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.
Andean Emerald
A clean-looking Andean hummingbird combining a glittering green throat and back with notably pale, whitish underparts and a tail showing a blue tinge.
hummingbird
Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay
The interior counterpart to the California Scrub-Jay, this crestless jay of pinyon-juniper and interior scrub country shows a slightly duller blue and a less crisply defined breast band.
corvid
Superb Sunbird
A vividly patterned West and Central African sunbird whose males combine a violet throat, scarlet breast band, metallic blue-green head, and bright yellow belly.
songbird
Shoebill
An unmistakable, prehistoric-looking African swamp bird named for its massive, shoe-shaped bill, with an overall slate blue-grey plumage and a shaggy crest at the back of the head.
wading bird
Satyr Tragopan
A vivid crimson Himalayan pheasant whose male is covered in white-centered black-bordered spots and can inflate a strikingly patterned blue throat lappet during display.
gamebird
American Kestrel
The smallest and most colorful falcon in North America, a common sight perched on roadside wires, told by its rufous back and tail and, in males, contrasting blue-gray wings.
raptor
Lanner Falcon
The Lanner Falcon is a widespread African and southern European falcon recognized by its rufous cap and blue-grey back, with lightly streaked pale underparts.
raptor
Varied Bunting
A small desert bunting whose male plumage looks nearly black in shade but reveals shifting purple, blue, and reddish tones in good light.
songbird
Splendid Fairywren
The Splendid Fairywren is a tiny songbird whose breeding males are almost entirely brilliant blue and violet, among the most vividly coloured birds in Australia.
songbird
Plush-crested Jay
A South American jay with a velvety black face, glowing yellow eyes, and a soft blue patch on the nape, its tail broadly tipped in white.
corvid
Lidth's Jay
A richly colored jay found only on a few Japanese islands, combining a chestnut head and neck with a deep blue body and black face mask.
corvid
Eastern Rosella
The Eastern Rosella is a strikingly patterned Australian parrot with a red head and breast, a scalloped yellow-green back, a white cheek patch, and blue wings.
parrot
Yellow-rumped Cacique
A vocal, colonial songbird of South American lowland forests, marked by glossy black plumage set off by a bright yellow rump and wing patch, and pale, ice-blue eyes.
songbird
Temminck's Tragopan
A vividly colored Asian pheasant with rich orange-red plumage dotted in pearly white spots, best known for the male's inflatable blue throat lappet used in courtship display.
gamebird
Yellow-headed Amazon
A large green amazon parrot of Mexico and Central America, named for its yellow-washed head, with a red shoulder patch and blue in the wing visible in flight.
parrot
Sparkling Violetear
A large, vocal Andean hummingbird whose extensive violet-blue patches on the ear coverts and chest are noticeably bolder than those of related violetear species.
hummingbird
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
Variable Sunbird
A small, widespread African sunbird whose plumage pattern varies geographically, generally showing an iridescent green or blue-green throat and yellow underparts in males.
songbird
Palestine Sunbird
A small Middle Eastern sunbird whose males appear almost entirely glossy dark blue-black, with hidden orange tufts flashed during display.
songbird
Tui
The Tui is a New Zealand honeyeater whose plumage looks black at a distance but shimmers with iridescent green, blue, and bronze up close, set off by two curled white throat tufts.
songbird
White-breasted Nuthatch
The White-breasted Nuthatch is a tree-climbing songbird whose clean blue-gray back and pure white face and breast feathers are easy to separate from most other backyard species.
songbird
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
King Eider
The King Eider is a large arctic sea duck whose male combines a colorful blue-gray and pale green head with a black body and white breast, topped by an orange bill shield.
waterfowl
Mallard
The world's most familiar duck, identifiable from almost any single wing feather by its glossy blue speculum bordered in white, shared by both sexes.
waterfowl