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.
Grey Francolin
A ground-dwelling gamebird with finely barred grey-brown plumage, well camouflaged in dry scrub and farmland across South Asia.
gamebird
White-winged Chough
A black, red-eyed Australian bird that lives in cooperative family groups and builds distinctive mud nests in eucalypt woodland.
corvid
Marsh Owl
The Marsh Owl is a plain, tawny-brown ground-nesting owl of African grasslands and marshes, distinguished by its inconspicuous ear tufts and preference for open, low vegetation.
owl
Ovenbird
A ground-dwelling warbler that looks more like a small thrush, with heavily streaked underparts and a bold orange crown stripe bordered in black.
songbird
Northern Waterthrush
A streaky, ground-walking warbler of wooded wetlands and stream edges that constantly bobs its tail while foraging along muddy banks.
songbird
Squatter Pigeon
The Squatter Pigeon is a ground-dwelling Australian pigeon with a bold black-and-white facial pattern, well camouflaged in grassy woodland aside from its striking head markings.
dove pigeon
Eurasian Skylark
The Eurasian Skylark is a streaky brown ground-dwelling songbird famous for its soaring song-flight, its cryptic feathers offering camouflage in the open fields and grassland it favors.
songbird
Bluethroat
The Bluethroat is a small, ground-dwelling songbird whose breeding males display a strikingly iridescent blue-and-chestnut throat patch, set off by warm rufous tail feathers.
songbird
Wonga Pigeon
The Wonga Pigeon is a plump, ground-dwelling Australian pigeon known for the bold black chevron markings across its white lower breast and belly.
dove pigeon
Pheasant Pigeon
The Pheasant Pigeon is a shy, ground-dwelling New Guinea pigeon named for its long, pheasant-like tail and glossy, dark iridescent body.
dove pigeon
Killdeer
A loud, boldly patterned plover of open ground across North America, easily told by its double black breast bands and bright orange-buff rump revealed in flight.
shorebird
Northern Royal Albatross
One of the largest albatrosses, a mostly white southern seabird with a predominantly black upperwing edged in white, closely related to the Wandering Albatross group.
seabird
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
Dark-breasted Rosefinch
An unusually plain rosefinch, lacking the streaking typical of the group, with a dusky rosy-brown body and only a subtle pink wash.
songbird
Campo Flicker
A grassland flicker of central South America with a bold white face and black chest patch, usually seen foraging on open ground rather than tree trunks.
woodpecker
Northern Pygmy-Owl
A tiny, fierce diurnal owl of western mountain forests, notable for the false 'eyespots' on the back of its head. Its feathers show heavy white spotting on a rufous or gray-brown ground color.
owl
Crested Caracara
A bold, long-legged raptor of southern South America's open grasslands, with a black cap, cream neck, and barred breast that make its feathers unmistakable among ground-foraging birds of prey.
raptor
Blue Crane
South Africa's national bird, a pale blue-grey crane with unusually long, trailing wing-tip feathers that can nearly brush the ground when the bird is standing.
wading bird
Eastern Towhee
A large, ground-dwelling sparrow relative with bold black (or brown), white, and rufous plumage, often first noticed scratching noisily through leaf litter in dense thickets.
songbird
Indian Eagle-Owl
A large, tawny-buff eagle-owl of rocky ravines and scrub across the Indian subcontinent, its feathers boldly streaked and barred in dark brown against a warm buff ground.
owl
Magpie-lark
A common Australian black-and-white songbird, the Magpie-lark shows bold facial and body markings that differ between males and females, and is frequently seen foraging near water on open ground.
songbird
Short-toed Snake Eagle
The Short-toed Snake Eagle is a pale-bellied Eurasian eagle with brown upperparts, a mottled brown breast, finely barred flight and tail feathers, and a large owl-like head adapted for scanning the ground for reptile prey.
raptor
African Grass Owl
A ground-nesting barn-owl relative of African montane grassland and marsh, dark chocolate-brown above with fine pale spotting, and long legs suited to hunting low over dense grass.
owl
Yellow-billed Spoonbill
An Australian endemic spoonbill with pale yellow bill and legs, generally less gregarious than the Royal Spoonbill and often found alone or in small groups at inland wetlands.
wading bird