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.
Eurasian Eagle-Owl
One of the largest owls in the world, with massive size, prominent ear tufts, and richly patterned tawny-brown plumage streaked and barred in dark brown across most of Europe and Asia.
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Verreaux's Eagle-Owl
Africa's largest owl, a pale gray giant of savanna and riverine woodland, instantly recognizable in life by its bare pink eyelids, with correspondingly oversized, finely patterned feathers.
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Pharaoh Eagle-Owl
A pale, sandy-toned eagle-owl of North African and Middle Eastern deserts, its feathers finely streaked and vermiculated to blend with rock and sand.
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Fraser's Eagle-Owl
Fraser's Eagle-Owl is a rufous-brown forest owl of West and Central Africa, densely barred throughout and equipped with prominent ear tufts suited to life in dense rainforest.
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Spotted Eagle-Owl
A common, adaptable eagle-owl of African savanna and rocky country, mottled grayish-brown with bold dark spotting, often seen roosting near human settlements.
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Cape Eagle-Owl
The Cape Eagle-Owl is a large, powerfully built African owl of rocky hill country, with tawny-buff plumage heavily marked with dark blotches and barring, and prominent ear tufts.
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Indian Eagle-Owl
A large, tawny-buff eagle-owl of rocky ravines and scrub across the Indian subcontinent, its feathers boldly streaked and barred in dark brown against a warm buff ground.
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Northern Pygmy-Owl
A tiny, fierce diurnal owl of western mountain forests, notable for the false 'eyespots' on the back of its head. Its feathers show heavy white spotting on a rufous or gray-brown ground color.
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Eurasian Scops Owl
The Eurasian Scops Owl is a small, migratory owl of southern Europe and parts of Asia, known for its cryptic bark-patterned plumage and a monotonous, far-carrying whistled call.
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Eurasian Pygmy-Owl
Europe's smallest owl, a boreal forest specialist that hunts small birds and rodents largely by day. Its feathers are gray-brown to rufous with crisp white spotting and a narrowly barred tail.
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Northern Hawk-Owl
A falcon-like, day-hunting owl of the boreal forest, with a long tail, pointed wings, and boldly barred underparts, often seen perched conspicuously atop treetops scanning for prey.
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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.
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Verreaux's Eagle
Verreaux's Eagle, also called the Black Eagle, is a striking African mountain eagle almost entirely glossy black except for a white back patch and pale flight-feather 'windows.' Its long, broad wings and tail are shaped for soaring along cliffs and escarpments.
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Martial Eagle
The Martial Eagle is Africa's largest eagle, with dark grey-brown upperparts, a white underside heavily spotted with brown-black, and immense broad wings built for powerful soaring over savanna.
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Philippine Eagle
The Philippine Eagle is a huge, critically endangered forest eagle with brown upperparts, creamy-white underparts, and a shaggy crest of long brown-and-cream feathers that it raises when alert.
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Golden Eagle
A powerful upland raptor whose dark brown plumage and golden nape feathers give it its name, with young birds showing crisp white flight-feather patches that fade with age.
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Bonelli's Eagle
An agile, cliff-nesting eagle whose pale, finely streaked underparts and boldly banded grey tail distinguish it from the darker, more uniformly plumaged eagles sharing its range.
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Bald Eagle
North America's national bird, whose pure white head and tail feathers contrasting with dark brown body plumage make the adult unmistakable, though immatures take years to acquire this pattern.
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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.
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Tawny Eagle
A variably colored eagle of Africa's open plains, ranging from pale sandy-tawny to dark blackish-brown among individuals, generally lacking the bold markings seen in many other eagles.
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Little Eagle
Australia's smallest booted eagle, occurring in pale and dark color morphs, identified by a pale patch at the base of the outer primaries and a short, square tail.
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Booted Eagle
A small, buzzard-sized eagle occurring in two distinct color forms, both showing feathered legs down to the toes and pale patches at the base of the primaries in flight.
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Crowned Eagle
The Crowned Eagle is a powerful African forest eagle with rich rufous underparts boldly barred in black, a strongly banded black-and-white tail, and a small crest, all adaptations for hunting beneath a dense forest canopy.
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Harpy Eagle
The Harpy Eagle is a massive Neotropical forest eagle with a pale grey head, blackish breast band, boldly banded black-and-grey tail, and a distinctive double crest, all suited to powerful ambush hunting beneath the rainforest canopy.
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