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.
Common Ground Dove
One of the smallest doves in North America, a diminutive, scaly-patterned bird that flushes from the ground to reveal a flash of rufous in the wings.
dove pigeon
Griffon Vulture
A large Old World vulture with warm tawny-brown body feathers, contrasting dark flight feathers, and a distinctive white downy ruff at the base of the neck.
raptor
Grey-crowned Rosy-Finch
A North American alpine finch with a grey patch on the back of the head and rosy-pink feathering on the wings and belly against an otherwise brown body.
songbird
Greater Flameback
A large, brilliantly colored Asian woodpecker whose golden 'flame' back gives the species its name, topped by a bushy red crest in males.
woodpecker
Bare-legged Owl
A small Cuban endemic owl notable for its bare, unfeathered legs, an unusual trait among owls that otherwise mostly have feathered tarsi.
owl
Baird's Sparrow
An elusive prairie sparrow with a warm ochre crown stripe and fine necklace-like streaking, tied closely to intact native grassland.
songbird
Stygian Owl
The Stygian Owl is a dark, dramatically plumaged owl of Latin America and the Caribbean, named for its blackish-brown feathers and prominent, closely-set ear tufts.
owl
Common Pochard
The Common Pochard is a Eurasian diving duck notable for the male's warm chestnut head and contrasting black breast, set against a pale, finely patterned gray body.
waterfowl
Mottled Duck
A non-migratory dabbling duck of Gulf Coast and Florida wetlands that looks much like a female Mallard, best told apart by its plain, unstreaked pale throat.
waterfowl
Black Vulture
An all-black scavenger with a short, square tail and distinctive whitish patches near the wingtips, often seen circling in groups or gathered at carcasses.
raptor
Golden Eagle
A powerful upland raptor whose dark brown plumage and golden nape feathers give it its name, with young birds showing crisp white flight-feather patches that fade with age.
raptor
Yellow-shouldered Blackbird
A black blackbird endemic to Puerto Rico and nearby islands, identified by a bright yellow patch on the shoulder, and restricted to a limited range of coastal habitats.
songbird
Spotted Sandpiper
A small, constantly bobbing sandpiper whose breeding-season underparts are covered in bold round black spots unlike any other North American shorebird.
shorebird
Pink-footed Goose
A compact gray goose with a notably darker head and neck than its body, a short pink-banded bill, and pink legs, breeding in the far North Atlantic and wintering on European farmland.
waterfowl
European Golden Plover
The Old World golden plover of moorland and tundra, showing bold gold-spangled upperparts and, in northern breeders, black underparts bordered by a white band.
shorebird
Common Myna
A bold, adaptable brown songbird with a glossy black head and bright yellow bare skin patch around the eye, now established in cities across much of the world.
songbird
Black-capped Chickadee
The Black-capped Chickadee is a tiny, non-migratory songbird whose soft black-and-white head feathers and plain gray back make it a familiar year-round feeder visitor.
songbird
Little Spiderhunter
A plain-plumaged relative of sunbirds recognized by its very long, curved bill and bright yellow underparts, common near banana plants across South and Southeast Asia.
songbird
Worm-eating Warbler
A plain buffy-olive warbler of steep, leaf-littered forest slopes, marked by bold black stripes across the crown and through the eye and a notably long, spike-like bill.
songbird
Willet
A large, plain-looking shorebird that transforms in flight, revealing a bold black-and-white wing pattern unlike any other North American sandpiper.
shorebird
White Stork
A large, unmistakable white stork with black wing feathers and a bright red bill and legs, famous for its rooftop nests and long migrations between Europe and Africa.
wading bird
Whistling Kite
A common, pale kite of Australia and New Guinea best known for its far-carrying whistled call, with buff-brown body feathers contrasting against darker flight feathers in flight.
raptor
Western Tanager
A colorful western North American forest songbird, the breeding male Western Tanager combines a yellow body and black wings with a striking orange-red wash across the head.
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