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.
Western Capercaillie
The largest grouse species, with males showing a dark, heavy build, an iridescent green breast sheen, and an impressively broad fan-shaped tail during display.
gamebird
Rock Wren
A pale, finely speckled wren of arid rocky terrain, identified by its habit of bobbing on boulders and its buffy-tipped tail corners flashed in flight.
songbird
Northern Mockingbird
A slim gray songbird famous for its vocal mimicry, identifiable by the bold white patches on its wings and the white outer edges of its long tail.
songbird
Green-cheeked Conure
A small, compact South American conure with green cheeks, a grey-brown crown, and a distinctive maroon-red tail contrasting with its mostly green body.
parrot
Chimney Swift
A cigar-shaped aerial bird with uniformly sooty gray-brown plumage and stiff, spine-tipped tail feathers used to brace against vertical surfaces.
other
Allen's Hummingbird
A small West Coast hummingbird with a fiery orange-red throat patch, warm rufous flanks and tail, and a back that can be green or rufous depending on the population.
hummingbird
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.
owl
Turquoise-browed Motmot
This Central American motmot is best known for its bright turquoise eyebrow stripe and long tail ending in bare-shafted rackets that it swings like a pendulum.
other
Tropical Mockingbird
A familiar gray songbird of Central and South American open country and gardens, known for its long tail, white wing flashes, and varied vocal repertoire.
songbird
Swainson's Thrush
A brown forest thrush best identified by its bold, buffy eye-ring and evenly colored upperparts, lacking the contrasting rufous tail of the Hermit Thrush.
songbird
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
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
Golden Pheasant
A brilliantly colored pheasant native to central China, with males showing a golden crest, an orange fan-shaped cape, and a very long, finely barred tail.
gamebird
Beautiful Sunbird
A savanna sunbird of sub-Saharan Africa whose breeding males combine an iridescent green head and back with a scarlet breast band and elongated tail feathers.
songbird
Nicobar Pigeon
The Nicobar Pigeon is a striking island pigeon with long, shimmering hackle-like neck feathers in shifting metallic greens and coppers, set off by a pure white tail.
dove pigeon
Northern Pintail
An elegant, long-necked dabbling duck whose male grows dramatically elongated central tail feathers, among the most recognizable single feathers of any duck.
waterfowl
Military Macaw
A green macaw with a small red forehead patch and blue-edged wing and tail feathers, found in foothill forests and canyon country from Mexico to South America.
parrot
Common Grackle
A large, iridescent blackbird recognized by its long, keel-shaped tail held in a distinctive V-shaped trough during flight and its bronze or purple sheen.
songbird
Fox Sparrow
A large, richly colored sparrow whose reddish tail and heavily spotted breast make its feathers among the most distinctive of any North American sparrow.
songbird
Cheer Pheasant
A comparatively subdued, buff-and-grey Himalayan pheasant with a shaggy crest and a long, dark-barred tail, favoring open grassy hillsides rather than dense forest.
gamebird
Carib Grackle
A small, glossy grackle common around towns and farmland in the southern Caribbean and northern South America, recognized by its keel-shaped tail and noisy flocking habits.
songbird
Wild Turkey
A large North American gamebird with iridescent bronze-green body feathers, a broad fan-shaped tail banded in dark brown and buff, and a bare, colorful head.
gamebird
White-throated Bee-eater
A slender, streamlined bee-eater of Africa's Sahel belt, green-bodied with a crisp white throat and forehead and long wispy tail streamers that trail behind it in flight.
other