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.
Semipalmated Plover
A small, compact North American plover with a single black breast band and orange-based bill, closely resembling the Old World Common Ringed Plover.
shorebird
Great Egret
A tall, all-white heron with a long yellow bill and black legs, famous for the delicate plumes it grows during the breeding season.
wading bird
Red Crossbill
A stocky finch with a distinctively crossed bill adapted for prying seeds from conifer cones, males brick-red and females olive-toned.
songbird
Woodland Kingfisher
A vocal African woodland kingfisher known for its loud, ringing call and a striking bicolor bill of red and black.
other
Wilson's Plover
A stocky coastal plover best known for its thick, heavy black bill, distinctly larger than that of similarly patterned ringed plovers.
shorebird
European Serin
A tiny, streaky yellow-green finch with a short stubby bill and a bright yellow face and rump in breeding males.
songbird
Semipalmated Sandpiper
A small, plain-plumaged sandpiper with a short, straight, stubby bill and black legs, among the most abundant shorebirds of eastern North America.
shorebird
Ross's Goose
The smallest white goose in North America, nearly identical in color to the Snow Goose but noticeably more compact, with a short neck and stubby bill.
waterfowl
Sage Thrasher
The smallest and most compact North American thrasher, a streaky gray-brown bird of sagebrush country with a shorter, straighter bill than its relatives.
songbird
Lesser Yellowlegs
A slender, dainty shorebird with bright yellow legs and a short, straight, needle-thin bill, smaller and less wary than its close relative.
shorebird
Cackling Goose
The Cackling Goose is a small, compact goose closely resembling the Canada Goose, distinguished mainly by its diminutive size, short neck, and stubby bill.
waterfowl
Scottish Crossbill
A crossbill endemic to Scotland's native pinewoods, intermediate in bill size between the Common and Parrot Crossbills it closely resembles.
songbird
American Woodcock
A round, forest-dwelling shorebird with dead-leaf camouflage plumage, an oversized bill, and unusually short, rounded wings that produce a distinctive twittering whistle in flight.
shorebird
Alexandrine Parakeet
One of the largest Psittacula parakeets, distinguished from the similar Rose-ringed Parakeet by its bigger size, heavier red bill, and a distinctive maroon-red patch on the shoulder.
parrot
Red-legged Kittiwake
A cliff-nesting Bering Sea specialist, smaller and darker-mantled than its more widespread relative, and readily told by its bright red legs and shorter bill.
seabird
Pink-footed Goose
A compact gray goose with a notably darker head and neck than its body, a short pink-banded bill, and pink legs, breeding in the far North Atlantic and wintering on European farmland.
waterfowl
Terek Sandpiper
A distinctive sandpiper with a long, strongly upturned bill and short orange-yellow legs, the Terek Sandpiper shows plain pale gray-brown feathers with a dark scapular streak and an animated feeding style.
shorebird
Sacred Ibis
A large white wading bird with a bare black head and curved black bill, historically significant in ancient Egyptian culture and common across African wetlands today.
wading bird
Little Spiderhunter
A plain-plumaged relative of sunbirds recognized by its very long, curved bill and bright yellow underparts, common near banana plants across South and Southeast Asia.
songbird
American White Ibis
A common white ibis of the southeastern United States, Central America, and the Caribbean, easily identified by its bright pink-red decurved bill and legs and black wingtips visible in flight.
wading bird
Arctic Tern
A slender, long-distance migrant famous for traveling between Arctic breeding grounds and Antarctic waters each year, distinguished from the similar Common Tern by an all-red bill and more uniformly translucent primaries.
seabird
Boat-tailed Grackle
The Boat-tailed Grackle is a large coastal grackle with a long, distinctively keeled tail, males glossy black with iridescence and females a much smaller warm brown, common along Atlantic and Gulf Coast marshes.
songbird
Buff-bellied Hummingbird
A Gulf Coast hummingbird recognized by its warm buffy belly and rufous tail contrasting with an iridescent green throat and back.
hummingbird
Sinaloa Crow
A small crow of Mexico's Pacific coastal lowlands, closely related to the Tamaulipas Crow of the Gulf coast.
corvid