The female’s plumage weakly patterned,
her gray shade fairly light.
The male Labrador Duck, piebald,
but for wings entirely white.
Favoring the sandy coasts
of seaboard states –
in winter returning to New England
from inlets of Saint Lawrence Bay.
Merritt Island’s salt marshes host
the Dusky Seaside Sparrow –
its dark coloration, punctuated
by a stripe of yellow.
Nesting only inches above high tide,
an open cup of grasses protects
pale blue eggs inside.
On this question,
opinion is torn –
Were they extinct before
they were born?
These birds of North America.
Patches of pinkish iridescence
line its neck.
On the back, bronze purple green
shine, metallic.
Great clouds of them
twist in migration.
Swift, strong, graceful,
countless and tender – traits of
the Passenger Pigeon.
And on this question,
opinion is torn –
Were they extinct before
they were born?
These birds of North America.
Birds of North America.
They were birds of North America.
They were birds of North America.
On this question,
opinion is torn –
Were they extinct before
they were born?
The Birds of North America.
© 2017.