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.
Torrent Duck
A slender, streamlined duck specialized for life in swift Andean rivers, with males showing bold black-and-white stripes and females a warm rufous-orange breast. Its stiff, pointed tail helps it brace against rocks in fast current.
waterfowl
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
Boat-tailed Grackle
The Boat-tailed Grackle is a large coastal grackle with a long, distinctively keeled tail, males glossy black with iridescence and females a much smaller warm brown, common along Atlantic and Gulf Coast marshes.
songbird
Reed Bunting
The Reed Bunting is a wetland-associated songbird whose breeding males show a striking black head and white collar against streaked brown upperparts, while females and winter birds are more subtly patterned brown.
songbird
Common Kestrel
The Common Kestrel is a small falcon best known for its ability to hover in place while hunting, with long pointed wings and a distinctive tail that is blue-grey with a black band in males but barred rufous-brown in females.
raptor
Common Chaffinch
A common European finch with males showing a blue-grey crown and warm pinkish-brown breast, and females a more subdued olive-brown, both sharing bold double white wing bars and a greenish rump.
songbird
Snowy Owl
A large, striking white owl of the high Arctic, whose feathers vary from nearly pure white in adult males to heavily barred in females and young birds, all cushioned by exceptionally dense feathering for cold protection.
owl
Red-tailed Black Cockatoo
A large Australian cockatoo, the male Red-tailed Black Cockatoo has glossy black plumage with bold red tail panels, while females show duller, yellow-spotted plumage and an orange-yellow tail pattern.
parrot
Common Pheasant
A large, long-tailed game bird, with males displaying iridescent copper and gold plumage, a glossy green head, and bright red facial wattles, often set off by a white neck ring in some populations. Females are far more subdued, cloaked in cryptic mottled brown for camouflage while nesting.
gamebird
Red-legged Honeycreeper
A small tropical songbird whose breeding males flash violet-blue plumage against solid black wings and tail, while females and non-breeding males wear soft green. It ranges from Mexico through much of South America, favoring forest edges and gardens where it sips nectar and gleans fruit.
songbird
Rock Dove
The wild ancestor of the familiar city pigeon, typically blue-grey with bold black wing bars and a white rump, though feral descendants show enormous color variation.
dove pigeon
Rock Pigeon
A stocky, familiar city bird whose feather color is famously variable, though wild-type individuals retain a blue-gray body with two dark wingbars and an iridescent green-purple neck.
dove pigeon
Twelve-wired Bird-of-paradise
The Twelve-wired Bird-of-paradise is named for the dozen thin, curled wire-like filaments trailing from the male's bright yellow flank plumes, used to brush against a female's face during courtship. It inhabits lowland swamp forest across New Guinea and nearby islands.
songbird
Muscovy Duck
A large, heavily built duck; wild birds are glossy black-green with white wing patches, while the widely domesticated and feral forms show highly variable pied black-and-white plumage.
waterfowl