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.
Ring Ouzel
A blackbird relative of upland Europe, told from the Eurasian Blackbird by its bold white crescent across the breast and pale-scaled wing feathers.
songbird
King Vulture
A striking tropical vulture with mostly creamy white plumage, jet-black flight and tail feathers, and a vividly multicolored bare head.
raptor
Cape Gannet
A large white seabird closely related to the Northern Gannet, distinguished by a black tail and a black band crossing the secondary flight feathers.
seabird
California Condor
One of the largest flying birds in the world, with enormous black flight feathers and bold white underwing patches.
raptor
Wood Stork
A large white stork with sharply contrasting black flight feathers and tail, and a bare, dark gray-black head and neck rather than feathered skin.
wading bird
Hairy Woodpecker
A larger look-alike of the Downy Woodpecker, distinguished by its longer bill and plain, unspotted white outer tail feathers.
woodpecker
Wattled Crane
The largest crane in Africa, a grey wading bird with a black cap, striking white feathers hanging from the throat, and long fleshy wattles dangling below the face.
wading bird
Philippine Eagle
The Philippine Eagle is a huge forest eagle with brown upperparts, creamy-white underparts, and a shaggy crest of long brown-and-cream feathers that it raises when alert.
raptor
Northern Saw-whet Owl
One of the smallest owls in North America, with soft reddish-brown, white-streaked plumage, no ear tufts, and a distinctive whitish facial disc bordered by a dark rim.
owl
European Stonechat
The European Stonechat is a small, compact songbird whose breeding males show a jet-black head and orange-chestnut breast set off by white neck patches, against a mottled brown back.
songbird
Pied Imperial Pigeon
The Pied Imperial Pigeon is a striking black-and-white pigeon of coastal forests and islands, easily recognized by its creamy white body and bold black flight feathers.
dove pigeon
Griffon Vulture
A large Old World vulture with warm tawny-brown body feathers, contrasting dark flight feathers, and a distinctive white downy ruff at the base of the neck.
raptor
Golden Eagle
A powerful upland raptor whose dark brown plumage and golden nape feathers give it its name, with young birds showing crisp white flight-feather patches that fade with age.
raptor
Black-capped Chickadee
The Black-capped Chickadee is a tiny, non-migratory songbird whose soft black-and-white head feathers and plain gray back make it a familiar year-round feeder visitor.
songbird
Nicobar Pigeon
The Nicobar Pigeon is a striking island pigeon with long, shimmering hackle-like neck feathers in shifting metallic greens and coppers, set off by a pure white tail.
dove pigeon
Mistle Thrush
The largest and boldest-marked of the common European thrushes, with large, rounded blackish spots on cream underparts and white corners visible on the outer tail feathers.
songbird
Common Shelduck
A boldly patterned, goose-sized duck with a crisp white body, a glossy dark green head, a broad chestnut band across the breast and back, and solid black flight feathers.
waterfowl
Gadwall
A subtly patterned grey dabbling duck best known for a crisp white speculum patch and, in males, a bold black rear end, both visible even on a single found feather.
waterfowl
Curlew Sandpiper
A slender, long-legged sandpiper with a gently down-curved bill, best distinguished in the field and in shed feathers by its bright white rump, which flashes clearly in flight.
shorebird
Barn Swallow
The classic long-tailed swallow of barns and bridges, with glossy steel-blue upperparts, a rusty throat, and elongated outer tail feathers tipped with white spots.
songbird
African Fish Eagle
A strikingly tricolor eagle of African waters, with a crisp white head, chest, and tail set sharply against rich chestnut body plumage and black flight feathers.
raptor
Swallow-tailed Kite
A graceful, boldly two-toned raptor with a deeply forked tail, whose sharp black-and-white feathers are unlike almost any other North American bird of prey.
raptor
Mourning Dove
A common, slender dove whose long, pointed, white-edged tail feathers and soft muted tan-brown coloring make it a familiar sight and sound across open country.
dove pigeon
Reeves's Pheasant
A pheasant of central China renowned for having the longest tail feathers of any bird in its family, combined with golden, black-scaled body plumage and a bold black-and-white head pattern.
gamebird