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.
Thick-billed Longspur
The Thick-billed Longspur is a shortgrass prairie songbird whose breeding males show a black cap and breast crescent set against gray-brown plumage, identified partly by its notably stout bill.
songbird
Townsend's Warbler
Townsend's Warbler is a striking Pacific Northwest warbler with a bold black-and-yellow face pattern and olive-streaked back.
songbird
Thick-billed Raven
The largest raven species, endemic to the Ethiopian highlands, known for its massive, deep bill marked with a pale crescent patch.
corvid
Thick-billed Murre
A stocky, high-latitude relative of the Common Murre, distinguished by blacker upperparts, a thicker bill marked with a pale line along the gape, and a hardier tolerance for icy waters.
seabird
Toco Toucan
The largest toucan, instantly recognizable by its enormous bright orange bill contrasting with jet-black plumage.
other
Timneh Parrot
A darker, slightly smaller relative of the African Grey Parrot, with charcoal-grey plumage and a duller maroon rather than bright red tail.
parrot
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
Tricolored Heron
A slender dark heron of the Americas, easily told from other dark herons by the crisp white line running down its foreneck and belly.
wading bird
Taita Falcon
A rare, compact cliff-dwelling falcon whose deep rufous underparts and dark slate back make it one of Africa's most striking small raptors.
raptor
Tawny Frogmouth
A nocturnal Australian bird with mottled grey-brown feathers that mimic tree bark, allowing it to remain nearly invisible while perched motionless during the day.
other
Superb Parrot
The Superb Parrot is a slender, bright green Australian parrot in which males show a yellow face crossed by a narrow red throat band.
parrot
Tambourine Dove
The Tambourine Dove is a small forest dove with a strikingly white face and underparts set against brown upperparts marked with dark wing spots.
dove pigeon
Temminck's Tragopan
A vividly colored Asian pheasant with rich orange-red plumage dotted in pearly white spots, best known for the male's inflatable blue throat lappet used in courtship display.
gamebird
Swainson's Warbler
Swainson's Warbler is a plain, secretive brown warbler of southeastern thickets, best known for a rich, ringing song rather than bold plumage.
songbird
Sword-billed Hummingbird
A remarkable Andean hummingbird whose straight bill is longer than its own body, an adaptation for feeding on especially long, tubular flowers.
hummingbird
Superb Sunbird
A vividly patterned West and Central African sunbird whose males combine a violet throat, scarlet breast band, metallic blue-green head, and bright yellow belly.
songbird
Superb Starling
A dazzling East African songbird with glossy blue-green upperparts, a bold white breast band, and a warm chestnut-orange belly, common around towns and savanna.
songbird
Superb Fairywren
The Superb Fairywren is a tiny Australian songbird whose breeding males show brilliant iridescent blue plumage, while females and non-breeding males are plain brown with a distinctive cocked tail.
songbird
Sunbittern
A slender, heron-like bird whose subdued, bark-patterned plumage conceals a spectacular sunburst of chestnut, black, and buff revealed on the wings during display or flight. It stalks quietly along forest streams in the American tropics.
other
Sunda Collared Dove
A Southeast Asian island dove closely resembling the familiar Eurasian Collared Dove, but slightly smaller and darker, with the same black-and-white half-collar across the back of the neck.
dove pigeon
Stygian Owl
The Stygian Owl is a dark, dramatically plumaged owl of Latin America and the Caribbean, named for its blackish-brown feathers and prominent, closely-set ear tufts.
owl
Streak-backed Oriole
A vividly orange oriole of Mexican and Central American dry forests, distinguished by black streaking across its back, and an occasional rare visitor to the southwestern United States.
songbird
Splendid Sunbird
A brightly colored West African sunbird with an iridescent green head, a vivid scarlet breast patch, and a dark, glossy belly.
songbird
Streaky Seedeater
A plain, heavily streaked African finch typical of highland grassland and forest edge, identified more by its streaky pattern than bright color.
songbird
Spotted Sandpiper
A small, constantly bobbing sandpiper whose breeding-season underparts are covered in bold round black spots unlike any other North American shorebird.
shorebird
Stock Dove
A plainer, smaller relative of the Wood Pigeon lacking white markings, identified instead by two short black wing bars and an iridescent green neck patch.
dove pigeon
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
Squatter Pigeon
The Squatter Pigeon is a ground-dwelling Australian pigeon with a bold black-and-white facial pattern, well camouflaged in grassy woodland aside from its striking head markings.
dove pigeon
Squacco Heron
A small, unassuming heron that appears dull buff-brown at rest but reveals bright white wings the moment it takes flight.
wading bird
Striated Heron
The Old World counterpart to the Green Heron, a small, stocky heron with grayer tones and finely streaked underparts, common along mangroves and tropical waterways.
wading bird
Striated Caracara
A bold, famously curious raptor of the Falkland Islands and southernmost Patagonia, showing dark brown, pale-streaked plumage well suited to its wind-scoured island habitat.
raptor
Steppe Eagle
The Steppe Eagle is a large, uniformly dark brown Eurasian eagle of open grassland, with long fingered wingtips and fully feathered legs. Its flight feathers show subtle grey barring underneath, and juveniles display a pale band across the underwing.
raptor
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
Steller's Jay
A bold, crested jay of western forests with a sooty black head and back giving way to vivid blue wings and tail marked with fine dark barring.
corvid
Sri Lanka Junglefowl
Sri Lanka's national bird, a forest junglefowl whose males glow in rich orange-red plumage set off by a red comb marked with a distinctive yellow center patch.
gamebird
Sun Parakeet
A vividly golden-yellow and orange parrot of the Guiana Shield in South America, with green and blue accents in the wings, prized in aviculture and now endangered in the wild.
parrotSun Conure
A vividly colored conure of northeastern South America, its golden-yellow and orange plumage set off by green-tipped wings and blue flight feathers.
parrot
Summer Tanager
Unlike its scarlet cousin, the male Summer Tanager is rosy-red from head to tail with no contrasting black wings, a year-round trait unique among North American tanagers.
songbird
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
A large all-white cockatoo with a tall sulphur-yellow crest that fans forward when the bird is alert or excited.
parrot
Sulphur-crested Lesser Cockatoo
A smaller relative of the Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, white overall with a bright yellow crest and a subtle yellow tinge on the ear coverts.
parrot
White-rumped Falcon
A tiny Southeast Asian falcon closely related to the African Pygmy Falcon, best recognized by its clean white rump patch flashing against darker grey or chestnut plumage.
raptor
White Stork
A large, unmistakable white stork with black wing feathers and a bright red bill and legs, famous for its rooftop nests and long migrations between Europe and Africa.
wading bird
White Peafowl
A striking all-white color variant of the Indian Peafowl, retaining the species' iconic train shape and fanning display despite lacking the typical iridescent blue-green coloring.
gamebird
White-necked Raven
A large African raven with a distinctive white patch on the nape, often found near cliffs and mountainous terrain.
corvid
White-naped Crane
An East Asian crane with grey body plumage, a bold white stripe running down the nape and hindneck, and extensive bare red facial skin.
wading bird
White-necked Jacobin
A striking tropical forest hummingbird whose male combines a deep blue-violet head with a bold white collar and mostly white underparts and tail.
hummingbird
White-fronted Falconet
A tiny falconet endemic to Borneo, told from its relatives by a clean white forehead patch rather than the rufous forehead seen in most other members of its genus.
raptor
White-headed Woodpecker
A distinctive western pine forest woodpecker with an entirely white head set against an otherwise black body.
woodpecker