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.
Giant Hummingbird
The largest living hummingbird, notable for its comparatively dull, sparrow-like coloring and slow, distinctly audible wingbeats compared to smaller relatives.
hummingbird
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
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
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
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
Green Kingfisher
A small, dark-green kingfisher of American waterways, often the most frequently seen kingfisher along narrow streams.
other
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
Eurasian Wigeon
The Old World counterpart to the American Wigeon, with a rich chestnut head, pale cream crown stripe, and grey axillary feathers that distinguish it from its American relative.
waterfowl
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
Golden-hooded Tanager
A jewel-like songbird of Central American and northern South American forests, the Golden-hooded Tanager combines a black facial mask with a turquoise-and-gold crown and blue-green body.
songbird
Scarlet Ibis
A brilliantly colored South American and Caribbean ibis, entirely vivid scarlet-red apart from black wingtips, closely related to the American White Ibis but far more vividly pigmented.
wading bird
Collared Aracari
The Collared Aracari is a mid-sized toucan with bright yellow underparts crossed by a dark belt of spots, plus a narrow chestnut collar across the nape. It ranges through Central American and northern South American forests in small, active flocks.
other
Rufous-backed Robin
A Mexican thrush resembling the American Robin but with a warmer rufous back and a distinctly streaked black-and-white throat.
songbird
Tamaulipas Crow
One of the smallest North American crows, native to northeastern Mexico with a small range extending into southern Texas.
corvid
Cocoi Heron
The South American counterpart to the Great Blue Heron, with a bold black cap and crisp white neck.
wading bird
White-throated Magpie-Jay
A dramatic Central American jay with a long, forward-curling crest and an exceptionally long, graduated blue-and-white tail.
corvid
White-eyed Conure
A mostly green South American parakeet marked by a small red eye patch and scattered red wing markings.
parrot
Chilean Flamingo
A pale pink South American flamingo distinguished by grey legs with contrasting pink knee and ankle joints.
wading bird
Veery
The warmest-toned of the North American Catharus thrushes, with an evenly tawny-rufous back and only faint spotting on a pale breast.
songbird
Black-headed Siskin
A Central American finch with a solid black hood, yellow-olive body plumage, and black wings marked by bright yellow patches.
songbird
Ultramarine Grosbeak
A South American forest-edge songbird, the male Ultramarine Grosbeak is deep blue overall with a notably stout, silvery bill.
songbird
Long-tailed Meadowlark
A southern South American grassland songbird whose males flash a brilliant scarlet throat and breast against blackish upperparts.
songbird
Green-barred Woodpecker
A colorful South American flicker relative with an olive-green barred back and bright yellow underparts marked with dark scalloping.
woodpecker
Black-chinned Siskin
A southern South American finch marked by a small black chin patch and crown against otherwise yellow-green plumage.
songbird