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.
Southern Red Bishop
A small African weaver whose breeding males turn brilliant scarlet and black, one of the most vividly colored birds of Africa's wetland grasses.
songbird
Piapiac
A slender, glossy black African corvid with a long tail, often seen following cattle or large game to catch flushed insects.
corvid
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
Northern Carmine Bee-eater
A brilliant pink bee-eater of the African Sahel, closely resembling its southern counterpart but with a green crown rather than blue.
other
Greater Blue-eared Starling
A dazzling African starling with metallic blue-green plumage, a darker blue ear patch, and violet-tinged flanks that shimmer in sunlight.
songbird
Common Bulbul
A widespread African songbird with plain brown plumage, a darker cap, and a bright yellow vent, common in gardens, scrub, and savanna woodlands.
songbird
Brimstone Canary
A robust, brightly colored African canary showing rich sulfur-yellow underparts and olive-green upperparts, with a notably heavy bill.
songbird
Yellow-fronted Canary
A small African finch with a bright yellow face and underparts set off by a bold black malar stripe and streaked olive-green back.
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
Red-throated Wryneck
The African counterpart to the Eurasian Wryneck, distinguished by its warm rufous throat patch set against the same cryptic, bark-like plumage.
woodpecker
Cape Canary
A common southern African finch showing a bright yellow face and underparts set off by a distinctive pale gray collar across the nape.
songbird
Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill
The Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill is a mid-sized African savanna hornbill with speckled black-and-white upperparts, white underparts, and a long, curved pale yellow bill. It is a familiar sight foraging on the ground in dry woodland across southern Africa.
other
Timneh Parrot
A darker, slightly smaller relative of the African Grey Parrot, with charcoal-grey plumage and a duller maroon rather than bright red tail.
parrot
Nubian Woodpecker
An East African savanna woodpecker with bold black spotting across cream underparts and a barred greenish back, favoring dry thornbush country.
woodpecker
Copper Sunbird
A widespread African sunbird whose males appear almost entirely black at a distance but glow coppery-purple and bronze-green in good light.
songbird
Spur-winged Goose
One of the largest waterfowl species in the world, a bulky African goose with glossy black-green upperparts, white underparts, and bare red facial skin.
waterfowl
Lanner Falcon
The Lanner Falcon is a widespread African and southern European falcon recognized by its rufous cap and blue-grey back, with lightly streaked pale underparts.
raptor
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
Black-headed Heron
A large grey African heron with a solidly dark head and nape, often seen stalking dry grassland and farmland well away from water.
wading bird
Bearded Woodpecker
A large, robust African woodpecker named for its bold black 'beard' stripe bordering a white throat, favoring broadleaved woodland such as miombo and mopane.
woodpecker
Streaky Seedeater
A plain, heavily streaked African finch typical of highland grassland and forest edge, identified more by its streaky pattern than bright color.
songbird
Southern White-faced Owl
A small grey African owl with a strikingly white facial disc rimmed in black and small ear tufts, known for dramatic threat and concealment postures.
owl
Pharaoh Eagle-Owl
A pale, sandy-toned eagle-owl of North African and Middle Eastern deserts, its feathers finely streaked and vermiculated to blend with rock and sand.
owl
Grey Kestrel
The Grey Kestrel is a small, uniformly slate-grey falcon of West and Central African savanna, notably plain in plumage compared to most other kestrels.
raptor