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.
Glossy Ibis
A widespread, richly colored ibis with deep chestnut body plumage and an iridescent green-and-purple sheen on the wings, found in wetlands across much of the world.
wading bird
Common Kingfisher
A small, jewel-like bird whose brilliant structurally iridescent blue back feathers and warm orange underparts make it one of the most vividly colored birds along any river.
other
Golden Conure
A strikingly golden-yellow Amazonian parrot with contrasting green wing feathers and a long tail.
parrot
Common Linnet
An open-country finch with a warm brown body overall, breeding males adding a crimson forehead and breast patch atop a grey head and chestnut back, with pale wing and tail panels visible in flight.
songbird
Garganey
A small, strongly migratory Eurasian dabbling duck; breeding males show a bold white eyebrow stripe and long, drooping striped scapular feathers, while females resemble other small brown teal.
waterfowl
Common Hill Myna
A glossy black forest myna of South and Southeast Asia, recognized by bright yellow fleshy wattles on the head and a bold white wing patch visible in flight.
songbird
Glaucous-winged Gull
A common gull of the North Pacific coast, the Glaucous-winged Gull shows pale gray wingtip feathers with little or no black, differing subtly from most other large gulls, and frequently hybridizes with related species.
seabird
Common Quail
A tiny, secretive migratory quail of Old World farmland, cloaked in streaked brown plumage that renders it almost invisible in tall grass.
gamebird
Galapagos Dove
An island endemic found only in the Galapagos, warm reddish-brown overall with an iridescent patch on the neck and a strikingly pale blue ring of bare skin around the eye.
dove pigeon
Common Pheasant
A large, long-tailed game bird, with males displaying iridescent copper and gold plumage, a glossy green head, and bright red facial wattles, often set off by a white neck ring in some populations. Females are far more subdued, cloaked in cryptic mottled brown for camouflage while nesting.
gamebird
Giant Hummingbird
The largest living hummingbird, notable for its comparatively dull, sparrow-like coloring and slow, distinctly audible wingbeats compared to smaller relatives.
hummingbird
Common Gull
A neat, medium-sized gull of Europe and Asia known as Mew Gull in North American populations, the Common Gull shows pale gray back feathers, black wingtips with white spots, and a gentle, rounded head shape.
seabird
Gambel's Quail
A desert-dwelling quail of the southwestern United States, closely related to the California Quail but distinguished by a chestnut crown patch and a black belly patch on males.
gamebird
Common Ground Dove
One of the smallest doves in North America, a diminutive, scaly-patterned bird that flushes from the ground to reveal a flash of rufous in the wings.
dove pigeon
Fulvous Whistling-Duck
A warm tawny-buff duck with a long neck and legs, showing pale creamy streaking along the flanks and a dark cap contrasting with a pale face.
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
Gadwall
A subtly patterned grey dabbling duck best known for a crisp white speculum patch and, in males, a bold black rear end, both visible even on a single found feather.
waterfowl
Greater Yellownape
A large, uniformly olive-green woodpecker of Asian forests, best recognized by its shaggy yellow nape crest rather than the black-and-white patterning typical of pied woodpeckers.
woodpecker
Common Peafowl Spalding
An aviculture strain blending Green and Indian Peafowl ancestry, showing iridescent scaled neck feathers, a tall crest, and a long ornamental train that draws on the coloring of both parent lines.
gamebird
Greater Yellowlegs
A tall, alert shorebird with bright yellow legs and a heavy, slightly upturned bill, often the first to sound an alarm call at a wetland.
shorebird
Common Kestrel
The Common Kestrel is a small falcon best known for its ability to hover in place while hunting, with long pointed wings and a distinctive tail that is blue-grey with a black band in males but barred rufous-brown in females.
raptor
Greater Spotted Eagle
A dark, wetland-loving eagle of boreal and eastern Eurasian forests, larger and blacker than its close relative the Lesser Spotted Eagle, with juveniles showing a striking frosted pattern of white wing spots.
raptor
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
Greater Rhea
A large flightless ratite of South American grasslands, with soft, loose grayish-brown plumage and a long neck, related more to ostriches and emus than to typical flying birds.
other
Common Goldeneye
The Common Goldeneye is a striking black-and-white diving duck named for its piercing golden-yellow eye, with males showing a round white spot on an otherwise glossy dark green head.
waterfowl
Greater Prairie-Chicken
A grassland grouse of the central United States, known for the male's elongated neck feathers and orange air sacs displayed during energetic booming courtship gatherings.
gamebird
Common Grackle
A large, iridescent blackbird recognized by its long, keel-shaped tail held in a distinctive V-shaped trough during flight and its bronze or purple sheen.
songbird
Greater Kestrel
The Greater Kestrel is a robust southern African kestrel, larger than the Common Kestrel, with a barred rufous back, pale underparts, and a distinctive pale eye.
raptor
Common Green Magpie
A vividly green forest corvid with a bold black mask and chestnut wing patch, whose color can fade toward blue in old feathers.
corvid
Greater Flamingo
The largest flamingo species, with pale pink body plumage that hides bold black flight feathers revealed only in flight.
wading bird
Common Green Pigeon
The Common Green Pigeon is a widespread South Asian pigeon combining yellowish-green plumage with a grey mantle and bright yellow legs.
dove pigeon
Greater Flameback
A large, brilliantly colored Asian woodpecker whose golden 'flame' back gives the species its name, topped by a bushy red crest in males.
woodpecker
Common Myna
A bold, adaptable brown songbird with a glossy black head and bright yellow bare skin patch around the eye, now established in cities across much of the world.
songbird
Great Spotted Woodpecker
The Great Spotted Woodpecker is a striking black-and-white bird with bold white wing patches, a crimson undertail, and stiff, pointed tail feathers adapted for bracing against tree trunks while excavating and drumming.
woodpecker
Common Murre
A slender, upright seabird resembling a small penguin in posture, with chocolate-brown upperparts and clean white underparts, breeding in dense colonies on narrow sea cliffs.
seabird
Great White Pelican
A massive white pelican with a subtle pinkish tinge, black flight feathers, and a tufted nape crest, found across freshwater and coastal wetlands of Africa and Eurasia.
seabird
Common Chiffchaff
A tiny, plain olive-brown warbler best known by its song, with dark legs and only faint facial markings — one of the least boldly patterned small European songbirds.
songbird
Great Skua
A powerfully built, gull-sized seabird cloaked in dark brown plumage flecked with rufous and buff, best known for its bold white wing-flash and aggressive, piratical habits.
seabird
Common Chaffinch
A common European finch with males showing a blue-grey crown and warm pinkish-brown breast, and females a more subdued olive-brown, both sharing bold double white wing bars and a greenish rump.
songbird
Great Curassow
A large, turkey-sized forest bird, with males glossy black and white below and topped by a curly crest and bright yellow bill knob. Females occur in several distinct color morphs, ranging from barred to rufous to blackish.
gamebird
Common Redpoll
A small, hardy northern finch with a red cap and black chin, known for irruptive winter movements into temperate regions at feeders.
songbird
Great Slaty Woodpecker
The largest living woodpecker species, a huge slate-grey bird of South and Southeast Asian forests that typically travels in noisy family parties.
woodpecker
Common Raven
One of the largest songbirds in the world, the Common Raven produces long, heavy, glossy-black feathers with a pronounced iridescent sheen and a distinctive wedge-shaped tail profile.
corvid
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
Common Pochard
The Common Pochard is a Eurasian diving duck notable for the male's warm chestnut head and contrasting black breast, set against a pale, finely patterned gray body.
waterfowl
Great Crested Flycatcher
A large woodland flycatcher with a bushy crest, gray throat, and bright yellow belly, showing rufous flashes in the wings and tail.
songbird
Black Phoebe
A dark, tail-wagging flycatcher almost always found perched near water, easily told by its sooty black body and clean white belly.
songbird
Great Grey Owl
The longest owl in the world by overall length, cloaked in soft grey, finely mottled plumage and famous for its huge facial disc marked with distinct concentric rings.
owl