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.
Manx Shearwater
A slim, black-and-white seabird known for its low, banking flight that alternately flashes dark upperparts and white underparts as it 'shears' over waves.
seabird
Emperor Goose
A small, stocky goose with a bold black-and-white scalloped body pattern, a white head and neck often stained rust-orange, and a black throat.
waterfowl
Blue-headed Vireo
The Blue-headed Vireo shows a contrasting blue-gray head, bold white spectacles, and white wing bars, making it one of the more readily identified vireos.
songbird
Bewick's Wren
A slim, long-tailed wren with a bold white eyebrow stripe, told from other wrens by its notably long tail edged in white and barred with black.
songbird
African Spoonbill
An all-white African wading bird with a red face and legs, identified by its plain white plumage and grey spoon-shaped bill without a crest.
wading bird
Black Stork
A shy, forest-loving relative of the White Stork with glossy black plumage, a white belly, and a red bill and legs, favoring quiet rivers and wetlands far from people.
wading bird
Pied Imperial Pigeon
The Pied Imperial Pigeon is a striking black-and-white pigeon of coastal forests and islands, easily recognized by its creamy white body and bold black flight feathers.
dove pigeon
Muscovy Duck
A large, heavily built duck; wild birds are glossy black-green with white wing patches, while the widely domesticated and feral forms show highly variable pied black-and-white plumage.
waterfowl
Eurasian Dotterel
A confiding alpine plover with a bold white eyebrow stripe and a chestnut breast band bordered in black and white, the Eurasian Dotterel shows reversed sex roles typical of some plovers.
shorebird
Saddle-billed Stork
One of Africa's tallest and most colorful storks, with a glossy black-and-white body and a spectacular red, black, and yellow bill, though the feathers themselves are simply patterned in black and white.
wading bird
Ivory Gull
A pure white, high Arctic gull closely tied to pack ice, whose all-white adult plumage and short black legs make it unmistakable among northern seabirds.
seabird
Spotted Towhee
The western counterpart to the Eastern Towhee, distinguished by bold white spots and streaks across the back and wing feathers layered over the same black-rufous-white color scheme.
songbird
Razorbill
A sleek, glossy black-and-white auk named for its deep, laterally flattened bill marked with a bold white vertical line, closely related to the extinct Great Auk.
seabird
Mikado Pheasant
A striking Taiwanese endemic pheasant, with males cloaked in glossy blue-black plumage set off by a bold white wing bar and a long, narrowly white-barred tail.
gamebird
Common Wood Pigeon
Europe's largest common pigeon, easily identified by its soft blue-grey feathers, a bold white wing bar, and white neck patches absent in smaller relatives.
dove pigeon
Great Spotted Woodpecker
The Great Spotted Woodpecker is a striking black-and-white bird with bold white wing patches, a crimson undertail, and stiff, pointed tail feathers adapted for bracing against tree trunks while excavating and drumming.
woodpecker
House Martin
The House Martin is a small aerial songbird with glossy blue-black upperpart feathers, a bright white rump patch, and clean white underparts, built for a life spent almost entirely on the wing.
songbird
Common Goldeneye
The Common Goldeneye is a striking black-and-white diving duck named for its piercing golden-yellow eye, with males showing a round white spot on an otherwise glossy dark green head.
waterfowl
Elliot's Pheasant
A richly patterned Chinese forest pheasant, with males showing a chestnut body, blue-grey head, crisp white throat patch, and a long chestnut tail barred in black and white.
gamebird
Mourning Dove
A common, slender dove whose long, pointed, white-edged tail feathers and soft muted tan-brown coloring make it a familiar sight and sound across open country.
dove pigeon
Black Turnstone
A dark, sooty relative of the Ruddy Turnstone restricted to the Pacific coast of North America, showing a uniformly blackish body offset by a crisp white belly and bold white wing markings in flight.
shorebird
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
Great Tit
A boldly patterned tit with a glossy black head and white cheeks, bright yellow underparts split by a black central stripe, and blue-grey wings with a white bar, among the most recognizable garden songbirds.
songbird
African Wood Owl
A medium-sized African forest owl without ear tufts, dark brown with white spotting above and boldly barred brown and white below, well known for its distinctive laughing duet call.
owl