Wednesday Search Challenge (4/9/14): What kind of bird is that?

It's spring in Palo Alto, finally, after a long delayed arrival of the rains.  The start of the year has started late, so everything is a bit delayed.  The flowers are slow in arriving, and look to be a bit shorter and a bit fewer this year. 

But just recently one of my favorite springtime events took place to set everything aright. 

I stepped outside and heard a very high pitched, slight, piping sound coming from a large number of birds.  I have a large bush that's full of berries, and in the bush I saw lots of movement.  A flock of my favorite birds had returned to have a breakfast en masse.  They seem to sweep through twice a year, once in spring, and once in the fall, as they migrate from place to place, always pausing where there's food.  

I tried taking a picture, but my lens wasn't long enough and they're pretty fast.  Luckily, my good friend (and superb photographer) Bill Walker was able to take this wonderful photo. 

Credit:  Bill Walker. Link to his site.

These truly are my favorite birds, although some farmers might think otherwise.  There's something about their sleek appearance and very social behavior that make them seem especially interesting.  

Although I know what kind of bird this is, I thought on the occasion of their annual migration, they would make for an curious Search Challenge.  

Obviously, you could just do an image search and find this picture on Bill's site, and then you'd have the answer.  But let's see if we can solve this WITHOUT search-by-image.  (There's method in my madness--suppose I'd taken the photo and not posted it onto the net, in that case, search-by-image often doesn't work.  We need to develop this "regular search" skill for birds as well.)  

1.  What kind of birds are these?  (Common name and Latin names, please.  No fair using Search-By-Image this time!)  

2.  In his masterwork on the illustrations of American birds, the great artist and ornithologist John James Audubon gave this bird a common name that is no longer used.  What is the common name that he used for this bird? 

3.  Speaking of that book--I'd really like to see an actual copy of the masterwork.  Where's the closest copy to me (in California)?  (For extra credit:  Is there a copy I could actually touch and turn the pages with my own (gloved) hands?) 

Let us know how you found the answers.  I'll tell you what I know on Friday. 

Search on!