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.
Sabine's Gull
A strikingly patterned Arctic-breeding gull whose bold black, white, and gray tricolored wing pattern and forked tail make it one of the most distinctive gulls in flight.
seabird
Little Gull
The smallest gull in the world, a delicate Eurasian species with rounded wings, a buoyant tern-like flight, and strikingly dark underwings that flash as it wheels over the water.
seabird
Bonaparte's Gull
A dainty, tern-like gull of the North American boreal forest, notable as one of the few gulls that nests in trees, and identifiable by its crisp black hood and bright white wing wedge.
seabird
Franklin's Gull
A small, elegant gull of interior prairie wetlands, known for its bold white eye crescents, black hood, and one of the longest migrations of any gull, wintering as far south as the coasts of South America.
seabird
Lesser Black-backed Gull
A medium-large gull of European waters with dark slate-gray to blackish mantle feathers and yellow legs, the Lesser Black-backed Gull has expanded its range widely and increasingly turns up well inland.
seabird
American Herring Gull
The North American counterpart to the Eurasian Herring Gull, the American Herring Gull shows very similar pale gray-and-white plumage with black wingtip spots, but with subtly darker gray tones and pinkish legs.
seabird
Common Scoter
The Common Scoter is the Eurasian counterpart of the Black Scoter, a sea duck whose breeding male is entirely black apart from a yellow-orange patch along the ridge of the bill.
waterfowl
Common Greenshank
A tall, pale gray shorebird with greenish legs and a long, slightly upturned bill, the Old World counterpart to the yellowlegs.
shorebird
Common Eider
The Common Eider is a large, heavy-bodied sea duck whose male shows a striking white back and breast against a black belly and crown, with a distinctive sloping bill-and-head profile.
waterfowl
Common Blackbird
A familiar thrush of European gardens, with males showing sleek all-black plumage and a bright bill, while females and juveniles are a more camouflaged sooty brown with subtle mottling.
songbird
Common Tern
A widespread and familiar tern of coasts and inland waters, identified by its black cap, forked tail, red-orange bill with a black tip, and a dark wedge along the leading edge of the outer wing.
seabird
Great Black-backed Gull
The world's largest gull, the Great Black-backed Gull shows strikingly dark slate-black mantle feathers contrasting with a pure white head and body, and is a powerful predator as well as scavenger along North Atlantic coasts.
seabird
Semipalmated Plover
A small, compact North American plover with a single black breast band and orange-based bill, closely resembling the Old World Common Ringed Plover.
shorebird
Woodland Kingfisher
A vocal African woodland kingfisher known for its loud, ringing call and a striking bicolor bill of red and black.
other
Eurasian Curlew
Europe and Asia's largest curlew, with a long downcurved bill and streaky grayish-brown plumage, best known for its evocative bubbling call across moorlands and mudflats.
shorebirdEurasian Blackbird
A familiar thrush of European gardens and woodland, with males entirely glossy black offset by a bright yellow-orange bill, while females are a more subdued dark brown.
songbird
Atlantic Puffin
A small, tuxedo-patterned seabird famous for its large, brightly colored bill in the breeding season, spending most of the year far out at sea before returning to nest on coastal cliffs and islands.
seabird
Caspian Tern
The largest tern in the world, approaching the size of some gulls, unmistakable for its massive deep red bill, heavy build, and loud, harsh call.
seabird
Wilson's Plover
A stocky coastal plover best known for its thick, heavy black bill, distinctly larger than that of similarly patterned ringed plovers.
shorebird
Eurasian Bullfinch
A stocky, short-billed finch with a black cap, grey back, and a rosy-pink breast in males, easily told by its bright white rump patch in flight.
songbird
Silvereye
The Silvereye is a tiny olive-green songbird with a bold white eye-ring, common in gardens, scrub, and forest edges across Australia and New Zealand.
songbird
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
Eurasian Spoonbill
A tall, all-white wading bird with a distinctive spoon-shaped bill, recognized by its clean white plumage and, in breeding season, a shaggy nape crest and pale yellow breast band.
wading bird
Alexandrine Parakeet
One of the largest Psittacula parakeets, distinguished from the similar Rose-ringed Parakeet by its bigger size, heavier red bill, and a distinctive maroon-red patch on the shoulder.
parrot