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.
Northern Long-eared Owl
The Northern Long-eared Owl is the North American form of the Long-eared Owl, a slender, cryptically patterned owl with long, closely-set ear tufts that roosts communally in dense conifers.
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Northern Saw-whet Owl
One of the smallest owls in North America, with soft reddish-brown, white-streaked plumage, no ear tufts, and a distinctive whitish facial disc bordered by a dark rim.
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Steller's Sea Eagle
One of the largest and heaviest eagles alive, easily identified by bold white patches on the shoulders and thighs set against otherwise blackish-brown plumage.
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Ornate Hawk-Eagle
A powerful Neotropical forest raptor with a bold black crest, rufous cheeks and neck, and crisp black-and-white barring across the underparts, built for hunting within the forest canopy.
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Spanish Imperial Eagle
A rare Iberian eagle marked by a bold, creamy-white leading-edge patch on the upperwing that stands out sharply against otherwise blackish-brown body plumage.
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Greater Spotted Eagle
A dark, wetland-loving eagle of boreal and eastern Eurasian forests, larger and blacker than its close relative the Lesser Spotted Eagle, with juveniles showing a striking frosted pattern of white wing spots.
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White-tailed Eagle
A massive coastal eagle whose short, white, wedge-shaped tail feathers and pale straw head contrast strongly with dark brown body plumage in adults.
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Wedge-tailed Eagle
Australia's largest bird of prey, distinguished from all other eagles by its remarkably long, diamond-shaped tail feathers, the longest relative to body size of any eagle.
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Lesser Spotted Eagle
A compact, dark brown migratory eagle of eastern European forests, distinguished from its larger relative the Greater Spotted Eagle by narrower wings and a paler crescent at the base of the outer primaries.
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Eastern Imperial Eagle
A large steppe eagle recognized by small white patches on the shoulders (scapulars) contrasting with otherwise dark brown plumage and a pale, creamy nape.
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Crested Serpent Eagle
A forest raptor of South and Southeast Asia with bare yellow facial skin and a bushy nape crest, best identified by its single broad white tail band and white-spotted underparts.
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Black-and-chestnut Eagle
A rare and powerful Andean raptor with a blackish head and upperparts contrasting sharply against rich chestnut underparts, found in high-elevation cloud forest.
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African Fish Eagle
A strikingly tricolor eagle of African waters, with a crisp white head, chest, and tail set sharply against rich chestnut body plumage and black flight feathers.
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Ural Owl
A large, pale grey-brown owl of Eurasian forests, known for its notably long tail and streaked (rather than barred) plumage, and for its fierce defense of nests.
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Rufous Owl
The Rufous Owl is a large, richly colored hawk-owl of northern Australia and New Guinea, its warm rufous-brown feathers finely barred throughout and its head rounded without ear tufts.
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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.
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Marsh Owl
The Marsh Owl is a plain, tawny-brown ground-nesting owl of African grasslands and marshes, distinguished by its inconspicuous ear tufts and preference for open, low vegetation.
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Spectacled Owl
A large Neotropical rainforest owl named for its bold white 'spectacle' markings around the eyes, with a dark chocolate-brown hood and chest band contrasting sharply against a warm buffy-yellow belly.
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Snowy Owl
A large, striking white owl of the high Arctic, whose feathers vary from nearly pure white in adult males to heavily barred in females and young birds, all cushioned by exceptionally dense feathering for cold protection.
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Crested Owl
A dark, richly colored Neotropical rainforest owl with unusually long, prominent whitish ear-tuft feathers and a bold white eyebrow stripe against otherwise dark brown plumage.
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Chaco Owl
A dark-eyed true owl of the Gran Chaco woodlands, closely related to the Rufous-legged Owl, with densely barred brown plumage suited to dry scrub forest.
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Barred Owl
A large, round-headed owl of eastern North American forests, known for its dark eyes and the distinctive combination of horizontal chest barring and vertical belly streaking on its plumage.
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Barn Owl
An elegant, heart-faced owl whose golden, finely speckled upperparts and ghostly pale underside make its feathers instantly distinctive among owls.
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Laughing Owl
An extinct New Zealand owl known for its odd, laughter-like call, with soft brown mottled plumage and a paler facial area; now known only from museum specimens.
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