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.
Sandhill Crane
A tall North American crane, gray overall but often stained rusty-brown from preening with iron-rich mud, famous for its massive migratory staging flocks and rolling bugle call.
wading bird
Common Crane
A widespread Eurasian crane with slate-grey plumage, a black-and-white striped head and neck, and drooping tertial plumes that form a bustle over the tail.
wading bird
Blue Crane
South Africa's national bird, a pale blue-grey crane with unusually long, trailing wing-tip feathers that can nearly brush the ground when the bird is standing.
wading bird
Hooded Crane
A small, dark East Asian crane with a white head and upper neck resembling a hood, contrasting sharply with its otherwise slate-grey to blackish body.
wading bird
Whooping Crane
The tallest bird in North America, an endangered white crane with black wingtips visible in flight and a bare red crown, best known for its dramatic conservation recovery story.
wading bird
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
Sarus Crane
The tallest of all flying birds, a pale grey Asian crane with a strikingly red bare head and upper neck, resident year-round across its wetland range.
wading bird
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
Red-crowned Crane
One of the rarest cranes in the world, a large white East Asian crane with a black neck, a bare red crown, and elongated black secondary feathers that form a false 'tail' over its true white tail.
wading bird
Grey Crowned Crane
An African crane instantly recognized by its stiff, golden bristle crown, red throat wattle, and boldly patterned wings combining white, chestnut, and black.
wading bird
Black Crowned Crane
A West and Central African crane closely related to the Grey Crowned Crane, distinguished by darker neck feathering and the same striking golden crest and boldly patterned wings.
wading bird
White-naped Crane
An East Asian crane with grey body plumage, a bold white stripe running down the nape and hindneck, and extensive bare red facial skin.
wading bird
Black-necked Crane
A high-altitude specialist crane of the Tibetan Plateau, pale grey overall with a black head and neck and a bare red crown, adapted to some of the highest wetland habitats used by any crane species.
wading bird
Brolga
Australia's iconic crane, grey overall with a bare red band of skin around the head and a distinctive fold of skin (dewlap) under the chin, well known for its elaborate dancing displays.
wading bird
Great Blue Heron
The largest heron in North America, a slow-stalking hunter of shallow water with a slate-blue body and a dagger-like yellow bill.
wading bird
Limpkin
A brown, white-spotted wading bird related to both rails and cranes, known for its loud, wailing calls and long, slightly downcurved bill.
wading bird