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.
American Barn Owl
A pale, heart-faced owl of open farmland and grassland, instantly recognizable by its golden and grey speckled upperparts, ghostly white underside, and exceptionally soft, silent-flight feathers.
owl
American White Ibis
A common white ibis of the southeastern United States, Central America, and the Caribbean, easily identified by its bright pink-red decurved bill and legs and black wingtips visible in flight.
wading bird
American Three-toed Woodpecker
The North American counterpart of the Eurasian Three-toed Woodpecker, a boreal conifer specialist with a yellow-capped male and barred black-and-white flanks.
woodpecker
Clay-colored Thrush
A plain, uniformly brown thrush of Middle America, closely related to the American Robin but lacking its bright orange breast, identified by its overall buffy-brown tone and pale bill.
songbird
Western Bluebird
A small western thrush whose males show rich cobalt-blue upperparts and wings against a rusty chest, making shed body feathers easy to spot on the ground under nest boxes and fence lines.
songbird
Wood Thrush
A woodland thrush with a warm rufous-brown back brightest on the head, and a boldly spotted white breast that gives it one of the most striking feather patterns among eastern forest songbirds.
songbird
Jabiru
The largest flying bird of the Americas, an enormous white stork with a bare black head and neck marked by a distinctive red collar at the base, found in wetlands from Mexico to Argentina.
wading bird
Black-billed Magpie
A boldly patterned black-and-white corvid of the American West, instantly recognizable by its long, iridescent tail and noisy, sociable habits.
corvid
Redhead
A medium-large diving duck with a rounded reddish-chestnut head, distinguished from the similar Canvasback by its rounder head shape and darker grey body.
waterfowl
Brown Creeper
A tree-trunk specialist whose mottled brown and buff feathers mimic bark texture perfectly, paired with stiff, pointed tail feathers that brace against trunks like a woodpecker's.
songbird
Black Scoter
The Black Scoter is the only scoter whose breeding male shows an entirely black plumage with no white markings at all, set off by a bright orange-yellow knob at the base of the bill.
waterfowl
Bald Eagle
North America's national bird, whose pure white head and tail feathers contrasting with dark brown body plumage make the adult unmistakable, though immatures take years to acquire this pattern.
raptor
Brown Pelican
A large, dark-bodied pelican of coastal waters, known for its spectacular plunge-diving and a head and neck that change color dramatically with the breeding season.
seabird
Belted Kingfisher
A stocky, large-headed North American kingfisher with a shaggy blue-grey crest and, in females, a distinctive rust-colored belly band.
other
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
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
Black-necked Swan
A striking South American swan with a pure white body set off by a jet-black head and neck, plus a bright red facial knob at the base of the bill.
waterfowl
Chihuahuan Raven
A desert raven of the American Southwest, smaller than the Common Raven, with hidden white feather bases at the neck.
corvid
Green Kingfisher
A small, dark-green kingfisher of American waterways, often the most frequently seen kingfisher along narrow streams.
other
Eurasian Wigeon
The Old World counterpart to the American Wigeon, with a rich chestnut head, pale cream crown stripe, and grey axillary feathers that distinguish it from its American relative.
waterfowl
Golden-hooded Tanager
A jewel-like songbird of Central American and northern South American forests, the Golden-hooded Tanager combines a black facial mask with a turquoise-and-gold crown and blue-green body.
songbird
Scarlet Ibis
A brilliantly colored South American and Caribbean ibis, entirely vivid scarlet-red apart from black wingtips, closely related to the American White Ibis but far more vividly pigmented.
wading bird
Collared Aracari
The Collared Aracari is a mid-sized toucan with bright yellow underparts crossed by a dark belt of spots, plus a narrow chestnut collar across the nape. It ranges through Central American and northern South American forests in small, active flocks.
other
Tamaulipas Crow
One of the smallest North American crows, native to northeastern Mexico with a small range extending into southern Texas.
corvid