THE BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA 
EAST OF THE NINETIETH MERIDIAN 
KEY TO ORDERS AND FAMILIES 
1. THE WATER BIRDS 
Order I. Pygopodes. — Grebes, Loons, and Auks. 
Ducklike birds, but with the bill usually pointed , never feathered and 
wider than high; never with flu tings, ‘gutters,’ or serrations on its 
sides; wings short, never with a bright-colored patch or speculum; 
tail insignificant; feet placed far back (most species, when standing, 
usually rest on. their entire length, thus including the tarsus) ; tarsus 
flattened to present least resistance when swimming; toes webbed or 
lobed. Color, usually blackish above, white below, the throat often dark. 
Grebes and Loons, when pursued, usually dive ; Auks generally fly. 
A. Toes four, nail fla L or rounded. 
а. Toes with lobate webs; tail absent. (Fig. 22, a ) 
. . . Family Colymbidce: Grebes, p. 138. 
б. Toes webbed, tail present. (Fig. 22, b .) 
Family Gaviidae: Loons, p. 142. 
B. Toes three, webbed, nails sharply pointed ; tail present. 
(Fig. 22, c). . . . Family Alcidce : Auks, Murres, 
and Puffins, p. 145. 
X 
Jaegers, Gulls, 
a 
Order II. Longipennes. 
and Terns. 
Birds generally seen on the wing, usually 
over or. near water. Bill strong, thick; 
hooked in the Gulls and Jaegers, sharply 
pointed in the Terns; bladelike in the Skim- 
mers; often in part yellow or red; wings 
( 118 ) 
Fig. 23. 
