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.
Whistling Heron
A pale, pastel-toned South American heron named for its whistled call, more often found striding through open grassland than wading in deep water.
wading bird
Black-winged Kite
The Old World counterpart of the White-tailed Kite, a small pale gray-and-white raptor with a black shoulder patch and striking red eyes.
raptor
Sandhill Crane
A tall North American crane, gray overall but often stained rusty-brown from preening with iron-rich mud, famous for its massive migratory staging flocks and rolling bugle call.
wading bird
Woodland Kingfisher
A vocal African woodland kingfisher known for its loud, ringing call and a striking bicolor bill of red and black.
other
Laughing Gull
A noisy, familiar coastal gull of the southeastern and Gulf coasts, easily told by its dark slate mantle, drooping red bill, and raucous, laughing call.
seabird
Wrentit
The Wrentit is a secretive, chaparral-dwelling songbird known for its long, often upright tail and its bouncing-ball song, more often heard than seen in dense Pacific coast scrub.
songbird
Regent Parrot
The Regent Parrot is a slender, long-tailed Australian parrot in which males are largely bright yellow with bold red and black wing markings, while females are a much duller olive-green.
parrot
Lewis's Woodpecker
An unusually plumaged western woodpecker with an iridescent greenish-black back, dark red face, and pink-toned belly, often seen flycatching like a crow.
woodpecker
Caspian Tern
The largest tern in the world, approaching the size of some gulls, unmistakable for its massive deep red bill, heavy build, and loud, harsh call.
seabird
Little Wattlebird
The Little Wattlebird is a large, grey-brown honeyeater with a rufous wing patch and a long tail, best known for its harsh, coughing calls.
songbird
Piapiac
A slender, glossy black African corvid with a long tail, often seen following cattle or large game to catch flushed insects.
corvid
Gray Catbird
A slim, uniformly slate-gray songbird named for its cat-like mewing call, with a black cap and a hidden rufous patch beneath the tail.
songbird
Brown Jay
A large, plain brown jay of Mexico and Central America, lacking bright colors but notable for its size, loud calls, and whitish tail tip.
corvid
Lilac-breasted Roller
One of Africa's most colorful birds, with a lilac breast, turquoise belly, and long tail streamers, often perched conspicuously on bare branches.
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
Brown Thrasher
A large, rich rufous-brown songbird with heavily streaked underparts and a long tail, often heard singing elaborate phrases from a high perch.
songbird
Great Grey Shrike
A pale gray Eurasian predator songbird with a black mask and long tail, often seen perched conspicuously atop bushes or wires while watching for prey.
songbird
White-tipped Dove
A stocky, plain grayish-brown dove of tropical and subtropical woodland, best identified by the crisp white tips on its outer tail feathers and its low, mournful call.
dove pigeon
Eurasian Wren
A tiny, round, rufous-brown songbird with fine dark barring across its wings and tail, and a characteristic short tail often held cocked upright, belying an unexpectedly loud voice.
songbird
Bank Myna
A bluish-gray South Asian myna with warm brick-colored underparts and a distinctive patch of bare orange-red skin behind the eye, often found nesting in burrows along riverbanks.
songbird
Fieldfare
A boldly patterned, multi-toned thrush combining a grey head and rump with a chestnut back and black tail, often seen in large winter flocks across open farmland.
songbird
Collared Forest Falcon
A large, owl-faced Neotropical forest raptor with short rounded wings and a long barred tail, known for a dark neck collar and loud calls echoing through the forest at dawn and dusk.
raptor
Western Kingbird
A pale gray-headed flycatcher with a yellow belly, often seen perched on wires in open country, told by white edges on its blackish tail.
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