill is blue-gray with black tip. Wings have white shoulder patches and green specula visible in flight. Female is orange washed gray-brown overall with heavy mottling and speckling; belly is white. Juvenile resembles female but is browner. Eclipse male resembles female but is much brighter rufous-brown and retains white shoulder patches.

European Golden-Plover: Largest of the golden plovers, showing black crown, throat, neck and upperparts with small bright gold spotting. White band on forehead runs down sides of neck and along flank; black underparts trimmed in white. Undertail is white and short legs are dark gray. Sexes are similar. Juvenile is paler gray-brown with dull gold spotting.

European Starling Breeding Male: Small, chunky, iridescent purple and green blackbird with long, pointed yellow bill, pink legs, and short tail. Feathers on back and undertail show buff edges. Sexes are similar. Winter adult is black with white spots and dark bill. Juvenile is uniformly dull gray-brown with dark bill. Introduced from Europe.