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.
Grass Owl
A ground-nesting barn-owl relative of tall grasslands from Asia to Australia, with long slender legs and golden-buff to dark brown feathers finely spotted, adapted to a life spent low over open grass.
owl
Green Bee-eater
A small, brilliantly green bee-eater found from Africa to South Asia, with a thin black eye stripe and a fine pin-like extension to its central tail feathers.
other
Palestine Sunbird
A small Middle Eastern sunbird whose males appear almost entirely glossy dark blue-black, with hidden orange tufts flashed during display.
songbird
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
Great Spotted Woodpecker
The Great Spotted Woodpecker is a striking black-and-white bird with bold white wing patches, a crimson undertail, and stiff, pointed tail feathers adapted for bracing against tree trunks while excavating and drumming.
woodpecker
Spotted Dove
A common Asian dove instantly recognized by the broad black collar on its hindneck, which is finely spotted with white like a string of pearls.
dove pigeon
Laughing Dove
A small, warm pinkish-cinnamon dove named for its bubbling, laugh-like coo, with a distinctive speckled black patch across the upper breast.
dove pigeon
Yellow Wagtail
The Yellow Wagtail is a slender summer-visiting songbird whose plumage is yellow from throat to undertail, set against an olive-green back, distinguishing its feathers from the more grey-toned wagtails.
songbird
Northern Goshawk
The Northern Goshawk is the largest accipiter, a powerful forest hawk with slate-grey upperparts, a bold white eyebrow stripe, finely barred pale underparts, and fluffy white undertail feathers, built for powerful pursuit through mature forest.
raptor
Channel-billed Toucan
A widespread Amazonian toucan with a mostly dark bill and warm yellow-orange chest, common in lowland rainforest canopy.
other
Black-cheeked Lovebird
A small lovebird with a dark brownish-black face, an orange-tinged forehead and throat, and a green body, restricted to a small region of southern Zambia.
parrot
Spruce Grouse
A boreal forest grouse with dark, densely barred plumage, a black throat patch in males, and a short tail typically tipped with rust-orange.
gamebird
Nanday Conure
A green South American conure easily told by its solid black head, or hood, along with a small blue patch on the breast and red-feathered thighs.
parrot
Buff-fronted Owl
The Buff-fronted Owl is a small South American forest owl with a striking contrast between its dark brown upperparts and warm buffy-orange face and underparts.
owl
Bean Goose
A dark, orange-legged gray goose of Eurasian taiga and tundra, uniformly brown without the pale head-body contrast or bright bill color of related species.
waterfowl
Common Tern
A widespread and familiar tern of coasts and inland waters, identified by its black cap, forked tail, red-orange bill with a black tip, and a dark wedge along the leading edge of the outer wing.
seabird
Lesser Goldfinch
The Lesser Goldfinch is a diminutive southwestern finch whose males show a black or dark green back sharply contrasting with bright yellow underparts.
songbird
Dusky Grouse
A large montane grouse of the interior Rocky Mountains, males dark slate-grey overall with a fanned dark tail and inflatable yellow-orange neck sacs used in display.
gamebird
Sun Conure
A vividly colored conure of northeastern South America, its golden-yellow and orange plumage set off by green-tipped wings and blue flight feathers.
parrot
Red Junglefowl
The wild ancestor of the domestic chicken, with males displaying glossy orange-gold neck hackles and long, curved, iridescent black tail feathers.
gamebird
Helmeted Guineafowl
An African savanna gamebird with a bare, helmeted head and dark plumage covered in small pearl-white spots, now farmed and kept ornamentally around the world.
gamebird
Guadeloupe Woodpecker
An island-endemic woodpecker found only on Guadeloupe, unusual among woodpeckers for its almost entirely dark, glossy plumage rather than bold barring or spotting.
woodpecker
White-rumped Falcon
A tiny Southeast Asian falcon closely related to the African Pygmy Falcon, best recognized by its clean white rump patch flashing against darker grey or chestnut plumage.
raptor
Eurasian Blackbird
A familiar thrush of European gardens and woodland, with males entirely glossy black offset by a bright yellow-orange bill, while females are a more subdued dark brown.
songbird