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.
Sandhill Crane
A tall North American crane, gray overall but often stained rusty-brown from preening with iron-rich mud, famous for its massive migratory staging flocks and rolling bugle call.
wading bird
Eurasian Teal
The Old World form of the common teal, closely related to the North American Green-winged Teal, told apart chiefly by a horizontal white scapular stripe rather than a vertical flank stripe.
waterfowl
Red-crowned Woodpecker
A small, widespread woodpecker of northern South America with a barred black-and-white back and a bright red crown on males.
woodpecker
Black-capped Siskin
A highland finch of Mexico and Central America marked by a neat black cap contrasting with olive-yellow body plumage.
songbird
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
A striking eastern songbird whose males show a bold black-and-white pattern set off by a triangular rose-red patch on the breast, one of the most distinctive feather patterns among North American songbirds.
songbird
Eurasian Woodcock
The larger Eurasian relative of the American Woodcock, sharing the same dead-leaf camouflage pattern and forest-floor lifestyle, but with a grayer overall tone and a distinctive slow, owl-like display flight known as roding.
shorebird
California Gull
A medium-large gull of the American West, the California Gull shows medium gray back feathers and dark eyes, and is notable historically for its role in protecting early Utah crops from insect swarms.
seabird
Common Gull
A neat, medium-sized gull of Europe and Asia known as Mew Gull in North American populations, the Common Gull shows pale gray back feathers, black wingtips with white spots, and a gentle, rounded head shape.
seabird
Emerald Toucanet
The Emerald Toucanet is a small, mostly green toucan of Middle American and Andean cloud forests, its color allowing it to blend remarkably well into the foliage. Regional populations vary somewhat in throat color and bill pattern.
other
Black-necked Stork
A tall, striking stork of India and Australia with a glossy iridescent black head and neck, a white body, and bold black-and-white wings, sometimes locally called the Jabiru despite being unrelated to the true American species.
wading bird
Altamira Oriole
The largest oriole regularly found in the United States, showing a bright orange body, black back and wings, and a bold orange shoulder patch, and known for building the longest hanging nests among North American orioles.
songbird
Snowy Egret
A small, energetic white heron of the Americas known for its black bill, black legs, and bright yellow feet.
wading bird
Ringed Kingfisher
The largest kingfisher in the Americas, a heavy-bodied bird with a shaggy crest and a loud rattling call along rivers and lakeshores.
other
Pacific Screech-Owl
A small eared owl of Pacific lowland Central America, with greyish-brown streaked plumage and pale eyebrows meeting above the bill.
owl
Great Blue Heron
The largest heron in North America, a slow-stalking hunter of shallow water with a slate-blue body and a dagger-like yellow bill.
wading bird
Sunbittern
A slender, heron-like bird whose subdued, bark-patterned plumage conceals a spectacular sunburst of chestnut, black, and buff revealed on the wings during display or flight. It stalks quietly along forest streams in the American tropics.
other
Mountain Quail
The largest quail native to North America, instantly recognized by the single thin, straight plume that projects from its crown.
gamebird
Giant Cowbird
The largest of the cowbirds, a big-bodied blackbird relative that parasitizes the colonial nests of oropendolas and caciques throughout Central and South America.
songbird
Crested Guan
A large, dark guan of tropical American forests, its dusky brown plumage marked with pale-edged feathers that create a scaled pattern on the underparts and wings. A bright red throat wattle and small crest add distinctive accents.
gamebird
Green Heron
A small, stocky, solitary heron of the Americas with a dark cap, chestnut neck, and greenish-backed wings, often seen crouched at the water's edge.
wading bird
Horned Screamer
A large, turkey-sized waterbird of South American wetlands, unmistakable for the long, slender horn-like spine projecting from its forehead. Its blackish, white-speckled plumage and loud trumpeting calls carry across open marshland.
other
Common Ground Dove
One of the smallest doves in North America, a diminutive, scaly-patterned bird that flushes from the ground to reveal a flash of rufous in the wings.
dove pigeon
Tricolored Heron
A slender dark heron of the Americas, easily told from other dark herons by the crisp white line running down its foreneck and belly.
wading bird
Sun Parakeet
A vividly golden-yellow and orange parrot of the Guiana Shield in South America, with green and blue accents in the wings, prized in aviculture and now endangered in the wild.
parrot