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.
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
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
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
Gray Vireo
The Gray Vireo is a plain, long-tailed vireo of arid pinyon-juniper and chaparral habitat, often detected by its habit of flicking its tail while foraging.
songbird
Gray Treepie
A gray, long-tailed corvid of Himalayan and Southeast Asian hill forests, distinguished by its black face mask and rufous undertail.
corvid
Gray Hawk
A slim, pale gray hawk of cottonwood-lined streams in the borderlands, notable for its finely barred plumage and slender, accipiter-like proportions among the buteos.
raptor
Gray Partridge
A stocky, gray-breasted partridge of open farm country, marked by an orange face and a chestnut horseshoe patch on the belly.
gamebird
Gray Catbird
A slim, uniformly slate-gray songbird named for its cat-like mewing call, with a black cap and a hidden rufous patch beneath the tail.
songbird
Wilson's Bird-of-paradise
Wilson's Bird-of-paradise is a small, intensely colorful species with a red back, yellow nape, an iridescent green breast shield, and a bare, patterned blue crown. It is restricted to a couple of small Indonesian islands where males display and clear small ground courts.
songbird
Red Bird-of-paradise
The Red Bird-of-paradise is distinguished by the male's vivid crimson flank plumes and unique curled, ribbon-like black tail wires used in display. It is found only on a small number of islands in the Raja Ampat region of Indonesia.
songbird
Lesser Bird-of-paradise
The Lesser Bird-of-paradise is a smaller relative of the Greater Bird-of-paradise, with a similar plumage pattern of yellow flank plumes over a maroon-brown body. Males gather at communal display trees across lowland New Guinea forest.
songbird
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
Blue Bird-of-paradise
The Blue Bird-of-paradise is known for the male's dramatic upside-down display, during which fanned iridescent blue flank plumes are shown off against otherwise black plumage. It lives in the montane forests of Papua New Guinea's central highlands.
songbird
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
Gray Peacock-pheasant
A forest-floor pheasant of South and Southeast Asia whose gray-brown feathers are dotted with brilliant blue-green and purple eyespots, most striking across the spread tail.
gamebird
Gray-cheeked Thrush
A subdued, cold-toned thrush of the far north, distinguished from similar species mainly by its plain grayish face and weak or absent eye-ring.
songbird
Blue-gray Tanager
One of the most familiar tanagers of Central and South America, the Blue-gray Tanager shows an overall soft blue-gray body accented by a brighter blue shoulder patch.
songbird
Twelve-wired Bird-of-paradise
The Twelve-wired Bird-of-paradise is named for the dozen thin, curled wire-like filaments trailing from the male's bright yellow flank plumes, used to brush against a female's face during courtship. It inhabits lowland swamp forest across New Guinea and nearby islands.
songbird
Grey Fantail
A small, restless Australian songbird, the Grey Fantail flits through woodland foliage with its broad tail fanned wide, showing gray upperparts and warm buff underparts.
songbird
Grey Butcherbird
A boldly patterned Australian songbird, the Grey Butcherbird shows gray upperparts, a black head marking, and clean white underparts, paired with a strong, hooked bill used to catch and impale prey.
songbird
Great Grey Owl
The longest owl in the world by overall length, cloaked in soft grey, finely mottled plumage and famous for its huge facial disc marked with distinct concentric rings.
owl
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
Grey Junglefowl
An Indian forest gamebird whose males have neck hackle feathers tipped with an unusual glassy, wax-like yellow spangle unlike any other bird.
gamebird
Grey-headed Dove
A quiet forest-floor dove of Central America, identified by its pale grey head, white throat, and a faint metallic sheen across the back of its neck.
dove pigeon