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.
Spectacled Eider
The Spectacled Eider is a large, localized arctic sea duck named for the male's bold white, black-rimmed eye patches that give the appearance of goggles set against a pale green head.
waterfowl
House Crow
A slender crow native to South Asia, easily recognized by its glossy black cap paired with a pale grey collar and underparts.
corvid
Namaqua Dove
The Namaqua Dove is a small, long-tailed dove of arid Africa, with males showing a bold black face and throat patch and a slender, pointed tail.
dove pigeon
Grey Falcon
The Grey Falcon is a rare, strikingly pale falcon of Australia's remote arid interior, its soft grey-and-white plumage making it one of the palest falcons in the world.
raptor
Nankeen Kestrel
The Nankeen Kestrel is Australia's common small hovering falcon, named for the pale rufous-tan 'nankeen' color of its back, with a pale grey head and lightly spotted whitish underparts.
raptor
Hadada Ibis
A loud, common African ibis best known for its raucous dawn call and the iridescent bronze-green patch on its otherwise plain grey-brown wings.
wading bird
Red-naped Sapsucker
A western counterpart to the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, distinguished by a red patch on the nape in addition to the red forehead.
woodpecker
Ground Woodpecker
A highly unusual, almost entirely terrestrial woodpecker of southern African rocky grassland, with pink-flushed underparts and none of the tree-climbing habits of its relatives.
woodpecker
Pectoral Sandpiper
A medium-sized sandpiper with a sharply demarcated brown, streaked breast band ending abruptly against a clean white belly.
shorebird
Greylag Goose
A bulky gray-brown goose, ancestor of most domestic geese breeds, recognized by its heavy orange-pink bill and a pale bluish-gray patch on the forewing.
waterfowl
Northern Cardinal
The Northern Cardinal is a stocky, crested songbird whose males shed brilliant all-red feathers while females drop more subdued brown feathers tinged with red on the wings, tail and crest.
songbird
Grey Heron
A tall, still-hunting wading bird whose pale grey body plumage, black head plumes, and dark flight feathers make it one of the most recognizable large waterbirds in Europe, Asia, and Africa.
wading bird
Red-lored Amazon
The Red-lored Amazon is a widespread Central American parrot identified by the band of red across its forehead and lores, bordered by blue on the crown.
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
Red-legged Honeycreeper
A small tropical songbird whose breeding males flash violet-blue plumage against solid black wings and tail, while females and non-breeding males wear soft green. It ranges from Mexico through much of South America, favoring forest edges and gardens where it sips nectar and gleans fruit.
songbird
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
Red Kite
A rufous, forked-tailed raptor of Europe whose long, angular wings and deeply forked tail feathers are among the most recognizable silhouettes in the sky.
raptor
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
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
Grey Warbler
The Grey Warbler is one of New Zealand's smallest birds, a plain grey-brown insect-eater best known for its long, trilling song rather than its understated plumage.
songbird
Red-headed Bullfinch
A striking Himalayan bullfinch with a glowing orange-red crown and nape that sets it apart from all its relatives.
songbird
Grey Wagtail
The Grey Wagtail is a slender, long-tailed songbird whose lemon-yellow underpart feathers contrast with a blue-grey back, making it the most colorful of the European wagtails found along fast-flowing water.
songbird
Red-footed Booby
The smallest and most variably plumaged booby, occurring in white, brown, and intermediate color morphs, all sharing distinctive red feet.
seabird
Hazel Grouse
A small, secretive forest grouse of northern Eurasia, best known for its finely patterned gray-brown plumage and a bold black-and-white throat patch in males.
gamebird
Red-fronted Macaw
A medium-sized olive-green macaw with a bright red forehead band and red patch around the eye, restricted to dry canyon country in Bolivia.
parrot
Hawfinch
A bull-necked, massive-billed finch whose wing feathers include uniquely curved, hooked secondaries found in no other European songbird.
songbird
Red-faced Warbler
A gray-backed, high-mountain warbler with a strikingly bright red face and throat set off by a black crown and nape, unlike any other North American warbler.
songbird
Harris's Sparrow
North America's largest sparrow, easily recognized by its bold black face and bib and pink bill.
songbird
Red-crowned Crane
One of the rarest cranes in the world, a large white East Asian crane with a black neck, a bare red crown, and elongated black secondary feathers that form a false 'tail' over its true white tail.
wading bird
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
Red Collared-Dove
A small Asian dove with pronounced sexual dimorphism, the male showing a rich wine-red body while the female is a much duller grayish-brown.
dove pigeon
Harris's Hawk
A dark chestnut-brown desert hawk notable for its social, cooperative hunting behavior, with a bold black-and-white tail pattern and chestnut shoulder patches.
raptor
Red-breasted Sapsucker
A Pacific coast sapsucker whose entire head and breast are washed red, lacking the striped face pattern of its inland relatives.
woodpecker
Hamerkop
A small brown African wading bird named for its hammer-shaped head, formed by a thick bill and a backward-pointing crest, best known for building enormous domed stick nests.
wading bird
Red-breasted Nuthatch
The Red-breasted Nuthatch is a small conifer-forest nuthatch whose rusty-orange underside feathers and bold black eye-stripe set it apart from its white-breasted relative.
songbird
Grey Partridge
A dumpy, farmland gamebird with finely vermiculated grey body feathers, a bright orange face, and a distinctive chestnut horseshoe marking on the underparts.
gamebird
Red-breasted Merganser
The Red-breasted Merganser is a slim, crested fish-eating duck with a shaggy double crest and a streaked rusty breast that sets it apart from its Common Merganser relative.
waterfowl
Grey-necked Bunting
A plain, unstreaked Central Asian bunting with a grey head, pale pinkish underparts, and a distinctive pale eye-ring.
songbird
Red-billed Quelea
A small African weaver famous for forming the largest flocks of any wild bird, with breeding males sporting a bold black or white facial mask and a bright red bill.
songbird
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
Red-billed Hornbill
A small African hornbill with a long red bill, spotted grey-brown upperparts, and white underparts, common in savanna and open woodland.
other
Grey Kestrel
The Grey Kestrel is a small, uniformly slate-grey falcon of West and Central African savanna, notably plain in plumage compared to most other kestrels.
raptor
Red-billed Chough
An all-black cliff-dwelling corvid with a long curved red bill and red legs, known for its acrobatic flight over coastal and mountain terrain.
corvid
Green-cheeked Conure
A small, compact South American conure with green cheeks, a grey-brown crown, and a distinctive maroon-red tail contrasting with its mostly green body.
parrot
Red-bellied Woodpecker
A common eastern woodpecker with a finely barred, ladder-like back pattern unique among familiar woodpeckers, and a red cap or nape depending on sex.
woodpecker
Common Tern
A widespread and familiar tern of coasts and inland waters, identified by its black cap, forked tail, red-orange bill with a black tip, and a dark wedge along the leading edge of the outer wing.
seabird
Red-backed Shrike
A small Eurasian shrike with strongly different male and female plumages, the male showing a gray head, chestnut back, and black bandit mask.
songbird
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