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.
Tundra Swan
A large all-white swan of the Arctic tundra, smaller and more compact than the Trumpeter Swan, often showing a small yellow spot at the base of the bill.
waterfowl
Black-necked Swan
A striking South American swan with a pure white body set off by a jet-black head and neck, plus a bright red facial knob at the base of the bill.
waterfowl
Whooper Swan
A large Eurasian swan, entirely white with a straighter neck carriage than Mute Swan, known for its loud bugling call given in flight and on the water.
waterfowl
Trumpeter Swan
The heaviest native North American bird and largest swan, entirely white with a solid black bill, sometimes showing a rust-stained head from iron-rich feeding grounds.
waterfowl
Mute Swan
An enormous, entirely white waterbird whose large, gently curved feathers are unmistakable simply by their sheer size among freshwater birds.
waterfowl
Black Swan
An Australian swan with distinctively curled, sooty black-gray body feathers and a striking red bill, its white flight feathers hidden until the wings are spread.
waterfowl
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
Whistling Heron
A pale, pastel-toned South American heron named for its whistled call, more often found striding through open grassland than wading in deep water.
wading bird
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
A long-legged, long-necked duck with a rich chestnut breast, a solid black belly, and a bold white wing stripe, often seen perching in trees rather than swimming.
waterfowl
Fulvous Whistling-Duck
A warm tawny-buff duck with a long neck and legs, showing pale creamy streaking along the flanks and a dark cap contrasting with a pale face.
waterfowl
Common Goldeneye
The Common Goldeneye is a striking black-and-white diving duck named for its piercing golden-yellow eye, with males showing a round white spot on an otherwise glossy dark green head.
waterfowl
White-tailed Ptarmigan
The smallest ptarmigan species and the only one with an all-white tail year-round, found on high alpine tundra of western North America.
gamebird
White-winged Grosbeak
A large, powerfully billed Himalayan finch, the male showing mostly black plumage set off by a yellow rump and a bold white wing patch.
songbird
White-winged Dove
A brown-gray desert dove readily identified by a bold white stripe along the edge of the folded wing, visible both perched and in flight.
dove pigeon
White-winged Crossbill
A boreal finch with a crossed bill like its relative the Red Crossbill, but immediately told apart by two bold white wing bars on black wings.
songbird
White-throated Toucan
The White-throated Toucan is one of the largest Amazonian toucans, known for its oversized bicolored bill and bold white throat patch set against jet-black plumage. It moves through the rainforest canopy in noisy family groups, hopping between branches rather than flying long distances.
other
White-throated Caracara
A southern Andean raptor closely related to the Mountain Caracara, distinguished by a white throat patch separated from its white belly by a solid black chest band.
raptor
White-throated Kingfisher
A widespread Asian kingfisher combining a rich chestnut body with a brilliant turquoise back, often perched conspicuously on wires and fence posts.
other
White-tailed Eagle
A massive coastal eagle whose short, white, wedge-shaped tail feathers and pale straw head contrast strongly with dark brown body plumage in adults.
raptor
White-tailed Hawk
A handsome open-country hawk with a gray back, white underparts, rufous shoulders, and a crisp white tail marked by a single bold black band near the tip.
raptor
White-necked Crow
A large Caribbean crow that looks entirely black at rest but reveals white feather bases on the neck when feathers are disturbed.
corvid
White-faced Ibis
A close relative of the Glossy Ibis found in the Americas, sharing similar rich chestnut plumage with an iridescent sheen, but distinguished in breeding adults by a thin band of white feathers bordering the bare red facial skin.
wading bird
White-eyed Vireo
The White-eyed Vireo is a small, feisty vireo of dense thickets, marked by yellow spectacles and yellow-washed wing bars, with adults showing a distinctive pale iris.
songbird
White-eyed Conure
A mostly green South American parakeet marked by a small red eye patch and scattered red wing markings.
parrot