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.
Canada Goose
A large, familiar goose whose black neck feathers set off by a bold white chinstrap patch make it one of the easiest waterfowl to recognize from a single feather cluster.
waterfowl
Calliope Hummingbird
The smallest breeding bird in North America, notable for the male's streaked, wine-red gorget that splays outward like tiny rays rather than forming a solid patch.
hummingbird
California Thrasher
The largest North American thrasher, a dark chocolate-brown bird of California chaparral with a long, strongly curved bill adapted for digging through leaf litter.
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
Bee Hummingbird
The smallest bird species on Earth, native only to Cuba, with breeding males showing a fiery, iridescent pink-red head and throat over a tiny bluish-green body.
hummingbird
Beautiful Fruit Dove
A rainbow-colored fruit dove of New Guinea's rainforests, combining a lilac-purple crown, green body, and a bright orange-yellow breast band into one striking pattern.
dove pigeon
Baya Weaver
A social South and Southeast Asian weaverbird famed for its hanging retort-shaped nests, breeding males showing a bright yellow crown against a buffy-brown body.
songbird
Bat Falcon
The Bat Falcon is a small, dashing falcon of Neotropical forests, black above with a rufous throat patch and a boldly black-and-white barred belly, often hunting bats and swifts at dusk.
raptor
Banded Kestrel
The Banded Kestrel is a Madagascar-endemic falcon marked by fine, dense barring across nearly the entire body, giving it a distinctly patterned appearance among kestrels.
raptor
Greater Adjutant
A very large, rare Asian scavenging stork with a bald head, a huge bill, and a pale throat pouch, now restricted to a few strongholds in India and Cambodia after severe historical decline.
wading bird
Coal Tit
The smallest common European tit, with a black head, white cheeks, and a distinctive white patch on the nape, paired with buff underparts and two white wingbars on grey-olive wings.
songbird
Black-backed Woodpecker
A fire-and-beetle-kill specialist of North American conifer forests, told from the Three-toed Woodpeckers by its solid, unbarred glossy black back.
woodpecker
Streaked Spiderhunter
A large, heavily streaked relative of sunbirds found in Asian hill forests, notable for its long curved bill and bold dark streaking on yellowish underparts.
songbird
Golden-tailed Woodpecker
An African woodpecker with bold spotting on the underparts rather than barring, plus a golden tint to the tail feathers that gives the species its name.
woodpecker
Western Scrub-Jay
A crestless blue-and-gray jay of western oak woodland and scrubby habitat, easily told from crested jays by its plain head and blue "necklace" across the breast.
corvid
Vulturine Guineafowl
The largest and most vividly plumed guineafowl, with a bare vulture-like blue head, long striped neck hackles, and a cobalt-blue breast spangled with white spots.
gamebird
Laughing Gull
A noisy, familiar coastal gull of the southeastern and Gulf coasts, easily told by its dark slate mantle, drooping red bill, and raucous, laughing call.
seabird
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
A long-legged, long-necked duck with a rich chestnut breast, a solid black belly, and a bold white wing stripe, often seen perching in trees rather than swimming.
waterfowl
Wild Turkey
A large North American gamebird with iridescent bronze-green body feathers, a broad fan-shaped tail banded in dark brown and buff, and a bare, colorful head.
gamebird
Sooty Grouse
A large Pacific coast grouse closely related to the Dusky Grouse, males dark sooty grey with a pale grey tail band and inflatable yellow neck sacs used in display.
gamebird
Smith's Longspur
Smith's Longspur is an Arctic-breeding songbird notable for its warm buff-orange underparts and bold black-and-white head pattern in breeding plumage.
songbird
Village Weaver
A social African weaverbird known for elaborate woven nests, breeding males showing bright yellow bodies with black heads and mottled backs.
songbird
Swallow-tailed Kite
A graceful, boldly two-toned raptor with a deeply forked tail, whose sharp black-and-white feathers are unlike almost any other North American bird of prey.
raptor
Superb Fruit Dove
The Superb Fruit Dove is a small, dazzlingly patterned fruit dove, with males showing a violet crown, orange nape, and a bold grey-and-black breast band against a green body.
dove pigeon