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.
Olive-backed Sunbird
A widespread and adaptable sunbird found from South Asia to northern Australia, with olive-green upperparts, yellow underparts, and a glittering blue-black throat in breeding males.
songbird
Pacific Black Duck
The Pacific Black Duck is a mottled dark brown dabbling duck with a distinctive pale face crossed by dark eye stripes, common on wetlands across Australia and the Pacific.
waterfowl
Noisy Miner
A vocal, highly social Australian honeyeater, the Noisy Miner has gray body plumage, a black cap, and a bright yellow bill and bare eye-patch, and is well known for its bold group defense of territory.
songbird
Willie Wagtail
A bold black-and-white fantail relative common across Australia, the Willie Wagtail is known for constantly wagging its long tail from side to side while perched or foraging.
songbird
Whistling Kite
A common, pale kite of Australia and New Guinea best known for its far-carrying whistled call, with buff-brown body feathers contrasting against darker flight feathers in flight.
raptor
Intermediate Egret
A medium-sized all-white egret of Asia, Africa, and Australia, best told apart from its larger and smaller relatives by bill proportions and the extent of bare skin around the eye.
wading bird
Albert's Lyrebird
A rarer relative of the Superb Lyrebird found only in a small area of eastern Australia, Albert's Lyrebird has a more subdued rufous-brown plumage and a less elaborate but still distinctive ornamental tail.
songbird
Rufous Owl
The Rufous Owl is a large, richly colored hawk-owl of northern Australia and New Guinea, its warm rufous-brown feathers finely barred throughout and its head rounded without ear tufts.
owl
Grass Owl
A ground-nesting barn-owl relative of tall grasslands from Asia to Australia, with long slender legs and golden-buff to dark brown feathers finely spotted, adapted to a life spent low over open grass.
owl
Little Crow
The smallest of Australia's crow species, adapted to arid interior habitats and often seen in nomadic flocks.
corvid
Rainbow Bee-eater
Australia's only bee-eater, a multicolored bird combining green, gold, and turquoise plumage with a fine black tail streamer.
other
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
Princess Parrot
The Princess Parrot is a slender, pastel-colored parrot of Australia's arid interior, notable for its soft pink throat and long, elegant tail.
parrot
Red Wattlebird
The Red Wattlebird is Australia's largest mainland honeyeater, a grey-brown bird with a fleshy red wattle, yellow belly, and loud, unmusical calls.
songbird
Topknot Pigeon
Australia's largest fruit-eating pigeon, instantly recognizable by its unusual double crest-a grey forward-curling tuft paired with a rufous-chestnut crest behind it.
dove pigeon
Grey Falcon
The Grey Falcon is a rare, strikingly pale falcon of Australia's remote arid interior, its soft grey-and-white plumage making it one of the palest falcons in the world.
raptor
Southern Boobook
Australia's most familiar and widespread owl, named for its distinctive 'boo-book' call, with dark brown feathers boldly spotted white above and streaked buff below.
owl
Spinifex Pigeon
A small, richly reddish pigeon of Australia's spinifex deserts, sporting a pointed crest and bold black-and-white facial markings that stand out against its cinnamon plumage.
dove pigeon
Wedge-tailed Eagle
Australia's largest bird of prey, distinguished from all other eagles by its remarkably long, diamond-shaped tail feathers, the longest relative to body size of any eagle.
raptor
Powerful Owl
Australia's largest owl, a powerful hawk-owl of eucalypt forest that preys on tree-dwelling mammals, its underparts marked with bold dark chevrons rather than simple streaks or bars.
owl
Emu
Australia's largest bird, the Emu has loose, hair-like feathers that grow in pairs from a single shaft, giving its plumage a shaggy, fur-like texture unlike any flying bird.
other
Southern Brown Kiwi
A flightless, nocturnal New Zealand bird covered in shaggy, hair-like brown plumage, with a long, flexible bill and nostrils at its tip used to sniff out prey in the soil. It is one of several closely related brown kiwi species found on the South Island and Stewart Island.
other
Brown-capped Rosy-Finch
An alpine finch restricted to the southern Rocky Mountains, showing a plain cinnamon-brown cap that lacks the grey crown patch of related rosy-finch species.
songbird
Weka
The Weka is a robust, flightless New Zealand rail with streaked brown plumage, known for its bold, inquisitive, and often opportunistic behaviour around people.
wading bird