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.
Indian Peafowl
One of the most recognizable birds in the world, with males displaying an iridescent blue neck and an immense fanning train of elongated feathers marked with large eyespots.
gamebird
Carrion Crow
A widespread, all-black generalist corvid whose glossy feathers closely resemble those of the Rook, distinguished mainly by context and subtle shape differences.
corvid
Long-billed Curlew
North America's largest shorebird, the Long-billed Curlew shows warm cinnamon-buff plumage and an extraordinarily long, downcurved bill, with feathers that echo the buffy tones of dry grassland.
shorebird
Whimbrel
A widespread curlew with a moderately long, downcurved bill and bold dark stripes on the crown, the Whimbrel shows grayish-brown feathers with fine barring adapted for camouflage on tundra and mudflats alike.
shorebird
Turkey Vulture
A widespread scavenger known for its two-toned wings, silvery flight feathers set against a dark body, and its habit of soaring in a shallow V with a distinctive teetering flight.
raptor
Snail Kite
A marsh-dwelling raptor with a thin, deeply curved bill for extracting apple snails, and feathers ranging from slaty gray in males to warm streaked brown in females and young birds.
raptor
Saddle-billed Stork
One of Africa's tallest and most colorful storks, with a glossy black-and-white body and a spectacular red, black, and yellow bill, though the feathers themselves are simply patterned in black and white.
wading bird
Common Shelduck
A boldly patterned, goose-sized duck with a crisp white body, a glossy dark green head, a broad chestnut band across the breast and back, and solid black flight feathers.
waterfowl
Common Peafowl Spalding
An aviculture strain blending Green and Indian Peafowl ancestry, showing iridescent scaled neck feathers, a tall crest, and a long ornamental train that draws on the coloring of both parent lines.
gamebird
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.
owl
Brambling
A northern finch closely related to the Chaffinch, showing warm orange breast and shoulder feathers, a mottled black-and-orange back, and a bold white rump patch that flashes distinctively in flight.
songbird
Wahlberg's Eagle
A slender, migratory savanna eagle of Africa notable for its variable plumage color morphs, ranging from pale cream-brown to dark chocolate, all sharing a distinctive narrow-winged, small-headed silhouette.
raptor
Northern Red-billed Hornbill
The Northern Red-billed Hornbill is a slender African savanna hornbill with spotted black-and-white upperparts, white underparts, and a long, slim red bill. It typically forages on open ground in small, active family groups.
other
Crowned Eagle
The Crowned Eagle is a powerful African forest eagle with rich rufous underparts boldly barred in black, a strongly banded black-and-white tail, and a small crest, all adaptations for hunting beneath a dense forest canopy.
raptor
Song Thrush
A warm brown thrush with cream, finely spotted underparts and a distinctive buff-orange wash under the wing, smaller and more delicately marked than its larger thrush relatives.
songbird
Lesser Prairie-Chicken
A grassland grouse of the southern Great Plains, smaller and paler than its close relative the Greater Prairie-Chicken, with males displaying reddish-purple air sacs during courtship.
gamebird
Intermediate Egret
A medium-sized all-white egret of Asia, Africa, and Australia, best told apart from its larger and smaller relatives by bill proportions and the extent of bare skin around the eye.
wading bird
Reeves's Pheasant
A pheasant of central China renowned for having the longest tail feathers of any bird in its family, combined with golden, black-scaled body plumage and a bold black-and-white head pattern.
gamebird
Ferruginous Hawk
The Ferruginous Hawk is the largest North American buteo, with rich rufous ('ferruginous') back and leg feathers, a pale head and underparts, and a whitish tail, adapted to hunting over open, arid grassland.
raptor
Great White Pelican
A massive white pelican with a subtle pinkish tinge, black flight feathers, and a tufted nape crest, found across freshwater and coastal wetlands of Africa and Eurasia.
seabird
Crimson Topaz
One of the largest and most spectacular hummingbirds, the Crimson Topaz shows a glowing ruby-red body and long, crossed golden tail feathers in adult males.
hummingbird
Crimson Sunbird
A vividly colored South and Southeast Asian sunbird whose males combine brilliant crimson plumage with a metallic green crown and elongated central tail feathers.
songbird
Hume's Owl
Hume's Owl is a pale, desert-adapted tawny owl of the Middle East whose sandy, finely barred feathers blend seamlessly with rock and canyon walls.
owl
House Wren
A plain grayish-brown wren common in yards and gardens across the Americas, identifiable by fine dark barring on its short, often-cocked tail feathers.
songbird