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.
Song Thrush
A warm brown thrush with cream, finely spotted underparts and a distinctive buff-orange wash under the wing, smaller and more delicately marked than its larger thrush relatives.
songbird
Red-billed Hornbill
A small African hornbill with a long red bill, spotted grey-brown upperparts, and white underparts, common in savanna and open woodland.
other
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
A migratory eastern woodpecker known for drilling neat rows of small holes in tree bark to feed on sap.
woodpecker
Martial Eagle
The Martial Eagle is Africa's largest eagle, with dark grey-brown upperparts, a white underside heavily spotted with brown-black, and immense broad wings built for powerful soaring over savanna.
raptor
Cactus Wren
The Cactus Wren is the largest wren in North America, a bold desert bird whose heavily spotted brown plumage and harsh, rattling song make it a signature sound of the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts.
songbird
Limpkin
A brown, white-spotted wading bird related to both rails and cranes, known for its loud, wailing calls and long, slightly downcurved bill.
wading bird
Ruddy Ground Dove
A tiny, warm rufous-colored dove common in open country across the American tropics, with males showing rich cinnamon plumage and black-spotted wings.
dove pigeon
Madagascar Kestrel
A small, adaptable island kestrel whose rufous, black-spotted feathers make it one of the most recognizable raptors found across Madagascar's varied habitats.
raptor
Little Owl
A small, flat-headed owl whose boldly white-spotted brown feathers and habit of perching in daylight set it apart from Europe's other owls.
owl
Diamond Dove
One of the smallest doves in the world, a soft gray-brown Australian desert species with tiny white-spotted wings and a bright red ring around the eye.
dove pigeon
Redwing
The smallest widespread European thrush, easily told from its relatives by streaked (rather than spotted) underparts and bright reddish-orange flank and underwing feathers.
songbird
Boreal Owl
A small, secretive owl of northern boreal and subalpine conifer forests, marked by dark brown plumage boldly spotted with white and a distinctive dark-rimmed facial disc.
owl
European Starling
An abundant introduced songbird whose feathers change appearance through wear alone, shifting from spotted in fresh winter plumage to glossy and unspotted by breeding season.
songbird
Red-tailed Black Cockatoo
A large Australian cockatoo, the male Red-tailed Black Cockatoo has glossy black plumage with bold red tail panels, while females show duller, yellow-spotted plumage and an orange-yellow tail pattern.
parrot
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
Burrowing Owl
A small, long-legged owl of open grassland and prairie that nests underground in burrows, with brown, white-spotted plumage above and barred underparts, often active during daylight.
owl
Nankeen Kestrel
The Nankeen Kestrel is Australia's common small hovering falcon, named for the pale rufous-tan 'nankeen' color of its back, with a pale grey head and lightly spotted whitish underparts.
raptor
Crested Serpent Eagle
A forest raptor of South and Southeast Asia with bare yellow facial skin and a bushy nape crest, best identified by its single broad white tail band and white-spotted underparts.
raptor
Elf Owl
The smallest owl in the world, a sparrow-sized desert dweller that nests in old woodpecker holes in saguaro cacti and streamside trees, with finely mottled grey-brown plumage.
owl
Northern Red-billed Hornbill
The Northern Red-billed Hornbill is a slender African savanna hornbill with spotted black-and-white upperparts, white underparts, and a long, slim red bill. It typically forages on open ground in small, active family groups.
other
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
Common Flameback
A gold-backed Southeast Asian woodpecker whose bright red rump and bold black-and-white facial stripes make its shed feathers relatively easy to place among the region's 'flamebacks.'
woodpecker
Brown Creeper
A tree-trunk specialist whose mottled brown and buff feathers mimic bark texture perfectly, paired with stiff, pointed tail feathers that brace against trunks like a woodpecker's.
songbird