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.

Red-lored Amazon
The Red-lored Amazon is a widespread Central American parrot identified by the band of red across its forehead and lores, bordered by blue on the crown.
parrot
Rufous-capped Warbler
The Rufous-capped Warbler is a lively, tail-cocking warbler of brushy scrub habitat, marked by a rufous crown and bold white facial markings.
songbird
Cassin's Finch
A western North American mountain finch whose males show a bright rosy-red crown sharply contrasting with a brown-streaked back.
songbird
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
Ovenbird
A ground-dwelling warbler that looks more like a small thrush, with heavily streaked underparts and a bold orange crown stripe bordered in black.
songbird
Hooded Warbler
A vivid yellow-faced warbler whose adult males wear a complete black hood over the crown, nape, and throat, framing the bright yellow face like a cowl.
songbird
Black Rosy-Finch
A dark, blackish-brown alpine finch of western North America's highest peaks, set off by rosy-pink wing feathering and a grey crown patch.
songbird
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
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
Capped Heron
A softly colored South American heron with creamy buff-white plumage, a glossy black cap, and long pale plumes trailing from the crown.
wading bird
Bay-breasted Warbler
A small wood-warbler with rich chestnut coloring on the crown, throat, and flanks, breeding in boreal spruce-fir forest tied to spruce budworm outbreaks.
songbird
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
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
Grey-capped Greenfinch
A form of East Asian greenfinch showing a distinctly grey crown and nape contrasting with olive-green body plumage and yellow wing flashes.
songbird
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
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
Western Marsh Harrier
The Western Marsh Harrier is the largest and darkest of the Eurasian harriers, males showing a distinctive tricolor pattern of grey, brown, and black on the wings and tail, while females and juveniles are largely dark chocolate-brown with a pale creamy crown.
raptor
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
Ruby-topaz Hummingbird
A small, richly colored hummingbird whose male combines a ruby-red crown with a glowing golden-orange throat over a warm chestnut body.
hummingbird
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
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
Lucy's Warbler
One of the smallest and palest North American warblers, essentially plain gray and white apart from a bright rufous rump patch and a concealed rufous crown spot.
songbird
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
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