Bird Feather Identification Guide

Nothing has captured the fascination of man quite like the ability to fly. Some 10,000 + species of birds have been the envy of people around the world as they help spread color through the sky. Here you will find our helpful bird feather guide which showcases the feathers of various birds from the Americas.

The beauty of an individual feather can be equally as beautiful as a bird itself and can also be a very helpful identification tool to prove what birds might be in present in your area.

We give our thanks to the many museums, nature centers, bird rescue centers and teaching collections for allowing us to photograph the species for this guide.

The following online Bird Feather Guide has been arranged alphabetically according to species common name. We encourage you to check back often as we will try to update guide with new species as they become available.

We also have a comprehensive online Animal Skull Guide which you can check out here.

A

American Bittern feather feathers birdAmerican Bittern American Kestrel Male feather feathers bird (6) American Kestrel
American Oystercatcher feather feathers bird (3)American Oystercatcher American Robin feather feathers bird (3)American Robin
American Widgeon feather feathers birdAmerican Wigeon Woodcock feather feathers bird (2)American Woodcock
Andean Condor feather feathers bird (3)Andean Condor

 

B

Bald Eagle feather feathers bird (4)Bald Eagle Bald Eagle feather feathers bird (3)Bald Eagle
Bald Eagle feather feathers bird (2)Bald Eagle Bald Eagle feather feathers bird (1)Bald Eagle
Barn Owl feather feathers bird (2)Barn Owl Barred Owl feather feathers bird (1)Barred Owl
Belted Kingfisher feather feathers bird (7)Belted Kingfisher Black Bellied Plover feather feathers bird (2)Black Bellied Plover
Black Crowned Night Heron feather feathers Adult bird (3)Black Crowned Night Heron Black Skimmer feather feathers bird (1)Black Skimmer
Black Vulture feather feathers bird (5)Black Vulture Blue Gold Macaw feather feathers bird (4)Blue and Yellow Macaw
Blue Jay feather feathers bird (2)Blue Jay Blue Winged Teal feather feathers bird (2)Blue Winged Teal
Boat Tailed Grackle feather feathers bird (2)Boat Tailed Grackle Broad Winged Hawk feather feathers bird (3)Broad Winged Hawk
Brown Pelican feather feathers Breeding Adult bird (3)Brown Pelican Brown Thrasher feather feathers bird (2)Brown Thrasher

C

Carolina Wren feather feathers birdCarolina Wren Cattle Egret feather feathers birdCattle Egret
Cedar Waxwing feather feathers birdCedar Waxwing Chuck Wills Widow feather feathers birdChuck-Will’s- Widow
Common Grackle feather feathers birdCommon Grackle Common Ground Dove feather feathersCommon Ground Dove
Common Moorhen feather feathersCommon Moorhen Common Loon Summer feather feathers birdCommon Loon
Common Nighthawk feather feathers birdCommon Nighthawk Common Snipe feather feathers birdCommon Snipe
Common Yellowthroat feather feathers birdCommon Yellowthroat Coopers Hawk feather feathers birdCooper’s Hawk
Crested Caracara feather feathers birdCrested Caracara

D

Double Crested Cormorant feather feathers birdDouble Crested Cormorant Downy Woodpecker feather feathers birdDowny Woodpecker

E

Eastern Bluebird feather feathers birdEastern Bluebird Eastern Meadowlark feather feathers birdEastern Meadowlark
Eastern Screech Owl Red Phase feather feathers birdEastern Screech Owl Eurasian Collared Dove feather feathers birdEurasian Collared Dove
European Starling feather feathers birdEuropean Starling

F

G

Glossy Ibis feather feathers birdGlossy Ibis Golden Crowned Kinglet feather feathers birdGolden Crowned Kinglet
Gray Catbird feather feathers birdGray Catbird Great Blue Heron feather feathers birdGreat Blue Heron
Great Egret feather feathers birdGreat Egret Great Egret Plumes feather feathers birdGreat Egret
Great Horned Owl feather feathers birdGreat Horned Owl Greater Yellowlegs feather feathers birdGreater Yellowlegs
Green Heron feather feathers birdGreen Heron Green Wing Teal feather feathers birdGreen Winged Teal

H

Hairy Woodpecker feather feathers birdHairy Woodpecker

I

J

K

Killdeer feather feathers birdKilldeer

L

Least Tern feather feathers birdLeast Tern Limpkin feather feathers birdLimpkin
Little Blue Heron Adult feather feathers birdLittle Blue Heron- Adult Little Blue Heron feather feathers birdLittle Blue Heron- Immature
Long Eared Owl feather feathers birdLong Eared Owl

M

Magnolia Warbler feather feathers birdMagnolia Warbler Magnificent Frigatebird feather feathers birdMagnificent Frigatebird
Mallard feather feathers birdMallard Marbled Godwit feather feathers birdMarbled Godwit
Mangrove Cuckoo feather feathers birdMangrove Cuckoo Mourning Dove feather feathers birdMourning Dove

N

Northern Cardinal feather feathers birdNorthern Cardinal Northern Mockingbird feather feathers birdNorthern Mockingbird
Northern Oriole feather feathers birdNorthern Oriole Northern Pintail feather feathers birdNorthern Pintail

O

Osprey feather feathers birdOsprey Osprey Tail feather feathers birdOsprey

P

Peregrine Falcon feather feathers birdPeregrine Falcon Pied Billed Grebe feather feathers birdPied Billed Grebe
Pileated Woodpecker feather feathers birdPileated Woodpecker Prothonotary Warbler feather feathers birdProthonotary Warbler

Q

R

Red Bellied Woodpecker feather feathers birdRed Bellied Woodpecker Red Shafted Flicker feather feathers birdRed Shafted Northern Flicker
Red Shouldered Hawk feather feathers bird immatureRed Shouldered Hawk Red Shoulder Hawk feather feathers birdRed Shouldered Hawk
Red Shouldered Hawk feather feathers birdRed Shouldered Hawk Red Tailed Hawk feather feathers birdRed Tailed Hawk
Red Tailed Hawk feather feathers birdRed Tailed Hawk Red Tailed Hawk feather feathers birdRed Tailed Hawk
Red Winged Blackbird feather feathers birdRed Winged Blackbird Reddish Egret feather feathers birdReddish Egret
Rock Dove feather feathers birdRock Dove Roseatte Spoonbill feather feathers birdRoseate Spoonbill
Royal Tern feather feathers birdRoyal Tern Ruddy Turnstone feather feathers birdRuddy Turnstone

S

Scarlet Ibis feather feathers birdScarlet Ibis Sandhill Crane feather feathers birdSandhill Crane
Sandhill Crane feather feathers birdSandhill Crane Sandwich Tern feather feathers birdSandwich Tern
Scarlet Macaw feather feathers birdScarlet Macaw Sharp Shinned Hawk feather feathers birdSharp Shinned Hawk
Short Eared Owl feather feathers birdShort Eared Owl Sora feather feathers birdSora
Snowy Egret feather feathers birdSnowy Egret Spruce Grouse feather feathers birdSpruce Grouse
Stellars Jay feather feathers birdSteller’s Jay Swallow Tailed Kite feather feathers birdSwallow Tailed Kite

T

Tricolored Heron feather feathers birdTricolored Heron Trumpeter Swan feather feathers birdTrumpeter Swan
Turkey Vulture feather feathers birdTurkey Vulture

U

V

W

White Breasted Nuthatch feather feathers birdWhite Breasted Nuthatch White Ibis feather feathers birdWhite Ibis
White Pelican feather feathers birdWhite Pelican Wild Turkey feather feathers birdWild Turkey
Wild Turkey feather feathers birdWild Turkey Willet feather feathers birdWillet
Wood Duck feather feathers birdWood Duck Wood Stork feather feathers birdWood Stork

Y

Yellow Bellied Sapsucker feather feathers birdYellow Bellied Sapsucker Yellow Billed Cuckoo feather feathers birdYellow Billed Cuckoo
Yellow Crowned Night Heron feather feathers bird adultYellow Crowned Night Heron Yellow Shafted Flicker feather feathers birdYellow Shafted Northern Flicker
Yellow Warbler feather feathers birdYellow Warbler

Z

 

If you would like to purchase a physical bird feather guide to North American birds, we recommend Bird Feathers: A Guide to North American Species

This guide features over 400 photos of bird feathers from 379 species!

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