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.
Black-rumped Flameback
A widespread South Asian woodpecker whose golden back is paired with a black rump, the reverse of its red-rumped Southeast Asian cousin.
woodpecker
Black-legged Kittiwake
A truly pelagic gull that spends most of its life far out at sea, recognized by its clean gray-and-white plumage, black legs, and wingtips that look as though they were dipped in black ink.
seabird
Hooded Siskin
A small South American finch whose male sports a jet-black hood set off by bright yellow underparts and wing flashes.
songbird
Nanday Conure
A green South American conure easily told by its solid black head, or hood, along with a small blue patch on the breast and red-feathered thighs.
parrot
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
Altamira Oriole
The largest oriole regularly found in the United States, showing a bright orange body, black back and wings, and a bold orange shoulder patch, and known for building the longest hanging nests among North American orioles.
songbird
Whooping Crane
The tallest bird in North America, an endangered white crane with black wingtips visible in flight and a bare red crown, best known for its dramatic conservation recovery story.
wading bird
Pied Avocet
A crisp black-and-white wader with a black cap and nape, known for its elegant upturned bill and sweeping feeding motion.
shorebird
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
Knob-billed Duck
A large, glossy black-and-white duck of tropical wetlands, best known for the fleshy black knob or comb that swells atop the breeding male's bill.
waterfowl
Chestnut-eared Aracari
A toucan relative of South American forests, with a huge cream-and-black bill, a chestnut patch behind the eye, and yellow underparts crossed by a bold red-and-black band.
other
Rufous-backed Robin
A Mexican thrush resembling the American Robin but with a warmer rufous back and a distinctly streaked black-and-white throat.
songbird
Golden-hooded Tanager
A jewel-like songbird of Central American and northern South American forests, the Golden-hooded Tanager combines a black facial mask with a turquoise-and-gold crown and blue-green body.
songbird
Cocoi Heron
The South American counterpart to the Great Blue Heron, with a bold black cap and crisp white neck.
wading bird
Chukar
A rocky-hillside partridge known for the sharp black necklace stripe framing its pale throat and the bold black-and-chestnut bars along its flanks.
gamebird
Scarlet Ibis
A brilliantly colored South American and Caribbean ibis, entirely vivid scarlet-red apart from black wingtips, closely related to the American White Ibis but far more vividly pigmented.
wading bird
Common Yellowthroat
A small, skulking warbler best known for the male's bold black facial mask bordered in white, paired with a bright yellow throat.
songbird
Australasian Gannet
A large white seabird with black wingtips and a warm yellow head wash, known for spectacular high-speed plunge-dives into the ocean.
seabird
Pied Wagtail
The Pied Wagtail is a slender black-and-white songbird best known for its constantly pumping tail, with crisp black-and-white feathering that gives it a strongly contrasting, checkered appearance.
songbird
Montezuma Quail
A round, secretive quail of southwestern grasslands, with males showing one of the boldest black-and-white facial patterns of any North American gamebird.
gamebird
Downy Woodpecker
The smallest North American woodpecker, its black-and-white checkered feathers and short bill make it a common and easily identified backyard bird.
woodpecker
Blue-necked Tanager
A brilliantly patterned South American tanager with a glossy blue head and neck set off by black upperparts and a warm chestnut belly patch.
songbird
Woodland Kingfisher
A vocal African woodland kingfisher known for its loud, ringing call and a striking bicolor bill of red and black.
other
Golden-crowned Sparrow
A large, dark sparrow of the Pacific coast known for its bold black-and-yellow crown stripe in breeding plumage.
songbird