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.
Brahminy Kite
A handsome coastal raptor with a crisp white head and breast set against warm chestnut wings and body, common along tropical shorelines of Asia and Australia.
raptor
Rustic Bunting
The Rustic Bunting is a boreal-forest bunting with breeding males showing a bold black-and-white head pattern set against rufous-streaked upperparts and a rufous breast band.
songbird
Western Scrub-Jay
A crestless blue-and-gray jay of western oak woodland and scrubby habitat, easily told from crested jays by its plain head and blue "necklace" across the breast.
corvid
Mountain Bluebird
A slender, sky-blue songbird of western North American high country, the male appearing almost entirely blue with no rusty breast patch, unlike its bluebird relatives.
songbird
Mountain Caracara
A bold, high-altitude Andean raptor with black upperparts and breast set against a clean white belly and rump, often seen scavenging near mountain settlements and livestock.
raptor
Collared Sunbird
A tiny, bright green African sunbird recognized by its yellow underparts and, in males, a narrow iridescent purple breast band separating the green throat from the yellow belly.
songbird
Demoiselle Crane
The smallest of the world's cranes, a blue-grey bird with a black head and breast set off by long, drooping white ear-tuft plumes trailing behind the eyes.
wading bird
Superb Starling
A dazzling East African songbird with glossy blue-green upperparts, a bold white breast band, and a warm chestnut-orange belly, common around towns and savanna.
songbird
Mountain Plover
An unusual, upland-dwelling North American plover of dry short-grass prairie, notably lacking the dark breast band typical of most of its shorebird relatives.
shorebird
Common Pochard
The Common Pochard is a Eurasian diving duck notable for the male's warm chestnut head and contrasting black breast, set against a pale, finely patterned gray body.
waterfowl
Fox Sparrow
A large, richly colored sparrow whose reddish tail and heavily spotted breast make its feathers among the most distinctive of any North American sparrow.
songbird
European Robin
An iconic garden songbird with a vivid orange-red face and breast set against olive-brown upperparts, one of the most recognizable feather patterns in European gardens.
songbird
Southern Lapwing
A bold, noisy plover of South American open country, the Southern Lapwing shows iridescent bronze-green wing feathers, a black breast patch, and a distinctive thin head crest.
shorebird
Yellow-hooded Blackbird
A marsh-dwelling blackbird of northern South America, with males showing a bright yellow hood and breast against an otherwise black body, often seen perched on reeds and grass stems.
songbird
Scarlet-chested Sunbird
A dark African sunbird whose males show a striking scarlet breast patch bordered above by an iridescent green throat and crown, set against otherwise blackish-brown plumage.
songbird
Superb Fruit Dove
The Superb Fruit Dove is a small, dazzlingly patterned fruit dove, with males showing a violet crown, orange nape, and a bold grey-and-black breast band against a green body.
dove pigeon
Eyebrowed Thrush
The Eyebrowed Thrush is an olive-brown Asian thrush marked by a bold white eyebrow stripe and an orange-buff wash across the breast, breeding in Siberian taiga and wintering in tropical Asia.
songbird
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
A long-legged, long-necked duck with a rich chestnut breast, a solid black belly, and a bold white wing stripe, often seen perching in trees rather than swimming.
waterfowl
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
Superb Sunbird
A vividly patterned West and Central African sunbird whose males combine a violet throat, scarlet breast band, metallic blue-green head, and bright yellow belly.
songbird
Pink-necked Green Pigeon
The Pink-necked Green Pigeon is a common Southeast Asian pigeon whose males show a soft pink throat and orange breast patch set against green plumage.
dove pigeon
Grey-headed Lovebird
A small lovebird from Madagascar showing strong sexual dimorphism: males have a pale grey head and breast against a green body, while females are entirely green.
parrot
Meadow Bunting
The Meadow Bunting is an East Asian bunting of shrubby grassland and farmland edge, with breeding males showing a chestnut breast and rump set against a buff-and-black striped face.
songbird
Kentish Plover
A small, pale Old World plover of sandy and saline flats, closely resembling the Snowy Plover of the Americas, with dark side-breast patches rather than a complete band.
shorebird