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.
Bank Myna
A bluish-gray South Asian myna with warm brick-colored underparts and a distinctive patch of bare orange-red skin behind the eye, often found nesting in burrows along riverbanks.
songbird
Eurasian Nuthatch
The Eurasian Nuthatch is a stocky, tree-climbing songbird with slate-blue upperpart feathers and warm buff-orange underparts, plus short, stiff tail feathers adapted for headfirst descents down tree trunks.
songbird
Yellow-rumped Cacique
A vocal, colonial songbird of South American lowland forests, marked by glossy black plumage set off by a bright yellow rump and wing patch, and pale, ice-blue eyes.
songbird
Vaux's Swift
A tiny cigar-shaped swift of western forests that spends nearly its entire life on the wing, only clinging to vertical surfaces like hollow tree trunks to roost or nest.
other
Ring-necked Duck
A medium diving duck with a peaked head shape and a glossy black back, best distinguished from scaup by a white vertical spur at the base of the wing rather than a grey back.
waterfowl
Black-headed Gull
A small, gregarious Old World gull whose chocolate-brown (not black) hood and white leading-edge wing wedge make it easy to pick out from mixed flocks.
seabird
Pacific-slope Flycatcher
A yellowish-toned Empidonax flycatcher of western forests, showing a somewhat teardrop-shaped eye-ring and warm buffy wing bars.
songbird
Terek Sandpiper
A distinctive sandpiper with a long, strongly upturned bill and short orange-yellow legs, the Terek Sandpiper shows plain pale gray-brown feathers with a dark scapular streak and an animated feeding style.
shorebird
European Stonechat
The European Stonechat is a small, compact songbird whose breeding males show a jet-black head and orange-chestnut breast set off by white neck patches, against a mottled brown back.
songbird
Goldcrest
Europe's smallest bird, identifiable even from a single tiny feather by its vivid black-bordered crown stripe — orange in males, yellow in females — set against olive-green plumage.
songbird
Red-headed Bunting
The Red-headed Bunting is a brightly colored central Asian songbird whose breeding males show a chestnut-orange head, greenish back, and yellow underparts, closely related to the Black-headed Bunting.
songbird
House Martin
The House Martin is a small aerial songbird with glossy blue-black upperpart feathers, a bright white rump patch, and clean white underparts, built for a life spent almost entirely on the wing.
songbird
Wilson's Warbler
A small, bright yellow warbler with an active, flitting manner, males topped with a neat, glossy black cap and no wing bars or streaking anywhere.
songbird
Saffron Finch
A sunny yellow finch of open South American country, with males showing an orange wash on the forecrown that females lack. Widely kept in aviculture, it has also become established outside its native range.
songbird
House Finch
The House Finch is a common feeder finch whose male feathers show a diet-dependent red-to-orange wash on the head and breast over a brown-streaked body, while females are plain streaked brown.
songbird
Black Redstart
The Black Redstart is a small songbird easily identified by its constantly quivering, bright rufous-orange tail set against sooty gray or brown body plumage, often seen on rocky ledges and buildings.
songbird
Red-tailed Black Cockatoo
A large Australian cockatoo, the male Red-tailed Black Cockatoo has glossy black plumage with bold red tail panels, while females show duller, yellow-spotted plumage and an orange-yellow tail pattern.
parrot
Pine Warbler
A warbler tightly associated with pine forests, showing subdued olive-yellow upperparts, dull yellow underparts, and two whitish wing bars, less flashy than many of its warbler relatives.
songbird
Cedar Waxwing
A sleek, crested bird best known for the small, waxy red tips on its secondary wing feathers, paired with a soft brown-to-gray body and a bright yellow band across the tail tip.
songbird
Patagonian Conure
A large, earth-toned South American parrot notable for nesting in burrows dug into cliff faces, identified by its olive-brown upperparts and a bright yellow-and-red patch across the lower belly.
parrot
Monk Parakeet
A green South American parakeet with a distinctive grey, scalloped breast, unique among parrots for building large communal stick nests rather than nesting in cavities.
parrot
Alexandrine Parakeet
One of the largest Psittacula parakeets, distinguished from the similar Rose-ringed Parakeet by its bigger size, heavier red bill, and a distinctive maroon-red patch on the shoulder.
parrot
Pine Grosbeak
A large, tame northern finch with a stout bill, rosy-pink males and grey-and-yellow females, and bold white wing bars visible in flight.
songbird
New Holland Honeyeater
The New Holland Honeyeater is a boldly streaked black-and-white honeyeater with flashing yellow wing panels, common in heath and gardens across southern Australia.
songbird