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.
Black Phoebe
A dark, tail-wagging flycatcher almost always found perched near water, easily told by its sooty black body and clean white belly.
songbird
Crimson-crested Woodpecker
A striking South American woodpecker whose entirely crimson head and crest stand out sharply against its black-and-white barred body.
woodpecker
Black-throated Magpie-Jay
A close relative of the White-throated Magpie-Jay, distinguished by a bold black throat and breast band and an even longer, more elaborate tail.
corvid
Cattle Egret
A stocky white egret often seen far from water, following livestock and machinery to catch insects stirred up from the ground.
wading bird
Capped Heron
A softly colored South American heron with creamy buff-white plumage, a glossy black cap, and long pale plumes trailing from the crown.
wading bird
Brown Hawk-Owl
The Brown Hawk-Owl is a widespread Asian owl with a hawk-like, tuftless head, dark brown upperparts, and rufous-streaked white underparts.
owl
Yellow-throated Vireo
The Yellow-throated Vireo is a canopy-dwelling songbird with a vivid yellow throat and spectacles set against an olive-green back and clean white wing bars.
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
Surf Scoter
The Surf Scoter is a chunky black sea duck marked by bold white patches on the forehead and nape, paired with a strikingly multicolored bill.
waterfowl
Pallas's Rosefinch
A rosefinch of Siberian and northeast Asian forests, with adult males showing an overall rose-pink plumage frosted with silvery-white on the head.
songbird
Painted Redstart
A boldly patterned black warbler with a bright red breast patch and large white patches on the wings and outer tail, constantly fanning its tail while foraging.
songbird
Northern Gannet
A large, brilliant white seabird with black wingtips and a warm buffy-yellow wash on the head, famous for its spectacular plunge-dives into the sea.
seabird
Knob-billed Duck
A large, glossy black-and-white duck of tropical wetlands, best known for the fleshy black knob or comb that swells atop the breeding male's bill.
waterfowl
Edwards's Pheasant
A rare, glossy dark blue-black pheasant native to the forests of central Vietnam, marked by a short white crest and vivid red facial skin.
gamebird
Yellow Grosbeak
A large, big-billed songbird of Mexican dry forests, the Yellow Grosbeak shows a golden-yellow body set off by boldly patterned black-and-white wings.
songbird
Woodchat Shrike
A boldly patterned southern European shrike with a rich chestnut crown and a crisp white shoulder patch that contrasts sharply with its black wings.
songbird
Speckled Wood Pigeon
The Speckled Wood Pigeon is a richly colored Himalayan pigeon with a deep maroon body and a patch of fine white speckling across the back of its neck.
dove pigeon
Pied Falconet
A strikingly pied falconet with clean black-and-white plumage and no rufous coloring at all, found across southern China and northern Southeast Asia.
raptor
Painted Francolin
A ground-dwelling gamebird of central and southern India with dark brown plumage densely marked with white spots and a chestnut nape patch.
gamebird
Major Mitchell's Cockatoo
A pale pink cockatoo of Australia's arid interior, best known for its spectacular crest banded with red, yellow, and white when raised.
parrot
MacGillivray's Warbler
A western skulking warbler closely resembling the Mourning Warbler but distinguished by bold broken white crescents above and below the eye.
songbird
Eurasian Oystercatcher
A large, boldly pied shorebird of European and Asian coastlines, black above and white below, with a striking white wing bar and rump revealed in flight.
shorebird
American Black Duck
A large, dark dabbling duck of eastern North America that resembles a female Mallard but is much darker overall, with a contrasting pale head and white underwings visible in flight.
waterfowl
Alpine Swift
One of the largest swifts in the world, with a white belly and throat separated by a brown breast band, capable of remaining airborne for months at a stretch.
other