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.
Whiskered Screech-Owl
A small screech-owl of montane oak and pine-oak woodlands from the southwestern United States into Central America, nearly identical in plumage to its relatives but distinguished chiefly by its distinctive irregular call.
owl
Steppe Eagle
The Steppe Eagle is a large, uniformly dark brown Eurasian eagle of open grassland, with long fingered wingtips and fully feathered legs. Its flight feathers show subtle grey barring underneath, and juveniles display a pale band across the underwing.
raptor
Western Scrub-Jay
A crestless blue-and-gray jay of western oak woodland and scrubby habitat, easily told from crested jays by its plain head and blue "necklace" across the breast.
corvid
Steller's Jay
A bold, crested jay of western forests with a sooty black head and back giving way to vivid blue wings and tail marked with fine dark barring.
corvid
Western Screech-Owl
A small owl of western North America, closely resembling the Eastern Screech-Owl but occurring predominantly in a grey-brown morph, with finely patterned plumage suited to camouflage against bark.
owl
Sri Lanka Junglefowl
Sri Lanka's national bird, a forest junglefowl whose males glow in rich orange-red plumage set off by a red comb marked with a distinctive yellow center patch.
gamebird
Western Meadowlark
A grassland songbird nearly identical to the Eastern Meadowlark, with pale mottled upperparts, a yellow breast marked by a black V, and a rich, gurgling flute-like song.
songbird
Sun Conure
A vividly colored conure of northeastern South America, its golden-yellow and orange plumage set off by green-tipped wings and blue flight feathers.
parrot
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
Summer Tanager
Unlike its scarlet cousin, the male Summer Tanager is rosy-red from head to tail with no contrasting black wings, a year-round trait unique among North American tanagers.
songbird
Western Kingbird
A pale gray-headed flycatcher with a yellow belly, often seen perched on wires in open country, told by white edges on its blackish tail.
songbird
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
A large all-white cockatoo with a tall sulphur-yellow crest that fans forward when the bird is alert or excited.
parrot
Western Jackdaw
The smallest of the common European corvids, recognized by its glossy black plumage set off by a silvery-grey neck patch and a pale, staring eye.
corvid
Sulphur-crested Lesser Cockatoo
A smaller relative of the Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, white overall with a bright yellow crest and a subtle yellow tinge on the ear coverts.
parrot
White-rumped Falcon
A tiny Southeast Asian falcon closely related to the African Pygmy Falcon, best recognized by its clean white rump patch flashing against darker grey or chestnut plumage.
raptor
Western Bluebird
A small western thrush whose males show rich cobalt-blue upperparts and wings against a rusty chest, making shed body feathers easy to spot on the ground under nest boxes and fence lines.
songbird
White Stork
A large, unmistakable white stork with black wing feathers and a bright red bill and legs, famous for its rooftop nests and long migrations between Europe and Africa.
wading bird
West Peruvian Dove
A large coastal dove of western South America, similar to the Eared Dove but bigger and grayer, with a small dark mark below the eye and pale grey tail tips.
dove pigeon
White Peafowl
A striking all-white color variant of the Indian Peafowl, retaining the species' iconic train shape and fanning display despite lacking the typical iridescent blue-green coloring.
gamebird
White-necked Raven
A large African raven with a distinctive white patch on the nape, often found near cliffs and mountainous terrain.
corvid
Wattled Jacana
A chestnut-and-black wetland bird best known for its extraordinarily long toes, which let it walk across lily pads and floating vegetation. A bright yellow facial shield and greenish-yellow flight feathers add to its distinctive look.
shorebird
White-necked Jacobin
A striking tropical forest hummingbird whose male combines a deep blue-violet head with a bold white collar and mostly white underparts and tail.
hummingbird
Warbling Vireo
The Warbling Vireo is a plain, understated songbird best known for its long, cheerful warbling song rather than any bold plumage features.
songbird
White-fronted Falconet
A tiny falconet endemic to Borneo, told from its relatives by a clean white forehead patch rather than the rufous forehead seen in most other members of its genus.
raptor
Wandering Albatross
The largest of all flying birds by wingspan, an immense white seabird of the Southern Ocean whose plumage whitens progressively with age over many years.
seabird
White-headed Woodpecker
A distinctive western pine forest woodpecker with an entirely white head set against an otherwise black body.
woodpecker
Wahlberg's Eagle
A slender, migratory savanna eagle of Africa notable for its variable plumage color morphs, ranging from pale cream-brown to dark chocolate, all sharing a distinctive narrow-winged, small-headed silhouette.
raptor
White-faced Scops Owl
The White-faced Scops Owl is an African savanna owl instantly recognized by its pale grey plumage, striking white facial disc rimmed in black, and long ear tufts, and known for a dramatic threat display.
owl
Vulturine Guineafowl
The largest and most vividly plumed guineafowl, with a bare vulture-like blue head, long striped neck hackles, and a cobalt-blue breast spangled with white spots.
gamebird
White-faced Heron
The most widespread heron in Australia and New Zealand, easily recognized by its soft blue-grey plumage set off by a clean white face.
wading bird
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
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
Violet Sabrewing
A large, deep violet Central American hummingbird named for the thickened, curved shafts of its outer primary feathers, a structural feature unique to sabrewing hummingbirds.
hummingbird
White-crowned Pigeon
A dark slate-colored Caribbean pigeon topped with a bright white crown, closely tied to mangrove and coastal forest habitats.
dove pigeon
Village Weaver
A social African weaverbird known for elaborate woven nests, breeding males showing bright yellow bodies with black heads and mottled backs.
songbird
White-cheeked Pintail
A Caribbean and South American dabbling duck with a sharply demarcated white cheek and throat patch set against a dark crown, and a warm buffy body heavily marked with dark spots.
waterfowl
White-capped Bunting
A South Asian bunting whose breeding males show a bold white crown bordered in black above a chestnut breast band.
songbird
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
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
Veery
The warmest-toned of the North American Catharus thrushes, with an evenly tawny-rufous back and only faint spotting on a pale breast.
songbird
White-bellied Sea Eagle
The White-bellied Sea Eagle is a large raptor with a white head, body, and tail contrasting against grey upperwings, typically seen soaring over coasts and large waterways.
raptor
Vasa Parrot
A large, dark, unusually plain-plumaged parrot from Madagascar known for its loose, almost vulture-like feathering.
parrot
Whistling Kite
A common, pale kite of Australia and New Guinea best known for its far-carrying whistled call, with buff-brown body feathers contrasting against darker flight feathers in flight.
raptor
Varied Thrush
A strikingly patterned thrush of Pacific Northwest forests, combining a slate-gray back with burnt-orange underparts, eyebrow stripe, and wing bars, plus a bold dark breast band in males.
songbird
Whistling Heron
A pale, pastel-toned South American heron named for its whistled call, more often found striding through open grassland than wading in deep water.
wading bird
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
Western Wood-Pewee
A plain, grayish-olive flycatcher of western woodlands, nearly identical to the Eastern Wood-Pewee but told apart mainly by voice and range.
songbird
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