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.
Helmeted Guineafowl
An African savanna gamebird with a bare, helmeted head and dark plumage covered in small pearl-white spots, now farmed and kept ornamentally around the world.
gamebird
Helmeted Hornbill
The Helmeted Hornbill is a large, distinctive Southeast Asian rainforest bird best known for its solid casque and greatly elongated central tail feathers, which extend far beyond the rest of the tail. Its dark body plumage contrasts with white leg feathers and a long, banded tail.
other
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
Plumed Guineafowl
A dark rainforest guineafowl finely speckled with white spots, identified by its forward-curling black crest plume and patch of bare blue facial skin.
gamebird
Crested Guineafowl
A forest-dwelling guineafowl topped with a distinctive curly, black feather crest instead of the bony casque of its savanna relatives.
gamebird
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
Red Junglefowl
The wild ancestor of the domestic chicken, with males displaying glossy orange-gold neck hackles and long, curved, iridescent black tail feathers.
gamebird
Ceylon Spurfowl
A shy, dark forest gamebird endemic to Sri Lanka, recognized by rich chestnut-brown plumage dotted with white spots and, in males, bare red facial skin.
gamebird
Speckled Pigeon
A large African pigeon with striking reddish-brown wings covered in bold white spots and a patch of bare red skin around each eye.
dove pigeon
Raggiana Bird-of-paradise
The Raggiana Bird-of-paradise, the national bird of Papua New Guinea, is known for the male's fiery red-orange flank plumes displayed in group courtship gatherings. It inhabits lowland and hill forest across much of New Guinea.
songbird
Torresian Crow
A widespread crow of northern Australia and New Guinea, larger and more heavily built than the closely related Little Crow.
corvid
Pheasant Pigeon
The Pheasant Pigeon is a shy, ground-dwelling New Guinea pigeon named for its long, pheasant-like tail and glossy, dark iridescent body.
dove pigeon
Black-capped Lory
The Black-capped Lory is a vividly red New Guinea parrot topped with a solid black cap and accented by blue patches on the nape and thighs.
parrot
Papuan Hawk-Owl
A little-known, long-tailed forest owl endemic to New Guinea, with a hawk-like reduced facial disc and boldly barred underparts.
owl
Western Crowned Pigeon
The Western Crowned Pigeon is a massive blue-grey pigeon topped with a rounded, solid-colored fan crest, one of three giant crowned pigeons of New Guinea.
dove pigeon
King of Saxony Bird-of-paradise
The King of Saxony Bird-of-paradise is instantly recognizable for the male's two extraordinarily long head plumes, lined with small flag-like pennants of a pale, enamel-like blue. It lives in the montane forests of the New Guinea highlands.
songbird
Sooty Owl
A dark, striking barn-owl relative of Australian and New Guinean rainforest, its sooty gray-black feathers finely speckled with silvery white, unlike any other owl in its range.
owl
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
Green-naped Lorikeet
The Green-naped Lorikeet is a vividly colored parrot of New Guinea and surrounding islands, distinguished by a clear green band across the nape separating its blue head from its green back.
parrot
Greater Bird-of-paradise
The Greater Bird-of-paradise is famous for the male's cascading yellow and white flank plumes, displayed during elaborate group courtship gatherings. It lives in the lowland rainforest canopy of New Guinea and the Aru Islands.
songbird
Superb Bird-of-paradise
The Superb Bird-of-paradise appears almost entirely black at rest, but the male can erect an oval nape cape and a shimmering blue-green breast shield into a striking, wide silhouette during courtship display. It is found in the montane forests of New Guinea.
songbird
King Bird-of-paradise
The King Bird-of-paradise is the smallest member of its family, with a brilliant crimson-and-white plumage and unusual wire-like tail feathers that end in coiled emerald-green discs. It forages and displays in the lower and middle levels of New Guinea lowland forest.
songbird
Rufous Owl
The Rufous Owl is a large, richly colored hawk-owl of northern Australia and New Guinea, its warm rufous-brown feathers finely barred throughout and its head rounded without ear tufts.
owl
Northern Cassowary
A very large, flightless rainforest bird of New Guinea, covered in coarse, hair-like black plumage that contrasts with vividly colored blue-and-red bare skin on the head and neck. A single throat wattle and a tall bony casque distinguish it from its relatives.
other