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.
Southern Screamer
A large, gray, goose-like bird of southern South American wetlands, marked by a dark collar around the base of the neck and a short crest. Despite its bulky build it is an agile flier, often seen soaring on thermals over open marshland.
other
Tropical Kingbird
A common and widespread tyrant flycatcher recognized by its pale gray head and throat fading into lemon-yellow underparts, paired with a notched, dark tail. It favors open habitats with scattered perches from which it sallies for insects.
songbird
Common Gull
A neat, medium-sized gull of Europe and Asia known as Mew Gull in North American populations, the Common Gull shows pale gray back feathers, black wingtips with white spots, and a gentle, rounded head shape.
seabird
Glaucous Gull
A massive, pale Arctic gull, the Glaucous Gull is unusual among large gulls for lacking black wingtips entirely, showing instead uniformly pale gray and white feathers well suited to its icy northern range.
seabird
Ring-billed Gull
A common, adaptable medium-sized gull of North America named for the black band around its bill, the Ring-billed Gull shows pale gray back feathers and yellow legs, thriving in habitats from lakeshores to parking lots.
seabird
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
Hen Harrier
The Hen Harrier is a slim Old World raptor known for pale grey males nicknamed 'grey ghosts,' brown streaked females and juveniles often called 'ringtails,' and a bold white rump patch shared by all ages, hunting low over moorland and open country.
raptor
Clay-colored Thrush
A plain, uniformly brown thrush of Middle America, closely related to the American Robin but lacking its bright orange breast, identified by its overall buffy-brown tone and pale bill.
songbird
Oriental Greenfinch
An East Asian finch with olive-green body plumage and bright yellow flashes in the wings and tail, closely related to the European Greenfinch.
songbird
Timneh Parrot
A darker, slightly smaller relative of the African Grey Parrot, with charcoal-grey plumage and a duller maroon rather than bright red tail.
parrot
Indian Peacock-Pheasant
A forest-floor gamebird of South and Southeast Asia whose grayish-brown plumage is studded with dozens of shimmering blue-green eyespots across the wings and long tail.
gamebird
Pacific Black Duck
The Pacific Black Duck is a mottled dark brown dabbling duck with a distinctive pale face crossed by dark eye stripes, common on wetlands across Australia and the Pacific.
waterfowl
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
African Collared-Dove
A pale, sandy-toned dove of African savanna and scrub, best known as the wild ancestor of the domesticated ring-necked dove.
dove pigeon
Northern Shrike
A pale, predatory songbird of the far north that winters across open habitats farther south, distinguished from the smaller Loggerhead Shrike by its larger bill and faintly barred underparts.
songbird
Galah
A distinctive two-toned cockatoo with a rose-pink face and underparts contrasting sharply against pale grey wings and back.
parrot
Black-faced Bunting
A widespread East Asian bunting with a greenish-grey head, black face mask on males, and yellow-tinged underparts.
songbird
House Crow
A slender crow native to South Asia, easily recognized by its glossy black cap paired with a pale grey collar and underparts.
corvid
Indian Pond Heron
A small, drably streaked heron of South Asia that seems to vanish among vegetation at rest, then reveals bright white wings the instant it flies.
wading bird
Bamboo Partridge
A grayish-brown East Asian partridge marked by a warm chestnut face and throat patch, favoring dense bamboo and scrub cover.
gamebird
Hooded Crow
The grey-and-black counterpart of the Carrion Crow, easily identified by pale ash-grey body feathers contrasting sharply with a black head, wings, and tail.
corvid
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
Least Flycatcher
One of the smallest Empidonax flycatchers, notable for its bold white eye-ring and crisp wing bars against grayish-olive plumage.
songbird
Ring-necked Dove
One of the most familiar doves across sub-Saharan Africa, soft grayish-brown overall with a neat black half-collar and a gentle, rhythmic call.
dove pigeon