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.
Pectoral Sandpiper
A medium-sized sandpiper with a sharply demarcated brown, streaked breast band ending abruptly against a clean white belly.
shorebird
Eastern Kingbird
A bold, dark-backed flycatcher with clean white underparts and a distinctive white terminal band across an otherwise black tail.
songbird
Zone-tailed Hawk
A blackish hawk that closely mimics the flight silhouette and dark coloring of the Turkey Vulture, distinguished mainly by its banded tail feathers.
raptor
Rainbow Lorikeet
The Rainbow Lorikeet is a brightly multicolored Australian parrot with a deep blue head, green back, and an orange breast band that make it unmistakable.
parrot
Belted Kingfisher
A stocky, large-headed North American kingfisher with a shaggy blue-grey crest and, in females, a distinctive rust-colored belly band.
other
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
Lincoln's Sparrow
A finely streaked, secretive sparrow with a buffy breast band, often described as one of the most subtly elegant sparrows.
songbird
Sand Martin
The Sand Martin is the smallest European swallow-relative, with plain sandy-brown upperpart feathers, white underparts, and a distinctive brown breast band.
songbird
Red-lored Amazon
The Red-lored Amazon is a widespread Central American parrot identified by the band of red across its forehead and lores, bordered by blue on the crown.
parrot
Greater Double-collared Sunbird
A southern African sunbird whose males flash an iridescent green throat and a broad scarlet breast band bordered in violet.
songbird
Red-fronted Macaw
A medium-sized olive-green macaw with a bright red forehead band and red patch around the eye, restricted to dry canyon country in Bolivia.
parrot
Nuttall's Woodpecker
A small woodpecker largely restricted to California oak woodlands, similar to Ladder-backed Woodpecker but with cleaner white underparts and a solid black nape band.
woodpecker
Loten's Sunbird
A South Asian sunbird notable for its unusually long, strongly decurved bill and a male plumage of iridescent purple-green with a maroon chest band.
songbird
Yellow-throated Bunting
A crested East Asian bunting whose breeding males combine a black crown, bright yellow throat, and chestnut breast band.
songbird
White-capped Bunting
A South Asian bunting whose breeding males show a bold white crown bordered in black above a chestnut breast band.
songbird
Collared Crow
A large, distinctive East Asian crow with a bold white band across the nape, neck, and breast set against black plumage.
corvid
Chestnut Bunting
A small East Asian bunting with breeding males showing an all-chestnut head and breast band above bright yellow underparts.
songbird
Cape Gannet
A large white seabird closely related to the Northern Gannet, distinguished by a black tail and a black band crossing the secondary flight feathers.
seabird
Alpine Swift
One of the largest swifts in the world, with a white belly and throat separated by a brown breast band, capable of remaining airborne for months at a stretch.
other
Snow Pigeon
The Snow Pigeon is a high-altitude Himalayan pigeon with a bold white head, underparts, and rump contrasting against grey-brown wings and a dark breast band.
dove pigeon
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
Orange-breasted Sunbird
A fynbos specialist sunbird from South Africa's Cape region, with males showing an iridescent green head, a violet nape band, and a bright orange breast.
songbird
Greater White-fronted Goose
A brown, scale-patterned goose named for the band of white feathers at the base of its bill, with variable black barring across the belly that gives it the nickname "specklebelly."
waterfowl
Common Ringed Plover
The Eurasian counterpart to the Semipalmated Plover, a small brown-and-white plover with a single black breast band, breeding across the Arctic and temperate coasts of the Old World.
shorebird