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.
Baltimore Oriole
A vividly colored eastern songbird whose adult males show a striking contrast of flame-orange and black feathers, best known for weaving an elaborate hanging nest.
songbird
Abyssinian Ground Hornbill
The Abyssinian Ground Hornbill is a large, mostly terrestrial hornbill of Sub-Saharan African savanna north of the equator, similar in shape to its southern counterpart but distinguished by its bare blue facial and throat skin. It walks in small groups across open country hunting for prey.
other
Western Marsh Harrier
The Western Marsh Harrier is the largest and darkest of the Eurasian harriers, males showing a distinctive tricolor pattern of grey, brown, and black on the wings and tail, while females and juveniles are largely dark chocolate-brown with a pale creamy crown.
raptor
Spotted Nutcracker
A chunky brown corvid covered in bold white spots, found in coniferous forests across Eurasia, where it caches nuts and pine seeds for winter.
corvid
Common Scoter
The Common Scoter is the Eurasian counterpart of the Black Scoter, a sea duck whose breeding male is entirely black apart from a yellow-orange patch along the ridge of the bill.
waterfowl
Common Kingfisher
A small, jewel-like bird whose brilliant structurally iridescent blue back feathers and warm orange underparts make it one of the most vividly colored birds along any river.
other
Common Pochard
The Common Pochard is a Eurasian diving duck notable for the male's warm chestnut head and contrasting black breast, set against a pale, finely patterned gray body.
waterfowl
Common Kestrel
The Common Kestrel is a small falcon best known for its ability to hover in place while hunting, with long pointed wings and a distinctive tail that is blue-grey with a black band in males but barred rufous-brown in females.
raptor
Common Bullfinch
A stocky, shy woodland finch with males showing rosy-pink underparts against a blue-grey back and black cap, and both sexes sharing a bold white rump patch that flashes distinctively in flight.
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
Great Grey Shrike
A pale gray Eurasian predator songbird with a black mask and long tail, often seen perched conspicuously atop bushes or wires while watching for prey.
songbird
Common Crane
A widespread Eurasian crane with slate-grey plumage, a black-and-white striped head and neck, and drooping tertial plumes that form a bustle over the tail.
wading bird
Black Grouse
A Eurasian grouse whose male is famous for its glossy black plumage and dramatically curved lyre-shaped tail, displayed at communal leks.
gamebird
Cinereous Vulture
One of the heaviest flying raptors, with uniformly dark brown plumage, a dense dark ruff, and broad flight feathers adapted for soaring across open Eurasian terrain.
raptor
Twite
A streaky brown Eurasian finch of moorland and coastal grassland, similar to the Linnet but lacking red on the breast.
songbird
Parrot Crossbill
A heavy-billed northern finch specialized on pine cones, the largest of the crossbills with a correspondingly massive, deep bill.
songbird
Tristram's Bunting
An East Asian bunting with a bold black-and-white striped head and a chestnut breast band, breeding in northern forests.
songbird
Magnolia Warbler
A small, boldly patterned wood-warbler with a black "necklace" of streaking on a yellow breast, breeding in northern conifer forests.
songbird
Red-crowned Woodpecker
A small, widespread woodpecker of northern South America with a barred black-and-white back and a bright red crown on males.
woodpecker
Common Redpoll
A small, hardy northern finch with a red cap and black chin, known for irruptive winter movements into temperate regions at feeders.
songbird
Blue-winged Kookaburra
A northern relative of the Laughing Kookaburra, distinguished by more extensive blue in the wings and a harsher, less musical call.
other
Black-throated Green Warbler
A small wood-warbler with a bright yellow face framed by an olive-green crown and a black throat, breeding in northern conifer forests.
songbird
Cape Gannet
A large white seabird closely related to the Northern Gannet, distinguished by a black tail and a black band crossing the secondary flight feathers.
seabird
Hazel Grouse
A small, secretive forest grouse of northern Eurasia, best known for its finely patterned gray-brown plumage and a bold black-and-white throat patch in males.
gamebird