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.
Ortolan Bunting
The Ortolan Bunting is a migratory Eurasian farmland bird notable for its gray-green head, yellow throat, and pinkish underparts, breeding across open, warm agricultural landscapes.
songbird
Smew
The Smew is a small, striking Eurasian merganser whose male appears almost entirely white, marked with a bold black eye patch and delicate black lines along the back and flanks.
waterfowl
Greater Spotted Eagle
A dark, wetland-loving eagle of boreal and eastern Eurasian forests, larger and blacker than its close relative the Lesser Spotted Eagle, with juveniles showing a striking frosted pattern of white wing spots.
raptor
American Herring Gull
The North American counterpart to the Eurasian Herring Gull, the American Herring Gull shows very similar pale gray-and-white plumage with black wingtip spots, but with subtly darker gray tones and pinkish legs.
seabird
Garganey
A small, strongly migratory Eurasian dabbling duck; breeding males show a bold white eyebrow stripe and long, drooping striped scapular feathers, while females resemble other small brown teal.
waterfowl
Montagu's Harrier
Montagu's Harrier is the slimmest and most lightly built of the Eurasian harriers, males pale grey with a distinctive black wing-bar, and females and juveniles rufous-brown, all adapted to graceful, buoyant flight over open farmland and steppe.
raptor
Honey Buzzard
The Honey Buzzard is a highly variable Eurasian raptor specialized in raiding wasp and bee nests, recognizable by its small, pigeon-like head, dense scale-like facial feathers for protection, and boldly banded tail.
raptor
Short-toed Snake Eagle
The Short-toed Snake Eagle is a pale-bellied Eurasian eagle with brown upperparts, a mottled brown breast, finely barred flight and tail feathers, and a large owl-like head adapted for scanning the ground for reptile prey.
raptor
Black-tailed Godwit
A striking Eurasian godwit with a bold black tail band, broad white wingbar, and rich chestnut breeding underparts, closely associated with lowland wet grasslands and meadows now much reduced across parts of its range.
shorebird
Steppe Eagle
The Steppe Eagle is a large, uniformly dark brown Eurasian eagle of open grassland, with long fingered wingtips and fully feathered legs. Its flight feathers show subtle grey barring underneath, and juveniles display a pale band across the underwing.
raptor
Emerald Toucanet
The Emerald Toucanet is a small, mostly green toucan of Middle American and Andean cloud forests, its color allowing it to blend remarkably well into the foliage. Regional populations vary somewhat in throat color and bill pattern.
other
Western Reef Heron
A coastal heron of Africa and Asia closely related to the Little Egret, occurring in both dark and white color forms.
wading bird
Red-footed Booby
The smallest and most variably plumaged booby, occurring in white, brown, and intermediate color morphs, all sharing distinctive red feet.
seabird
Plain Mountain Finch
A plainly plumaged high-altitude finch of the Himalayas and Central Asia, relying on streaky brown camouflage rather than bright color.
songbird
Ross's Goose
The smallest white goose in North America, nearly identical in color to the Snow Goose but noticeably more compact, with a short neck and stubby bill.
waterfowl
Bicknell's Thrush
A rare, high-elevation thrush closely resembling the Gray-cheeked Thrush, separated mainly by subtle tail color, bill pattern, and habitat.
songbird
Little Eagle
Australia's smallest booted eagle, occurring in pale and dark color morphs, identified by a pale patch at the base of the outer primaries and a short, square tail.
raptor
Brown Pelican
A large, dark-bodied pelican of coastal waters, known for its spectacular plunge-diving and a head and neck that change color dramatically with the breeding season.
seabird
Cream-colored Woodpecker
An unusually pale Amazonian woodpecker, clothed almost entirely in a uniform creamy-straw color rather than the bold contrast typical of most woodpeckers.
woodpecker
Streaky Seedeater
A plain, heavily streaked African finch typical of highland grassland and forest edge, identified more by its streaky pattern than bright color.
songbird
Northern Fulmar
A stocky, tube-nosed seabird that glides on stiff, straight wings low over the waves, occurring in both pale and uniformly dark color forms.
seabird
Common Green Magpie
A vividly green forest corvid with a bold black mask and chestnut wing patch, whose color can fade toward blue in old feathers.
corvid
Common Whitethroat
A small, active warbler with a bright white throat contrasting a grey head, and warm chestnut fringes on the wing feathers that add color to an otherwise modest bird.
songbird
Oriental Scops Owl
The Oriental Scops Owl is a small, migratory Asian owl with cryptic bark-patterned plumage occurring in grey and rufous color morphs, and tiny ear tufts.
owl