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.
Least Tern
The smallest tern in North America, a diminutive, fast-flying species of sandy beaches and river sandbars, easily told by its small size, yellow bill, and white forehead patch above the black cap.
seabird
Painted Stork
A large South Asian stork with a white-and-black body, a bold black breast band, and delicate pink-tinged wing plumes, identified further by its long, decurved yellow bill and bare orange face.
wading bird
Great Curassow
A large, turkey-sized forest bird, with males glossy black and white below and topped by a curly crest and bright yellow bill knob. Females occur in several distinct color morphs, ranging from barred to rufous to blackish.
gamebird
Oak Titmouse
The Oak Titmouse is a plain, uniformly grayish-brown California relative of the Tufted Titmouse whose lack of bold markings is itself a key identification clue.
songbird
Nuttall's Woodpecker
A small woodpecker largely restricted to California oak woodlands, similar to Ladder-backed Woodpecker but with cleaner white underparts and a solid black nape band.
woodpecker
Bell's Sparrow
A dark-headed sparrow of California scrublands, with a bold facial pattern and plainer back than its close relative, the Sagebrush Sparrow.
songbird
Gambel's Quail
A desert-dwelling quail of the southwestern United States, closely related to the California Quail but distinguished by a chestnut crown patch and a black belly patch on males.
gamebird
Island Scrub-Jay
A large, deeply colored scrub-jay found only on Santa Cruz Island off the California coast, notable for its bigger size and richer blue plumage than mainland relatives.
corvid
Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay
The interior counterpart to the California Scrub-Jay, this crestless jay of pinyon-juniper and interior scrub country shows a slightly duller blue and a less crisply defined breast band.
corvid