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.
Koklass Pheasant
A grey-bodied Himalayan pheasant with a bold black-and-white head pattern, a chestnut breast patch, and a distinctive short, wedge-shaped tail.
gamebird
Gila Woodpecker
A common Sonoran Desert woodpecker with a plain gray-tan head and body set off by a boldly barred black-and-white back and wings.
woodpecker
Eurasian Treepie
A slender, rufous-brown corvid with a black head and an extremely long graduated tail, common in gardens and open woodland across South Asia.
corvid
Blue-necked Tanager
A brilliantly patterned South American tanager with a glossy blue head and neck set off by black upperparts and a warm chestnut belly patch.
songbird
Blue-footed Booby
A tropical seabird best known for its bright blue feet, with brown mottled upperparts, streaked head and neck, and a clean white belly.
seabird
Grey Peacock-Pheasant
A grey-brown forest pheasant whose wing and tail feathers are dotted with shimmering blue-green eye-spots, used in display rather than the long trailing tails of many pheasant relatives.
gamebird
Goldcrest
Europe's smallest bird, identifiable even from a single tiny feather by its vivid black-bordered crown stripe — orange in males, yellow in females — set against olive-green plumage.
songbird
Red-billed Blue Magpie
A long-tailed, blue-grey Asian corvid with a black head, red bill and legs, and a spectacular graduated tail tipped in white.
corvid
King Vulture
A striking tropical vulture with mostly creamy white plumage, jet-black flight and tail feathers, and a vividly multicolored bare head.
raptor
Chestnut Bunting
A small East Asian bunting with breeding males showing an all-chestnut head and breast band above bright yellow underparts.
songbird
Purple-throated Carib
A Lesser Antillean hummingbird whose deep green body sets off a brilliant magenta-purple throat patch that can look nearly black until it catches direct light.
hummingbird
Bronzy Sunbird
A large East African sunbird whose breeding males show iridescent bronzy-green plumage with purple highlights and long tail streamers, contrasting with the much plainer, streaked females.
songbird
Malachite Sunbird
A large African sunbird whose breeding males are covered in brilliant iridescent green plumage with long tail streamers, while females and non-breeding males show a much plainer, brownish, streaked appearance.
songbird
Blue-crowned Motmot
A striking green forest bird with a blue crown outlined in black and a long tail ending in distinctive racket-shaped tips. It perches quietly and is best known for slowly swinging its tail like a pendulum.
other
Thick-billed Siskin
A high-Andean finch notable for its unusually stout, heavy bill relative to other siskins, paired with a black head and yellow-olive body.
songbird
Smith's Longspur
Smith's Longspur is an Arctic-breeding songbird notable for its warm buff-orange underparts and bold black-and-white head pattern in breeding plumage.
songbird
Lidth's Jay
A richly colored jay found only on a few Japanese islands, combining a chestnut head and neck with a deep blue body and black face mask.
corvid
Common Crane
A widespread Eurasian crane with slate-grey plumage, a black-and-white striped head and neck, and drooping tertial plumes that form a bustle over the tail.
wading bird
Gold-naped Finch
A distinctive Himalayan finch whose male displays a black head brightened by a golden-yellow nape patch above a warm orange-brown body.
songbird
Fire-fronted Serin
A small mountain finch identified by its glowing orange-red forehead patch set against an otherwise black head and streaked brown body.
songbird
Fearful Owl
The Fearful Owl is a large, poorly known owl endemic to a few islands in the Solomon Islands, with rich brown, mottled plumage and a rounded, tuftless head.
owl
Emperor Goose
A small, stocky goose with a bold black-and-white scalloped body pattern, a white head and neck often stained rust-orange, and a black throat.
waterfowl
Brown Pelican
A large, dark-bodied pelican of coastal waters, known for its spectacular plunge-diving and a head and neck that change color dramatically with the breeding season.
seabird
Black-and-chestnut Eagle
A rare and powerful Andean raptor with a blackish head and upperparts contrasting sharply against rich chestnut underparts, found in high-elevation cloud forest.
raptor