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.
Ross's Goose
The smallest white goose in North America, nearly identical in color to the Snow Goose but noticeably more compact, with a short neck and stubby bill.
waterfowl
Roseate Spoonbill
The only pink spoonbill in the world, easily identified by its rosy-pink body plumage, white neck, and spoon-shaped grey bill.
wading bird
Bicknell's Thrush
A rare, high-elevation thrush closely resembling the Gray-cheeked Thrush, separated mainly by subtle tail color, bill pattern, and habitat.
songbird
Agami Heron
A slender, secretive forest heron with a strikingly long neck and bill, dark green back, chestnut underparts, and long, delicate breeding plumes.
wading bird
Lesser Yellowlegs
A slender, dainty shorebird with bright yellow legs and a short, straight, needle-thin bill, smaller and less wary than its close relative.
shorebird
Pyrrhuloxia
A desert relative of the Northern Cardinal, the Pyrrhuloxia is soft gray overall with splashes of red on the crest, face, and underparts, plus a distinctive stubby yellow bill.
songbird
Sage Thrasher
The smallest and most compact North American thrasher, a streaky gray-brown bird of sagebrush country with a shorter, straighter bill than its relatives.
songbird
Cory's Shearwater
A large, pale brownish-gray shearwater with a yellowish bill, known for its slow, languid flight style compared to other shearwaters of similar size.
seabird
Caspian Tern
The largest tern in the world, approaching the size of some gulls, unmistakable for its massive deep red bill, heavy build, and loud, harsh call.
seabird
Cackling Goose
The Cackling Goose is a small, compact goose closely resembling the Canada Goose, distinguished mainly by its diminutive size, short neck, and stubby bill.
waterfowl
Australasian Swamphen
The Australasian Swamphen is a large, deep blue-purple rail with a red bill and shield, a familiar sight striding through wetlands and adjacent grassy areas.
wading bird
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
Marbled Godwit
The largest North American godwit, with an overall warm cinnamon-buff plumage finely barred with dark markings and a long, slightly upturned bicolored bill.
shorebird
Limpkin
A brown, white-spotted wading bird related to both rails and cranes, known for its loud, wailing calls and long, slightly downcurved bill.
wading bird
Tundra Swan
A large all-white swan of the Arctic tundra, smaller and more compact than the Trumpeter Swan, often showing a small yellow spot at the base of the bill.
waterfowl
California Thrasher
The largest North American thrasher, a dark chocolate-brown bird of California chaparral with a long, strongly curved bill adapted for digging through leaf litter.
songbird
Streaked Spiderhunter
A large, heavily streaked relative of sunbirds found in Asian hill forests, notable for its long curved bill and bold dark streaking on yellowish underparts.
songbird
Rameron Pigeon
The Rameron Pigeon, or African Olive Pigeon, is a large, dark montane forest pigeon with a bright yellow bill and legs and pale spotting across its back.
dove pigeon
Marabou Stork
A massive African scavenging stork with a bald pink head, an enormous bill, and a dangling throat pouch, often seen alongside vultures at carcasses and rubbish dumps.
wading bird
Laughing Gull
A noisy, familiar coastal gull of the southeastern and Gulf coasts, easily told by its dark slate mantle, drooping red bill, and raucous, laughing call.
seabird
Jungle Myna
A slate-gray South Asian myna distinguished by a small tuft of feathers at the base of the bill, along with the bold white wing patch shared with related mynas.
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
American Woodcock
A round, forest-dwelling shorebird with dead-leaf camouflage plumage, an oversized bill, and unusually short, rounded wings that produce a distinctive twittering whistle in flight.
shorebird
African Spoonbill
An all-white African wading bird with a red face and legs, identified by its plain white plumage and grey spoon-shaped bill without a crest.
wading bird