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.
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
Common Starling
A glossy, iridescent songbird whose feathers shift from heavily spangled with pale spots in fresh winter plumage to sleek and nearly spot-free by the breeding season.
songbird
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
Common Blackbird
A familiar thrush of European gardens, with males showing sleek all-black plumage and a bright bill, while females and juveniles are a more camouflaged sooty brown with subtle mottling.
songbird
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
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
Eurasian Nuthatch
The Eurasian Nuthatch is a stocky, tree-climbing songbird with slate-blue upperpart feathers and warm buff-orange underparts, plus short, stiff tail feathers adapted for headfirst descents down tree trunks.
songbird
Rock Dove
The wild ancestor of the familiar city pigeon, typically blue-grey with bold black wing bars and a white rump, though feral descendants show enormous color variation.
dove pigeon
Yellow-billed Stork
An African wetland stork with mostly white plumage, black flight feathers, a bright red bare face, and a long yellow decurved bill, developing a delicate pink wash on the back during breeding.
wading bird
Western Capercaillie
The largest grouse species, with males showing a dark, heavy build, an iridescent green breast sheen, and an impressively broad fan-shaped tail during display.
gamebird
Merlin
A small, fast, direct-flying falcon of open northern landscapes, males showing slate-blue upperparts while females and juveniles are brown, both with heavily streaked underparts and no bold facial moustache.
raptor
European Green Woodpecker
The European Green Woodpecker is a large, ground-feeding woodpecker with olive-green body feathers, a bright yellow rump, and a red crown, feeding more on the ground than most of its relatives.
woodpecker
Pine Warbler
A warbler tightly associated with pine forests, showing subdued olive-yellow upperparts, dull yellow underparts, and two whitish wing bars, less flashy than many of its warbler relatives.
songbird
Tawny Owl
A stocky woodland owl whose bark-patterned, silent-edged feathers make it one of the most cryptically camouflaged birds in the forest.
owl
Zenaida Dove
A warm cinnamon-brown Caribbean dove closely related to the Mourning Dove, told apart by its shorter, rounded tail edged in white.
dove pigeon
Cape Petrel
A striking black-and-white seabird whose checkered, piebald wing and back pattern make it one of the most easily recognized petrels of southern seas.
seabird
Pinyon Jay
A uniformly blue, short-tailed, crestless jay of the western pinyon-juniper woodlands, famous for its large nomadic flocks and close relationship with pine seeds.
corvid
Crested Partridge
A small Southeast Asian rainforest partridge whose male sports a bright red, bushy, hair-like crest atop glossy dark-green body plumage, while the female glows a striking grass-green.
gamebird
White Stork
A large, unmistakable white stork with black wing feathers and a bright red bill and legs, famous for its rooftop nests and long migrations between Europe and Africa.
wading bird
Woodchat Shrike
A boldly patterned southern European shrike with a rich chestnut crown and a crisp white shoulder patch that contrasts sharply with its black wings.
songbird
White Woodpecker
An unusually pale South American woodpecker, mostly white with contrasting black wings and back and a patch of bare yellow facial skin.
woodpecker
Gila Woodpecker
A common Sonoran Desert woodpecker with a plain gray-tan head and body set off by a boldly barred black-and-white back and wings.
woodpecker
Olive Woodpecker
A southern and eastern African woodpecker with an olive-green back and grey head, familiar in forest, fynbos margins, and well-wooded gardens.
woodpecker
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