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.
Mute Swan
An enormous, entirely white waterbird whose large, gently curved feathers are unmistakable simply by their sheer size among freshwater birds.
waterfowl
Pomarine Jaeger
The largest and bulkiest of the jaegers, recognized in breeding adults by broad, spoon-twisted central tail feathers and heavily barred underwing coverts.
seabird
King Vulture
A striking tropical vulture with mostly creamy white plumage, jet-black flight and tail feathers, and a vividly multicolored bare head.
raptor
Cape Gannet
A large white seabird closely related to the Northern Gannet, distinguished by a black tail and a black band crossing the secondary flight feathers.
seabird
California Condor
One of the largest flying birds in the world, with enormous black flight feathers and bold white underwing patches.
raptor
Yellow-billed Spoonbill
An Australian endemic spoonbill with pale yellow bill and legs, generally less gregarious than the Royal Spoonbill and often found alone or in small groups at inland wetlands.
wading bird
Amur Falcon
The Amur Falcon is a small migratory falcon breeding in eastern Asia and famed for an enormous transoceanic migration to southern Africa, closely resembling the related Red-footed Falcon.
raptor
White-eyed Vireo
The White-eyed Vireo is a small, feisty vireo of dense thickets, marked by yellow spectacles and yellow-washed wing bars, with adults showing a distinctive pale iris.
songbird
Snowy Plover
A very small, pale plover of sandy Pacific and Gulf coast beaches and interior alkaline flats, with dark neck patches rather than a full breast band.
shorebird
Rose-crowned Fruit Dove
The Rose-crowned Fruit Dove is a small, brilliantly colored fruit dove with a soft rose-pink crown patch set against a green body and yellow belly.
dove pigeon
West Peruvian Dove
A large coastal dove of western South America, similar to the Eared Dove but bigger and grayer, with a small dark mark below the eye and pale grey tail tips.
dove pigeon
Marsh Wren
A small, vocal wren of cattail marshes, identified by its bold black-and-white streaked back and habit of singing loudly from within dense reed cover.
songbird
Lazuli Bunting
A small western North American bunting, the male Lazuli Bunting pairs a turquoise-blue head and back with a warm orange breast band and clean white belly.
songbird
Japanese Pygmy Woodpecker
A small East Asian woodpecker with a softer, browner overall tone than its pygmy woodpecker relatives, common in wooded parks and gardens in Japan and neighboring regions.
woodpecker
Jambu Fruit Dove
A small Southeast Asian fruit dove with a face flushed rosy-crimson, set against green upperparts, clean white underparts, and a chestnut patch beneath the tail.
dove pigeon
Buff-fronted Owl
The Buff-fronted Owl is a small South American forest owl with a striking contrast between its dark brown upperparts and warm buffy-orange face and underparts.
owl
Boreal Owl
A small, secretive owl of northern boreal and subalpine conifer forests, marked by dark brown plumage boldly spotted with white and a distinctive dark-rimmed facial disc.
owl
Eurasian Tree Sparrow
A small farmland sparrow distinguished from its House Sparrow relative by a chestnut crown (rather than grey) and a distinct black spot on an otherwise white cheek.
songbird
Eastern Screech-Owl
A small, common owl of eastern North American woodlands and suburbs, occurring in both a grey and a rufous color morph, both finely patterned to resemble tree bark.
owl
Bat Falcon
The Bat Falcon is a small, dashing falcon of Neotropical forests, black above with a rufous throat patch and a boldly black-and-white barred belly, often hunting bats and swifts at dusk.
raptor
Stitchbird
The Stitchbird, or Hihi, is a small New Zealand honeyeater-relative in which males show a striking black head and yellow shoulder band, now restricted mainly to predator-free sanctuaries.
songbird
Smew
The Smew is a small, striking Eurasian merganser whose male appears almost entirely white, marked with a bold black eye patch and delicate black lines along the back and flanks.
waterfowl
Roadside Hawk
A small, common, and conspicuous hawk of the Neotropics, often seen perched along roadsides, identified by its gray-brown chest contrasting with a rufous-barred belly and narrowly banded tail.
raptor
Masked Duck
A small, secretive stiff-tailed duck; breeding males are rich cinnamon densely marked with black spots and a black facial mask, while females are duller brown with striped faces.
waterfowl