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.
Mallard
The world's most familiar duck, identifiable from almost any single wing feather by its glossy blue speculum bordered in white, shared by both sexes.
waterfowl
Muscovy Duck
A large, heavily built duck; wild birds are glossy black-green with white wing patches, while the widely domesticated and feral forms show highly variable pied black-and-white plumage.
waterfowl
Torrent Duck
A slender, streamlined duck specialized for life in swift Andean rivers, with males showing bold black-and-white stripes and females a warm rufous-orange breast. Its stiff, pointed tail helps it brace against rocks in fast current.
waterfowl
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
Mandarin Duck
An East Asian perching duck famed for the male's uniquely upright orange 'sail' feathers on the wing, among the most distinctive single feathers of any bird in the world.
waterfowl
Mottled Duck
A non-migratory dabbling duck of Gulf Coast and Florida wetlands that looks much like a female Mallard, best told apart by its plain, unstreaked pale throat.
waterfowl
Falcated Duck
An East Asian dabbling duck; breeding males show an iridescent bronze-green head and dramatically elongated, sickle-shaped tertial feathers drooping over the tail, unmatched by any other duck.
waterfowl
Wood Duck
One of the most ornately feathered ducks in the world, with males showing an iridescent crested head and boldly patterned body, and females recognizable by a distinctive white teardrop eye patch.
waterfowl
Tufted Duck
The Tufted Duck is a strikingly patterned Eurasian diving duck, easily recognized by the male's drooping head tuft and sharp contrast between black upperparts and white flanks.
waterfowl
Harlequin Duck
The Harlequin Duck is a small, boldly patterned sea duck whose male combines slate-blue plumage with crisp white crescents, spots, and stripes outlined in black, resembling a painted harlequin costume.
waterfowl
Masked Duck
A small, secretive stiff-tailed duck; breeding males are rich cinnamon densely marked with black spots and a black facial mask, while females are duller brown with striped faces.
waterfowl
Black-headed Greenfinch
A Himalayan and Southeast Asian finch with a solid black hood contrasting sharply with olive-yellow body plumage and bright yellow wing patches.
songbird
Blue-headed Parrot
A stocky, short-tailed parrot with a striking sky-blue head contrasting against green body plumage.
parrot
Yellow-headed Amazon
A large green amazon parrot of Mexico and Central America, named for its yellow-washed head, with a red shoulder patch and blue in the wing visible in flight.
parrot
Golden-headed Quetzal
A trogon-family bird of Andean cloud forests, the Golden-headed Quetzal shows brilliant metallic green plumage that shifts to golden tones in good light.
other
Plum-headed Parakeet
A small South Asian parakeet whose green body is topped by a distinctively colored head, plum-pink in males and soft grey-blue in females, each bordered by a fine neck ring.
parrot
Grey-headed Lovebird
A small lovebird from Madagascar showing strong sexual dimorphism: males have a pale grey head and breast against a green body, while females are entirely green.
parrot
Dusky-headed Conure
A slender green Amazonian parakeet distinguished by its dusky grey-brown head and pale bare eye-ring.
parrot
Grey-headed Woodpecker
A quieter, grayer relative of the Green Woodpecker found across the forests of Europe and Asia, told by its grey head and much smaller red cap.
woodpecker
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
Red-headed Woodpecker
One of the most strikingly patterned North American woodpeckers, with an entirely crimson-red head set against bold black-and-white body plumage.
woodpecker
Red-headed Bullfinch
A striking Himalayan bullfinch with a glowing orange-red crown and nape that sets it apart from all its relatives.
songbird
Chestnut-headed Oropendola
A medium-sized oropendola with a rich chestnut head and neck contrasting against a black body, a pale bill, and a small patch of yellow at the tail tip.
songbird