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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.

White-capped Bunting

White-capped Bunting

A South Asian bunting whose breeding males show a bold white crown bordered in black above a chestnut breast band.

songbird
Northern Carmine Bee-eater

Northern Carmine Bee-eater

A brilliant pink bee-eater of the African Sahel, closely resembling its southern counterpart but with a green crown rather than blue.

other
Black-throated Green Warbler

Black-throated Green Warbler

A small wood-warbler with a bright yellow face framed by an olive-green crown and a black throat, breeding in northern conifer forests.

songbird
Velvet-purple Coronet

Velvet-purple Coronet

A richly colored cloud-forest hummingbird with velvety blackish-purple plumage, a glittering violet-blue crown, and bright white patches visible on the underwing in flight.

hummingbird
Eurasian Three-toed Woodpecker

Eurasian Three-toed Woodpecker

A boreal-forest specialist recognized by its yellow crown patch in males and finely barred black-and-white flanks, closely tied to insect-affected conifers.

woodpecker
Crimson Sunbird

Crimson Sunbird

A vividly colored South and Southeast Asian sunbird whose males combine brilliant crimson plumage with a metallic green crown and elongated central tail feathers.

songbird
Cardinal Woodpecker

Cardinal Woodpecker

One of the smallest and most widespread African woodpeckers, common across savanna and woodland, with the male's red-tipped crown giving rise to its 'cardinal' name.

woodpecker
Brown-capped Rosy-Finch

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
Woodchat Shrike

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
White-eared Hummingbird

White-eared Hummingbird

A small montane hummingbird instantly recognizable by its broad white stripe behind the eye, set against a violet crown and green throat.

hummingbird
Chestnut-sided Warbler

Chestnut-sided Warbler

A small wood-warbler with a bold chestnut stripe along white flanks and a yellow-green crown, common in shrubby second-growth habitat.

songbird
Canyon Towhee

Canyon Towhee

The Canyon Towhee is a plain, dusty-brown ground bird of southwestern deserts and canyons, distinguished by a rufous crown and a dark central breast spot.

songbird
Brown-capped Pygmy Woodpecker

Brown-capped Pygmy Woodpecker

One of the smallest South Asian woodpeckers, told from other pygmy woodpeckers mainly by its brownish, rather than blackish, crown.

woodpecker
Virginia's Warbler

Virginia's Warbler

A gray-bodied warbler of dry interior western scrublands, marked by a bright yellow rump and breast patch, a white eye-ring, and a concealed chestnut crown patch.

songbird
Eurasian Tree Sparrow

Eurasian Tree Sparrow

A small farmland sparrow distinguished from its House Sparrow relative by a chestnut crown (rather than grey) and a distinct black spot on an otherwise white cheek.

songbird
Eurasian Blackcap

Eurasian Blackcap

A plain grey-brown warbler whose crown feathers immediately reveal its sex: solid glossy black in males, warm reddish-brown in females and juveniles.

songbird
Bar-headed Goose

Bar-headed Goose

A pale gray goose renowned for migrating over the Himalayas at extreme altitude, identified by a white head marked with two bold black bars across the crown and nape.

waterfowl
Gambel's Quail

Gambel's Quail

A desert-dwelling quail of the southwestern United States, closely related to the California Quail but distinguished by a chestnut crown patch and a black belly patch on males.

gamebird
Chipping Sparrow

Chipping Sparrow

The Chipping Sparrow is a small, neat sparrow recognized in breeding plumage by its bright rufous crown feathers over a clean, unstreaked gray breast.

songbird
Fork-tailed Sunbird

Fork-tailed Sunbird

A small sunbird of southern China and Southeast Asia named for its notched, forked tail, with males showing a scarlet throat and iridescent green crown.

songbird
Red-necked Falcon

Red-necked Falcon

A striking small falcon with a bright chestnut crown and nape contrasting against a slate-grey back, favoring open country dotted with palms across Africa and South Asia.

raptor
Lesser Scaup

Lesser Scaup

The Lesser Scaup is a widespread diving duck with a peaked crown and subtle purple gloss on the male's head, most often found on inland lakes and reservoirs during migration and winter.

waterfowl
Vermilion Flycatcher

Vermilion Flycatcher

A small flycatcher in which males show a strikingly brilliant red crown and underparts against dusky brown wings, while females are far more subdued.

songbird
Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker

Grey-capped Pygmy Woodpecker

A small, widespread Asian woodpecker with a grey-brown crown and crisply barred back, closely resembling other pygmy woodpeckers across its broad range.

woodpecker