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.
Southern White-faced Owl
A small grey African owl with a strikingly white facial disc rimmed in black and small ear tufts, known for dramatic threat and concealment postures.
owl
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
Wilson's Bird-of-paradise
Wilson's Bird-of-paradise is a small, intensely colorful species with a red back, yellow nape, an iridescent green breast shield, and a bare, patterned blue crown. It is restricted to a couple of small Indonesian islands where males display and clear small ground courts.
songbird
Snow Bunting
The Snow Bunting is a hardy Arctic songbird whose breeding males become strikingly white and black, while winter birds show warmer buff-brown tones as they flock over open fields and shorelines farther south.
songbird
Tropical Screech-Owl
The Tropical Screech-Owl is a small, widespread Neotropical owl with cryptic grey-brown or rufous plumage and small ear tufts that help it blend against tree bark.
owl
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
One of the smallest songbirds in North America, this active, constantly flicking bird carries a hidden ruby-red crown patch in males that is usually concealed and only flashed briefly during excitement or display.
songbird
Great Tit
A boldly patterned tit with a glossy black head and white cheeks, bright yellow underparts split by a black central stripe, and blue-grey wings with a white bar, among the most recognizable garden songbirds.
songbird
Cassin's Auklet
A small, drab, sooty-gray auklet lacking the bold facial ornaments of its relatives, most easily told by its stubby bill with a small pale spot near the tip.
seabird
Eleonora's Falcon
Eleonora's Falcon is a slender, long-winged falcon of Mediterranean sea cliffs, notable for breeding unusually late in the year to feed its young on autumn-migrating songbirds, and occurring in both pale and dark color morphs.
raptor
Plumbeous Forest Falcon
A small forest-falcon restricted to the humid Chocó region of Colombia and Ecuador, resembling its more widespread relatives but confined to a much smaller range.
raptor
Egyptian Vulture
The smallest and most lightly built Old World vulture, with creamy-white body feathers, black flight feathers, and a distinctive wedge-shaped tail.
raptor
Tundra Swan
A large all-white swan of the Arctic tundra, smaller and more compact than the Trumpeter Swan, often showing a small yellow spot at the base of the bill.
waterfowl
Northern Pintail
An elegant, long-necked dabbling duck whose male grows dramatically elongated central tail feathers, among the most recognizable single feathers of any duck.
waterfowl
Black Swan
An Australian swan with distinctively curled, sooty black-gray body feathers and a striking red bill, its white flight feathers hidden until the wings are spread.
waterfowl
Lesser Yellownape
A smaller relative of the Greater Yellownape, sharing its olive-green body and yellow crest but distinguished by its modest size and a small red patch on the male's head.
woodpecker
Brown Creeper
A tree-trunk specialist whose mottled brown and buff feathers mimic bark texture perfectly, paired with stiff, pointed tail feathers that brace against trunks like a woodpecker's.
songbird
Grasshopper Sparrow
A small, flat-headed grassland sparrow with an unstreaked buffy breast and an insect-like buzzy song.
songbird
Caique
A small, boldly patterned Amazonian parrot with an orange-yellow head, white belly, and green wings.
parrotBlack-headed Caique
A small, sharply patterned Amazonian parrot with a black crown, orange cheeks, and clean white underparts.
parrot
Bare-eyed Cockatoo
A small white cockatoo with an inconspicuous crest and distinctive bare bluish-white skin encircling the eye.
parrot
Ocellated Turkey
A striking Central American turkey with vivid blue-bronze iridescent body feathers and tail feathers marked with distinctive eye-shaped spots.
gamebird
Lineolated Parakeet
A small, stocky green parakeet finely marked with dark barring across the back and wings.
parrot
Le Conte's Sparrow
A small, brightly colored grassland sparrow with an orange face and finely streaked, buffy underparts.
songbird
Whistling Kite
A common, pale kite of Australia and New Guinea best known for its far-carrying whistled call, with buff-brown body feathers contrasting against darker flight feathers in flight.
raptor