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.
Wattled Jacana
A chestnut-and-black wetland bird best known for its extraordinarily long toes, which let it walk across lily pads and floating vegetation. A bright yellow facial shield and greenish-yellow flight feathers add to its distinctive look.
shorebird
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
Swainson's Hawk
Swainson's Hawk is a long-winged buteo of open grassland and prairie, typically showing a dark breast bib, paler belly, and notably dark flight feathers contrasting against paler underwing coverts, distinct from the broader-winged buteos it shares range with.
raptor
Kea
A large, intelligent mountain parrot known for drab olive-green plumage that hides brilliant orange-red under the wings.
parrot
Stitchbird
The Stitchbird, or Hihi, is a small New Zealand honeyeater-relative in which males show a striking black head and yellow shoulder band, now restricted mainly to predator-free sanctuaries.
songbird
Bewick's Wren
A slim, long-tailed wren with a bold white eyebrow stripe, told from other wrens by its notably long tail edged in white and barred with black.
songbird
Blue-winged Parrotlet
The Blue-winged Parrotlet is a tiny, widespread South American parrot in which males show a notable patch of blue across the wing coverts.
parrot
Island Scrub-Jay
A large, deeply colored scrub-jay found only on Santa Cruz Island off the California coast, notable for its bigger size and richer blue plumage than mainland relatives.
corvid
James's Flamingo
The smallest of the high-altitude Andean flamingos, showing pale pink plumage and a notably reduced area of black in the wing.
wading bird
Red Siskin
A small, brilliantly red South American finch with a black hood and wings, now rare in the wild and notable for its striking male plumage.
songbird
White-fronted Bee-eater
A social African bee-eater notable for its crimson throat and white forehead, nesting in dense colonies along riverbanks.
other
Fan-tailed Raven
A stocky, short-tailed raven of desert and rocky habitats, easily recognized in flight by its notably short, broad, fan-shaped tail.
corvid
Savannah Sparrow
A common, finely streaked grassland sparrow with a short notched tail and a hint of yellow over the eye, blending easily into open fields.
songbird
Princess Parrot
The Princess Parrot is a slender, pastel-colored parrot of Australia's arid interior, notable for its soft pink throat and long, elegant tail.
parrot
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
Ross's Goose
The smallest white goose in North America, nearly identical in color to the Snow Goose but noticeably more compact, with a short neck and stubby bill.
waterfowl
Melodious Blackbird
An all-black songbird of Mexico and Central America, notable for its subtly glossy plumage, stout bill, and rich duetting song delivered in pairs.
songbird
Mountain Chickadee
The Mountain Chickadee is a western conifer-forest specialist whose black cap is broken by a bold white eyebrow stripe not seen in other common chickadees.
songbird
Berylline Hummingbird
A coppery-green montane hummingbird whose folded wings show a flash of rufous not typically visible in similar species until it takes flight.
hummingbird
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
Streaked Spiderhunter
A large, heavily streaked relative of sunbirds found in Asian hill forests, notable for its long curved bill and bold dark streaking on yellowish underparts.
songbird
Pink-footed Goose
A compact gray goose with a notably darker head and neck than its body, a short pink-banded bill, and pink legs, breeding in the far North Atlantic and wintering on European farmland.
waterfowl
Juniper Titmouse
The Juniper Titmouse is a plain gray, crested songbird of the arid pinyon-juniper woodlands of the interior West, notable for its unmarked plumage and persistent, repetitive song.
songbird
Calliope Hummingbird
The smallest breeding bird in North America, notable for the male's streaked, wine-red gorget that splays outward like tiny rays rather than forming a solid patch.
hummingbird