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.
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
Rook
A glossy, all-black farmland corvid recognized in life by its bare greyish face skin and shaggy thigh feathering, and in feather form by its strong purple-blue sheen.
corvid
Sapphire Quail-Dove
A chunky, forest-floor quail-dove of the Amazon basin, its back and nape washed with an iridescent sapphire-blue and green sheen against a warm cinnamon face.
dove pigeon
Rufous-collared Sparrow
One of the most familiar and widespread songbirds in Latin America, recognized by its gray-and-black striped head, rufous collar across the nape, and streaked brown back. It thrives from sea level to high Andean grasslands and is equally at home in cities and open country.
songbird
Sarus Crane
The tallest of all flying birds, a pale grey Asian crane with a strikingly red bare head and upper neck, resident year-round across its wetland range.
wading bird
Rock Ptarmigan
A circumpolar tundra grouse that turns from mottled gray-brown in summer to pure white in winter, always retaining black tail feathers as a year-round field mark.
gamebird
Saddleback
The Saddleback is a glossy black New Zealand wattlebird with a bold chestnut saddle across its back, now largely restricted to predator-free islands and sanctuaries.
songbird
Rock Dove
The wild ancestor of the familiar city pigeon, typically blue-grey with bold black wing bars and a white rump, though feral descendants show enormous color variation.
dove pigeon
Sacred Kingfisher
A quietly colored kingfisher of Australia and New Zealand, its blue-green upperparts easily overlooked until it darts from a perch.
other
Rufous-breasted Hermit
A warm-toned hermit hummingbird of forest edges and streamsides, distinguished by rufous-cinnamon underparts and a rufous-edged tail contrasting with green upperparts.
hummingbird
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
Rufous-backed Robin
A Mexican thrush resembling the American Robin but with a warmer rufous back and a distinctly streaked black-and-white throat.
songbird
Rose-bellied Bunting
A rare Mexican bunting found only near the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, the male Rose-bellied Bunting shows turquoise-blue upperparts and a distinctive rose-pink belly.
songbird
Ross's Goose
The smallest white goose in North America, nearly identical in color to the Snow Goose but noticeably more compact, with a short neck and stubby bill.
waterfowl
Ruffed Grouse
A woodland grouse of North America recognized by its intricately mottled brown or grey plumage, fan-shaped banded tail, and neck ruffs used in courtship drumming displays.
gamebird
Roseate Spoonbill
The only pink spoonbill in the world, easily identified by its rosy-pink body plumage, white neck, and spoon-shaped grey bill.
wading bird
Ruddy Turnstone
A boldly patterned, harlequin-like shorebird known for flipping stones and debris in search of food, with breeding feathers combining rufous, black, and white in a striking tortoiseshell pattern.
shorebird
Rose-crowned Fruit Dove
The Rose-crowned Fruit Dove is a small, brilliantly colored fruit dove with a soft rose-pink crown patch set against a green body and yellow belly.
dove pigeon
Rock Kestrel
The Rock Kestrel is the resident southern African counterpart of the Common Kestrel, sharing a rufous, black-spotted back and grey head, hunting over open grassland and farmland.
raptor
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
A striking eastern songbird whose males show a bold black-and-white pattern set off by a triangular rose-red patch on the breast, one of the most distinctive feather patterns among North American songbirds.
songbird
Rock Bunting
The Rock Bunting is a bunting of dry, rocky hillsides across southern Europe and Asia, identified by its gray head with bold black stripes and a chestnut-streaked back.
songbird
Rufous-winged Sparrow
A subtly marked desert sparrow with rufous shoulder patches and a thin dark malar stripe, largely restricted to southern Arizona.
songbird
Rock Wren
A pale, finely speckled wren of arid rocky terrain, identified by its habit of bobbing on boulders and its buffy-tipped tail corners flashed in flight.
songbird
Rufous Treepie
A long-tailed corvid of the Indian subcontinent, warm rufous-orange with a black head and a pale wing patch, often heard before it is seen thanks to its loud, varied calls.
corvid
Rock Sandpiper
The Pacific counterpart of the Purple Sandpiper, this stocky, dark shorebird forages on wave-swept rocky shores from Alaska south along the Pacific coast, its feathers showing the same somber, storm-suited coloring.
shorebird
Rufous-tailed Hummingbird
One of the most widespread and familiar hummingbirds in its range, easily recognized by its green throat and breast set against a gray belly and a bright rufous tail.
hummingbird
Rufous-collared Robin
The Rufous-collared Robin is a highland thrush of Mexico and Guatemala, identified by its bright rufous-orange collar and breast band contrasting sharply against otherwise dark gray-black plumage.
songbird
Ruddy Quail-Dove
A plump, reddish-chestnut forest-floor dove marked with a distinctive pale stripe below the eye, more often heard than seen in dense tropical undergrowth.
dove pigeon
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
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
Rock Pigeon
A stocky, familiar city bird whose feather color is famously variable, though wild-type individuals retain a blue-gray body with two dark wingbars and an iridescent green-purple neck.
dove pigeon
Ruddy Duck
The Ruddy Duck is a small, compact stiff-tailed duck best known for its stiff, often upright tail feathers and, in breeding males, a vivid rufous body set off by a black cap and white cheek.
waterfowl
Rock Partridge
A mountain partridge of the Alps and Balkans, near-identical in plumage to the Chukar, with a black gorget stripe and bold chestnut-barred flanks.
gamebird
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
One of the smallest songbirds in North America, this active, constantly flicking bird carries a hidden ruby-red crown patch in males that is usually concealed and only flashed briefly during excitement or display.
songbird
Roseate Tern
A pale, elegant tern with unusually long tail streamers and a delicate pink blush to the breeding-season underparts, generally scarcer and more restricted to select coastal colonies than its close relatives.
seabird
Ruby-cheeked Sunbird
A tiny Southeast Asian sunbird with bronze-green upperparts, an orange-yellow belly, and a small but bright ruby-colored cheek patch.
songbird
Rose-ringed Parakeet
A slender, bright green parakeet with a long pointed tail, best known for the males' narrow black-and-rose neck ring, and now familiar as a naturalized bird in cities well beyond its native range.
parrot
Royal Tern
One of the largest terns, approaching gull-like proportions, with a heavy orange bill and a shaggy black crest that is often reduced to a ragged crown patch outside the breeding season.
seabird
Ruff
A shorebird famous for its extraordinary breeding-season variability, males growing elaborate, individually distinct neck ruffs and head tufts in colors ranging from black to chestnut to pure white.
shorebird
Red Spurfowl
An Indian forest gamebird cloaked in rich chestnut-red plumage, named for the multiple leg spurs males carry rather than the single spur of most gamebirds.
gamebird
Ruddy Shelduck
A warm orange-cinnamon duck with a paler, buffy head, solid black flight feathers, and a bright white patch on the upperwing bordered by a glossy green speculum.
waterfowl
Red-throated Wryneck
The African counterpart to the Eurasian Wryneck, distinguished by its warm rufous throat patch set against the same cryptic, bark-like plumage.
woodpecker
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
Red-shouldered Macaw
One of the smallest macaws, a compact green parrot of northern South America with a red patch at the bend of the wing and a subtle blue wash on the crown.
parrot
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
The only breeding hummingbird across most of eastern North America, males carry a brilliant iridescent red throat patch that can flash black in poor light, set against emerald-green upperparts.
hummingbird
Ringed Kingfisher
The largest kingfisher in the Americas, a heavy-bodied bird with a shaggy crest and a loud rattling call along rivers and lakeshores.
other
Royal Spoonbill
A white spoonbill of Australasia known for the long, trailing white crest plumes that breeding adults grow from the back of the head.
wading bird
Rhinoceros Auklet
A dusky, medium-sized auk related to the puffins, named for the small horn-like projection that grows at the base of the bill in breeding adults.
seabird