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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Red-and-green Macaw
One of the largest macaws, a vivid red parrot of South American forests with a green wing band, blue flight feathers, and a bare white face marked with thin lines of red feathers.
parrot
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
Monk Parakeet
A green South American parakeet with a distinctive grey, scalloped breast, unique among parrots for building large communal stick nests rather than nesting in cavities.
parrot
Lucy's Warbler
One of the smallest and palest North American warblers, essentially plain gray and white apart from a bright rufous rump patch and a concealed rufous crown spot.
songbird
Long-billed Hermit
A large hermit hummingbird of Central American rainforest understory, identified by its long decurved bill, buffy underparts, and elongated white-tipped central tail feathers.
hummingbird