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.
Red-winged Blackbird
A common marsh-dwelling blackbird whose males display bold red-and-yellow shoulder patches on glossy black plumage, while females are entirely different, streaked brown like a large sparrow.
songbird
Tricolored Blackbird
The Tricolored Blackbird is a highly colonial marsh-nesting blackbird, similar to the Red-winged Blackbird but distinguished by a white (rather than yellow) border on its red shoulder patch.
songbird
Rusty Blackbird
The Rusty Blackbird is a boreal-breeding blackbird whose fresh fall plumage is heavily edged with rust, wearing away to glossy black by the breeding season, and whose populations have declined sharply in recent decades.
songbird
Melodious Blackbird
An all-black songbird of Mexico and Central America, notable for its subtly glossy plumage, stout bill, and rich duetting song delivered in pairs.
songbird
Common Blackbird
A familiar thrush of European gardens, with males showing sleek all-black plumage and a bright bill, while females and juveniles are a more camouflaged sooty brown with subtle mottling.
songbirdEurasian Blackbird
A familiar thrush of European gardens and woodland, with males entirely glossy black offset by a bright yellow-orange bill, while females are a more subdued dark brown.
songbird
Brewer's Blackbird
Brewer's Blackbird is a widespread, adaptable blackbird whose males show glossy black plumage with purple and green iridescence, common in open fields, parking lots, and agricultural areas across the West.
songbird
Yellow-hooded Blackbird
A marsh-dwelling blackbird of northern South America, with males showing a bright yellow hood and breast against an otherwise black body, often seen perched on reeds and grass stems.
songbird
Yellow-headed Blackbird
The Yellow-headed Blackbird is a large, striking marsh bird easily identified by its bright yellow head and breast contrasting sharply with glossy black body plumage and a bold white wing patch.
songbird
Scarlet-headed Blackbird
A striking marsh-dwelling blackbird with a vivid scarlet head, neck, and breast set against an otherwise entirely black body, found in wetlands of central South America.
songbird
Yellow-shouldered Blackbird
A black blackbird endemic to Puerto Rico and nearby islands, identified by a bright yellow patch on the shoulder, and restricted to a limited range of coastal habitats.
songbird
White-winged Chough
A black, red-eyed Australian bird that lives in cooperative family groups and builds distinctive mud nests in eucalypt woodland.
corvid
Black-winged Kite
The Old World counterpart of the White-tailed Kite, a small pale gray-and-white raptor with a black shoulder patch and striking red eyes.
raptor
Green-winged Macaw
A very large red macaw distinguished from the similar scarlet macaw by a broad green wing band and thin lines of red feathers crossing its bare white face.
parrot
Glaucous-winged Gull
A common gull of the North Pacific coast, the Glaucous-winged Gull shows pale gray wingtip feathers with little or no black, differing subtly from most other large gulls, and frequently hybridizes with related species.
seabird
White-winged Scoter
The White-winged Scoter is the largest of the scoters, a heavy black sea duck distinguished by a bright white wing patch and a small comma-shaped white mark around the eye.
waterfowl
Spot-winged Falconet
A small, distinctive South American falcon of arid scrub and Chaco woodland, showing white-spotted wings against brown-grey upperparts and streaked buffy underparts.
raptor
Orange-winged Amazon
The Orange-winged Amazon is a mid-sized, widespread South American parrot named for the bright orange patch revealed in its flight feathers.
parrot
Green-winged Teal
The North American form of the common teal, and the smallest dabbling duck on the continent, with males showing a chestnut head, a green eye patch, and a bold vertical white stripe on the side.
waterfowl
Broad-winged Hawk
The Broad-winged Hawk is a compact, forest-nesting buteo with rufous-barred underparts and a short tail marked by bold, wide black-and-white bands, famous for gathering in enormous migrating flocks called 'kettles.'
raptor
Blue-winged Teal
A small, long-distance migrant dabbling duck with a pale blue wing patch shared by both sexes, and males showing a bold white facial crescent on a slate-grey head.
waterfowl
Blue-winged Parrotlet
The Blue-winged Parrotlet is a tiny, widespread South American parrot in which males show a notable patch of blue across the wing coverts.
parrot
Black-winged Stilt
A strikingly patterned wader whose feathers form a sharp black-and-white contrast, set off by improbably long pink-red legs.
shorebird
Spur-winged Goose
One of the largest waterfowl species in the world, a bulky African goose with glossy black-green upperparts, white underparts, and bare red facial skin.
waterfowl