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.
Buff-fronted Owl
The Buff-fronted Owl is a small South American forest owl with a striking contrast between its dark brown upperparts and warm buffy-orange face and underparts.
owl
Boreal Owl
A small, secretive owl of northern boreal and subalpine conifer forests, marked by dark brown plumage boldly spotted with white and a distinctive dark-rimmed facial disc.
owl
Elf Owl
The smallest owl in the world, a sparrow-sized desert dweller that nests in old woodpecker holes in saguaro cacti and streamside trees, with finely mottled grey-brown plumage.
owl
Eastern Meadowlark
A chunky grassland songbird with a bright yellow breast crossed by a bold black V, camouflaged brown-and-black upperparts, and white outer tail feathers flashed in flight.
songbird
Dark-eyed Junco
A familiar winter feeder bird, the Dark-eyed Junco flashes bright white outer tail feathers against a slate-gray or brown body when it flies.
songbird
Great Horned Owl
One of the most widespread and powerful owls in the Americas, instantly recognizable by its prominent ear tufts and richly mottled brown plumage built for silent, nocturnal flight.
owl
Barking Owl
An Australian hawk-owl named for its dog-like barking call, gray-brown above and heavily streaked below, favoring open woodland and riverine forest.
owl
Weka
The Weka is a robust, flightless New Zealand rail with streaked brown plumage, known for its bold, inquisitive, and often opportunistic behaviour around people.
wading bird
Steller's Sea Eagle
One of the largest and heaviest eagles alive, easily identified by bold white patches on the shoulders and thighs set against otherwise blackish-brown plumage.
raptor
Meadow Pipit
The Meadow Pipit is a small, streaky brown songbird of open country, its cryptic, heavily streaked feathers providing camouflage against grass and heather.
songbird
Japanese Grosbeak
A large, heavy-billed finch of East Asian forests, recognized by its black head, gray-brown body, and oversized pale-yellow bill.
songbird
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
A plain brown swallow similar to Bank Swallow but lacking a sharp breast band, instead showing a soft, diffuse brownish wash across the throat.
songbird
Canyon Wren
A rufous-brown, cliff-dwelling wren with a striking bright white throat, best known for its cascading, silvery song that echoes through canyons.
songbird
Black Francolin
A boldly patterned gamebird with males showing black plumage dotted with white spots and a chestnut neck collar, while females are cryptically mottled brown.
gamebird
Hawaiian Crow
A critically rare Hawaiian corvid with softer, browner plumage than mainland crows, subject to intensive conservation efforts after disappearing from the wild.
corvid
Yellow-rumped Warbler
One of North America's most abundant warblers, easily known by small bright-yellow patches on the rump, sides, and crown set against streaky gray-brown feathers.
songbird
Southern Boobook
Australia's most familiar and widespread owl, named for its distinctive 'boo-book' call, with dark brown feathers boldly spotted white above and streaked buff below.
owl
Russet-crowned Motmot
Found in dry forest of western Mexico, the Russet-crowned Motmot shows a warm rufous-brown crown against green body plumage and a slow-swinging racket tail.
other
Rock Ptarmigan
A circumpolar tundra grouse that turns from mottled gray-brown in summer to pure white in winter, always retaining black tail feathers as a year-round field mark.
gamebird
Pygmy Nuthatch
The Pygmy Nuthatch is a tiny, highly social western pine-forest nuthatch whose dull gray-brown cap and small feather size distinguish it from other nuthatches.
songbird
Pacific Wren
A tiny, dark rufous-brown wren of western old-growth forest understory, nearly identical to the Winter Wren but distinguished mainly by range and its distinctly different song.
songbird
Nightingale
The Nightingale is a plain brown songbird celebrated for its powerful, richly varied nighttime song, far more often heard than seen in dense thickets across Europe.
songbird
Indian Scops Owl
The Indian Scops Owl is a small, grey-brown owl of the Indian subcontinent whose finely mottled, bark-like feathers help it disappear against tree trunks by day.
owl
Chestnut-quilled Rock Pigeon
The Chestnut-quilled Rock Pigeon is an Australian escarpment specialist whose otherwise grey-brown plumage reveals bold chestnut patches on the flight feathers when it takes wing.
dove pigeon