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 Rosefinch
A finch in which breeding males show a rosy-red head, breast, and rump, while females and immatures are plain streaked brown, sparrow-like birds.
songbird
Elf Owl
The smallest owl in the world, a sparrow-sized desert dweller that nests in old woodpecker holes in saguaro cacti and streamside trees, with finely mottled grey-brown plumage.
owl
Eastern Towhee
A large, ground-dwelling sparrow relative with bold black (or brown), white, and rufous plumage, often first noticed scratching noisily through leaf litter in dense thickets.
songbird
Giant Hummingbird
The largest living hummingbird, notable for its comparatively dull, sparrow-like coloring and slow, distinctly audible wingbeats compared to smaller relatives.
hummingbird
Green-tailed Towhee
The Green-tailed Towhee is a striking western sparrow relative with olive-green wings and tail, a rufous cap, and a bold white throat, found in mountain shrublands.
songbird
California Towhee
The California Towhee is a large, plain brown sparrow relative common in West Coast gardens and chaparral, best known for its rufous undertail and persistent chip calls.
songbird
Red-winged Blackbird
A common marsh-dwelling blackbird whose males display bold red-and-yellow shoulder patches on glossy black plumage, while females are entirely different, streaked brown like a large sparrow.
songbird
Purple Finch
The Purple Finch is a chunky finch whose males show a raspberry-red wash extending over the back and rump, deeper than the localized red of the House Finch, while females show bold brown facial striping.
songbird
Common Cuckoo
A slim, hawk-mimicking bird whose barred underparts and pointed wings closely resemble a small sparrowhawk, an example of remarkable plumage convergence in nature.
other