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.
Osprey
The Osprey is a fish-eating raptor with dark brown upperparts, a white head marked by a bold dark eye-stripe, white underparts, and long, angled wings showing a distinctive dark carpal patch and barred flight feathers.
raptor
American Barn Owl
A pale, heart-faced owl of open farmland and grassland, instantly recognizable by its golden and grey speckled upperparts, ghostly white underside, and exceptionally soft, silent-flight feathers.
owl
Common Raven
One of the largest songbirds in the world, the Common Raven produces long, heavy, glossy-black feathers with a pronounced iridescent sheen and a distinctive wedge-shaped tail profile.
corvid
Pied Avocet
A crisp black-and-white wader with a black cap and nape, known for its elegant upturned bill and sweeping feeding motion.
shorebird
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
Northern Goshawk
The Northern Goshawk is the largest accipiter, a powerful forest hawk with slate-grey upperparts, a bold white eyebrow stripe, finely barred pale underparts, and fluffy white undertail feathers, built for powerful pursuit through mature forest.
raptor
Rufous-backed Robin
A Mexican thrush resembling the American Robin but with a warmer rufous back and a distinctly streaked black-and-white throat.
songbird
Cape Bunting
A southern African bunting with a black-and-white striped face and a warm chestnut wing panel, favoring rocky, hilly terrain.
songbird
Golden-fronted Woodpecker
A Texas and Mexican woodpecker with a barred black-and-white back and golden-yellow patches on the nape and face rather than red.
woodpecker
Silver Gull
A common and adaptable Australian gull with white plumage, pale grey wings, and black wingtips marked with white spots.
seabird
Temminck's Stint
A small, plain-plumaged stint that favors quiet freshwater edges over open mudflats, distinguished from its rufous relatives by generally duller upperpart feathers and distinctive white outer tail feathers.
shorebird
Great Egret
A tall, all-white heron with a long yellow bill and black legs, famous for the delicate plumes it grows during the breeding season.
wading bird
Spot-winged Grosbeak
A large Himalayan finch identified by rows of neat white spots across otherwise black wings, paired with a black head and yellow body.
songbird
Plush-crested Jay
A South American jay with a velvety black face, glowing yellow eyes, and a soft blue patch on the nape, its tail broadly tipped in white.
corvid
Eastern Kingbird
A bold, dark-backed flycatcher with clean white underparts and a distinctive white terminal band across an otherwise black tail.
songbird
Golden-breasted Bunting
A brightly marked African bunting with a striped black-and-white head and vivid yellow underparts, common in savanna woodland.
songbird
Australasian Gannet
A large white seabird with black wingtips and a warm yellow head wash, known for spectacular high-speed plunge-dives into the ocean.
seabird
American Avocet
An elegant black-and-white wader with a distinctive upturned bill, showing a rusty cinnamon head and neck in breeding season.
shorebird
Ring-billed Gull
A common, adaptable medium-sized gull of North America named for the black band around its bill, the Ring-billed Gull shows pale gray back feathers and yellow legs, thriving in habitats from lakeshores to parking lots.
seabird
Sage Grouse
The largest North American grouse, tied closely to sagebrush habitat, with mottled grey-brown plumage, a black belly patch, and long, spiky pointed tail feathers fanned during elaborate lek displays.
gamebird
Tristram's Bunting
An East Asian bunting with a bold black-and-white striped head and a chestnut breast band, breeding in northern forests.
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
Little Egret
A dainty white heron of Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia, best known for its black legs and bright yellow feet.
wading bird
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