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.
Hooded Siskin
A small South American finch whose male sports a jet-black hood set off by bright yellow underparts and wing flashes.
songbird
Cassin's Finch
A western North American mountain finch whose males show a bright rosy-red crown sharply contrasting with a brown-streaked back.
songbird
Canada Jay
A famously tame, fluffy grey jay of the North American boreal forest, known for boldly approaching campers and caching food for winter survival.
corvid
Boat-billed Heron
An unmistakable heron of tropical American wetlands, best known for its unusually broad, scoop-shaped bill and large, night-adapted eyes.
wading bird
Blue-winged Parrotlet
The Blue-winged Parrotlet is a tiny, widespread South American parrot in which males show a notable patch of blue across the wing coverts.
parrot
Violet Sabrewing
A large, deep violet Central American hummingbird named for the thickened, curved shafts of its outer primary feathers, a structural feature unique to sabrewing hummingbirds.
hummingbird
Turquoise-browed Motmot
This Central American motmot is best known for its bright turquoise eyebrow stripe and long tail ending in bare-shafted rackets that it swings like a pendulum.
other
Tropical Mockingbird
A familiar gray songbird of Central and South American open country and gardens, known for its long tail, white wing flashes, and varied vocal repertoire.
songbird
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
Ruddy Ground Dove
A tiny, warm rufous-colored dove common in open country across the American tropics, with males showing rich cinnamon plumage and black-spotted wings.
dove pigeon
Pale-vented Pigeon
A tropical pigeon of Central and South American lowlands, showing a warm purplish-bronze head and breast that gives way to a notably pale lower belly and vent.
dove pigeon
Blue-crowned Conure
A robust green conure identified by a pale blue wash across the crown and forehead, larger and stockier than many similarly colored South American parakeets.
parrot
Black-backed Woodpecker
A fire-and-beetle-kill specialist of North American conifer forests, told from the Three-toed Woodpeckers by its solid, unbarred glossy black back.
woodpecker
Willet
A large, plain-looking shorebird that transforms in flight, revealing a bold black-and-white wing pattern unlike any other North American sandpiper.
shorebird
Spot-breasted Woodpecker
A South American woodpecker with a yellow-green barred back and a breast marked by bold black spots, favoring open and semi-open wooded habitat.
woodpecker
Sage Thrasher
The smallest and most compact North American thrasher, a streaky gray-brown bird of sagebrush country with a shorter, straighter bill than its relatives.
songbird
Red-billed Pigeon
A large, dark pigeon of Texas and Central American woodlands, named for its bicolored bill and identified by its rich maroon-purple head and breast.
dove pigeon
Piping Plover
A pale, sand-colored North American plover with an often broken black breast band, closely tied to open sandy beaches and alkaline lakeshores.
shorebird
Curve-billed Thrasher
A grayish-brown desert songbird with a long, strongly down-curved bill, well adapted to foraging among cactus and thorny scrub of the American Southwest.
songbird
Crimson-crested Woodpecker
A striking South American woodpecker whose entirely crimson head and crest stand out sharply against its black-and-white barred body.
woodpecker
Capped Heron
A softly colored South American heron with creamy buff-white plumage, a glossy black cap, and long pale plumes trailing from the crown.
wading bird
Wild Turkey
A large North American gamebird with iridescent bronze-green body feathers, a broad fan-shaped tail banded in dark brown and buff, and a bare, colorful head.
gamebird
Pileated Woodpecker
The largest common North American woodpecker, unmistakable for its crow-like size, deep black body, flaming red crest, and bold white neck stripes.
woodpecker
Pale-billed Woodpecker
A large Middle American woodpecker closely related to the Crimson-crested and Ivory-billed Woodpeckers, recognized by its fully red head and pale, ivory-toned bill.
woodpecker