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.
Fox Sparrow
A large, richly colored sparrow whose reddish tail and heavily spotted breast make its feathers among the most distinctive of any North American sparrow.
songbird
House Sparrow
The House Sparrow is an introduced species whose males show a gray crown, chestnut nape and black throat bib over a streaked brown back, while females are plain buffy-brown.
songbird
Henslow's Sparrow
A secretive grassland sparrow with an olive-tinged head and a distinctive short, hiccup-like song.
songbird
Harris's Sparrow
North America's largest sparrow, easily recognized by its bold black face and bib and pink bill.
songbird
Grasshopper Sparrow
A small, flat-headed grassland sparrow with an unstreaked buffy breast and an insect-like buzzy song.
songbird
Cassin's Sparrow
A plain grassland sparrow best known for its distinctive skylarking display flight and musical, trilling song.
songbird
Brewer's Sparrow
A plain, pale sparrow closely tied to sagebrush habitat, known for its unusually long, complex, canary-like song.
songbird
Bell's Sparrow
A dark-headed sparrow of California scrublands, with a bold facial pattern and plainer back than its close relative, the Sagebrush Sparrow.
songbird
White-crowned Sparrow
The White-crowned Sparrow is a clean, handsome sparrow with a bold black-and-white striped crown set above a plain, unstreaked gray face and breast.
songbird
Le Conte's Sparrow
A small, brightly colored grassland sparrow with an orange face and finely streaked, buffy underparts.
songbird
Black-throated Sparrow
A striking desert sparrow with a bold black throat patch framed by crisp white stripes on an otherwise plain gray face.
songbird
Five-striped Sparrow
A rare, boldly striped sparrow of remote desert canyons along the U.S.-Mexico borderlands, named for its five facial stripes.
songbird
Eurasian Tree Sparrow
A small farmland sparrow distinguished from its House Sparrow relative by a chestnut crown (rather than grey) and a distinct black spot on an otherwise white cheek.
songbird
White-throated Sparrow
The White-throated Sparrow is easily identified by its crisp white throat patch and small yellow lore spot, occurring in two crown-striped color morphs.
songbird
Golden-crowned Sparrow
A large, dark sparrow of the Pacific coast known for its bold black-and-yellow crown stripe in breeding plumage.
songbird
Clay-colored Sparrow
A pale, buffy sparrow with a gray nape and crisp brown ear patch outline, common in brushy prairie habitats.
songbird
Black-chinned Sparrow
A gray-headed sparrow of arid chaparral slopes, with breeding males showing a distinctive black chin and throat patch.
songbird
American Kestrel
The smallest and most colorful falcon in North America, a common sight perched on roadside wires, told by its rufous back and tail and, in males, contrasting blue-gray wings.
raptor
Green-tailed Towhee
The Green-tailed Towhee is a striking western sparrow relative with olive-green wings and tail, a rufous cap, and a bold white throat, found in mountain shrublands.
songbird
California Towhee
The California Towhee is a large, plain brown sparrow relative common in West Coast gardens and chaparral, best known for its rufous undertail and persistent chip calls.
songbird
Eastern Towhee
A large, ground-dwelling sparrow relative with bold black (or brown), white, and rufous plumage, often first noticed scratching noisily through leaf litter in dense thickets.
songbird
Dunnock
An unassuming, sparrow-like songbird with soft grey head and breast feathers and a streaked brown back, easily overlooked but distinct once compared with true sparrows.
songbird
Common Rosefinch
A finch in which breeding males show a rosy-red head, breast, and rump, while females and immatures are plain streaked brown, sparrow-like birds.
songbird
Giant Hummingbird
The largest living hummingbird, notable for its comparatively dull, sparrow-like coloring and slow, distinctly audible wingbeats compared to smaller relatives.
hummingbird