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.
Great Cormorant
A large, glossy black cormorant with a white throat patch and, during the breeding season, a striking white patch on each flank.
seabird
Vasa Parrot
A large, dark, unusually plain-plumaged parrot from Madagascar known for its loose, almost vulture-like feathering.
parrot
Zone-tailed Hawk
A blackish hawk that closely mimics the flight silhouette and dark coloring of the Turkey Vulture, distinguished mainly by its banded tail feathers.
raptor
Rusty Blackbird
The Rusty Blackbird is a boreal-breeding blackbird whose fresh fall plumage is heavily edged with rust, wearing away to glossy black by the breeding season, and whose populations have declined sharply in recent decades.
songbird
Verreaux's Eagle
Verreaux's Eagle, also called the Black Eagle, is a striking African mountain eagle almost entirely glossy black except for a white back patch and pale flight-feather 'windows.' Its long, broad wings and tail are shaped for soaring along cliffs and escarpments.
raptor
Piapiac
A slender, glossy black African corvid with a long tail, often seen following cattle or large game to catch flushed insects.
corvid
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
Pied Kingfisher
A striking black-and-white kingfisher known for hovering over water before plunging to catch prey.
other
Common Scoter
The Common Scoter is the Eurasian counterpart of the Black Scoter, a sea duck whose breeding male is entirely black apart from a yellow-orange patch along the ridge of the bill.
waterfowl
Audubon's Oriole
A secretive oriole of dense riparian thickets, showing a solid black hood and wings against a yellow body, and best known for its slow, deliberate whistled song.
songbird
Melodious Blackbird
An all-black songbird of Mexico and Central America, notable for its subtly glossy plumage, stout bill, and rich duetting song delivered in pairs.
songbird
Hooded Siskin
A small South American finch whose male sports a jet-black hood set off by bright yellow underparts and wing flashes.
songbird
Nanday Conure
A green South American conure easily told by its solid black head, or hood, along with a small blue patch on the breast and red-feathered thighs.
parrot
Marabou Stork
A massive African scavenging stork with a bald pink head, an enormous bill, and a dangling throat pouch, often seen alongside vultures at carcasses and rubbish dumps.
wading bird
Common Blackbird
A familiar thrush of European gardens, with males showing sleek all-black plumage and a bright bill, while females and juveniles are a more camouflaged sooty brown with subtle mottling.
songbird
Yellow-hooded Blackbird
A marsh-dwelling blackbird of northern South America, with males showing a bright yellow hood and breast against an otherwise black body, often seen perched on reeds and grass stems.
songbird
Blackpoll Warbler
A small wood-warbler famous for its extremely long migratory flights, showing a black cap and white cheeks in breeding males and a plainer streaked plumage in fall.
songbird
Brewer's Blackbird
Brewer's Blackbird is a widespread, adaptable blackbird whose males show glossy black plumage with purple and green iridescence, common in open fields, parking lots, and agricultural areas across the West.
songbird
White-tailed Kite
A pale, falcon-shaped kite known for hovering over open fields, with soft gray-and-white feathers and a distinctive black shoulder patch.
raptor
Royal Spoonbill
A white spoonbill of Australasia known for the long, trailing white crest plumes that breeding adults grow from the back of the head.
wading bird
Magnolia Warbler
A small, boldly patterned wood-warbler with a black "necklace" of streaking on a yellow breast, breeding in northern conifer forests.
songbird
Collared Grosbeak
A large Himalayan finch with a black hooded head and collar contrasting boldly with bright yellow body plumage.
songbird
Scarlet-headed Blackbird
A striking marsh-dwelling blackbird with a vivid scarlet head, neck, and breast set against an otherwise entirely black body, found in wetlands of central South America.
songbird
Yellow-headed Blackbird
The Yellow-headed Blackbird is a large, striking marsh bird easily identified by its bright yellow head and breast contrasting sharply with glossy black body plumage and a bold white wing patch.
songbird