Feather & Bird Encyclopedia
Search and identify feathers by species — with feather type, plumage, colours, size, habitat, and how to tell them apart in the field.
Curve-billed Thrasher
A grayish-brown desert songbird with a long, strongly down-curved bill, well adapted to foraging among cactus and thorny scrub of the American Southwest.
songbird
Red Collared-Dove
A small Asian dove with pronounced sexual dimorphism, the male showing a rich wine-red body while the female is a much duller grayish-brown.
dove pigeon
Nelson's Sparrow
A softly patterned marsh sparrow with a blurry orange face and grayish back streaking, found in both interior and coastal wetlands.
songbird
Hepatic Tanager
A dusky-red tanager of pine-oak mountain forest, the male Hepatic Tanager is brick-red overall with a subtle grayish cheek patch and a dark bill.
songbird
Sooty Grouse
A large Pacific coast grouse closely related to the Dusky Grouse, males dark sooty grey with a pale grey tail band and inflatable yellow neck sacs used in display.
gamebird
Red-footed Falcon
The Red-footed Falcon is a small, gregarious falcon of eastern European and Asian steppes, males a striking dark slate-grey with rusty leggings, females patterned orange-buff with grey barring above.
raptor
White-tipped Dove
A stocky, plain grayish-brown dove of tropical and subtropical woodland, best identified by the crisp white tips on its outer tail feathers and its low, mournful call.
dove pigeon
Oak Titmouse
The Oak Titmouse is a plain, uniformly grayish-brown California relative of the Tufted Titmouse whose lack of bold markings is itself a key identification clue.
songbird
House Wren
A plain grayish-brown wren common in yards and gardens across the Americas, identifiable by fine dark barring on its short, often-cocked tail feathers.
songbird
Eurasian Curlew
Europe and Asia's largest curlew, with a long downcurved bill and streaky grayish-brown plumage, best known for its evocative bubbling call across moorlands and mudflats.
shorebird
Spotted Eagle-Owl
A common, adaptable eagle-owl of African savanna and rocky country, mottled grayish-brown with bold dark spotting, often seen roosting near human settlements.
owl
Mississippi Kite
The Mississippi Kite is a small, elegant grey kite with a pale head, darker grey back and wings, a solid black tail, and long pointed wings, often seen catching flying insects on the wing over open groves and parks.
raptor
Harpy Eagle
The Harpy Eagle is a massive Neotropical forest eagle with a pale grey head, blackish breast band, boldly banded black-and-grey tail, and a distinctive double crest, all suited to powerful ambush hunting beneath the rainforest canopy.
raptor
Eastern Phoebe
A plain-plumaged flycatcher recognized more by its tail-wagging habit than bright colors, with grayish-brown feathers above and a faint yellow wash on white underparts.
songbird
Greater Rhea
A large flightless ratite of South American grasslands, with soft, loose grayish-brown plumage and a long neck, related more to ostriches and emus than to typical flying birds.
other
Whimbrel
A widespread curlew with a moderately long, downcurved bill and bold dark stripes on the crown, the Whimbrel shows grayish-brown feathers with fine barring adapted for camouflage on tundra and mudflats alike.
shorebird
Chilean Flamingo
A pale pink South American flamingo distinguished by grey legs with contrasting pink knee and ankle joints.
wading bird
Silver Gull
A common and adaptable Australian gull with white plumage, pale grey wings, and black wingtips marked with white spots.
seabird
Purple Heron
A slim, secretive relative of the Grey Heron with rich chestnut neck feathering and a habit of hiding among tall reeds.
wading bird
Long-tailed Rosefinch
A rosefinch distinguished by its unusually long, graduated tail combined with pink and grey-brown streaked plumage in males.
songbird
Dusky-headed Conure
A slender green Amazonian parakeet distinguished by its dusky grey-brown head and pale bare eye-ring.
parrot
Speckled Chachalaca
A grayish-brown, chicken-like bird of South American forest edges, marked with fine pale speckling on the breast and a long tail broadly tipped in cinnamon. It is best known for its loud, raucous dawn calls that give the chachalaca its name.
gamebird
Cinereous Bunting
A pale, ash-grey bunting of southeastern European and Middle Eastern hillsides, with a faint yellow wash on the throat and underparts.
songbird
Eastern Yellow Robin
The Eastern Yellow Robin is a small Australian robin with a grey back, bright yellow underparts, and an upright, alert perching posture.
songbird