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.
Bar-tailed Godwit
A high-Arctic-breeding godwit renowned for extraordinary nonstop transoceanic migratory flights, showing a finely barred tail and rich brick-red breeding underparts quite different from the bold black tail of the related Black-tailed Godwit.
shorebird
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.
raptor
Sharp-tailed Grouse
A prairie grouse recognized by its mottled brown plumage, V-shaped chevron markings on the underside, and a short, pointed central tail used in a distinctive courtship dance.
gamebird
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.
raptor
Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo
A large, dark cockatoo of southeastern Australia, the Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo shows blackish-brown plumage broken by bright yellow patches on the tail and cheek.
parrot
Eastern Wood-Pewee
A modestly plumaged woodland flycatcher known more for its plaintive whistled song than its subtle olive-gray coloring and faint wing bars.
songbird
Red Kite
A rufous, forked-tailed raptor of Europe whose long, angular wings and deeply forked tail feathers are among the most recognizable silhouettes in the sky.
raptor
Red Warbler
The Red Warbler is a Mexican highland endemic whose entirely bright red plumage, broken only by a silvery cheek patch, makes it one of the most unmistakable warblers in the world.
songbird
Red Spurfowl
An Indian forest gamebird cloaked in rich chestnut-red plumage, named for the multiple leg spurs males carry rather than the single spur of most gamebirds.
gamebird
Red Siskin
A small, brilliantly red South American finch with a black hood and wings, now rare in the wild and notable for its striking male plumage.
songbird
Red Phalarope
The most oceanic of the phalaropes, the Red Phalarope shows brick-red underparts in breeding plumage and pale gray winter feathers, with a stouter bill than its phalarope relatives.
shorebird
Red Knot
A stocky, medium-sized sandpiper famous for spectacular long-distance migrations, showing warm salmon-red underparts in breeding plumage that fade to plain, softly scaled gray for winter.
shorebird
Red Junglefowl
The wild ancestor of the domestic chicken, with males displaying glossy orange-gold neck hackles and long, curved, iridescent black tail feathers.
gamebird
Red-bellied Woodpecker
A common eastern woodpecker with a finely barred, ladder-like back pattern unique among familiar woodpeckers, and a red cap or nape depending on sex.
woodpecker
Red-headed Woodpecker
One of the most strikingly patterned North American woodpeckers, with an entirely crimson-red head set against bold black-and-white body plumage.
woodpecker
Red-throated Wryneck
The African counterpart to the Eurasian Wryneck, distinguished by its warm rufous throat patch set against the same cryptic, bark-like plumage.
woodpecker
Red-legged Honeycreeper
A small tropical songbird whose breeding males flash violet-blue plumage against solid black wings and tail, while females and non-breeding males wear soft green. It ranges from Mexico through much of South America, favoring forest edges and gardens where it sips nectar and gleans fruit.
songbird
Red-footed Falcon
The Red-footed Falcon is a small, gregarious falcon of eastern European and Asian steppes, males a striking dark slate-grey with rusty leggings, females patterned orange-buff with grey barring above.
raptor
Red-vented Bulbul
A common South Asian songbird with a short crest, dark scaly-edged plumage, and a bright red patch under the tail.
songbird
Red-winged Blackbird
A common marsh-dwelling blackbird whose males display bold red-and-yellow shoulder patches on glossy black plumage, while females are entirely different, streaked brown like a large sparrow.
songbird
Red-crowned Crane
One of the rarest cranes in the world, a large white East Asian crane with a black neck, a bare red crown, and elongated black secondary feathers that form a false 'tail' over its true white tail.
wading bird
Red-footed Booby
The smallest and most variably plumaged booby, occurring in white, brown, and intermediate color morphs, all sharing distinctive red feet.
seabird
Red-backed Shrike
A small Eurasian shrike with strongly different male and female plumages, the male showing a gray head, chestnut back, and black bandit mask.
songbird
Red-billed Streamertail
Jamaica's national bird, the Red-billed Streamertail is famed for the male's extraordinarily long, curved tail feathers that produce a humming sound in flight.
hummingbird