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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Feather Atlas logo

IDENTIFY FEATHER TOOL

PATTERN
COLOR
SIZE
POSITION
TYPE OF BIRD

     

Use the buttons above to select different criteria for a feather you've found and attempt to identify it.
Select the pattern or patterns that most closely match your feather. Many feathers will match only a single pattern, but others, such as a barred feather with a broad white tip, will be best described by selecting more than one pattern.
Determine the most characteristic or striking color on your feather, and check the appropriate selection from the list. By characteristic color, we mean the color that is most noticeable on the feather.
To further narrow down your search, you can specify the size of your feather in one of four categories:
SMALL: total length less than or equal to 8 cm (approximately 3 inches); MEDIUM: total length 8-16 cm (3 - 6 inches); LARGE: total length 16-24 cm (6 - 10 inches); or HUGE: more than 24 cm (10 inches). If you don't specify a size category, feathers of all sizes will be searched.
If you know the position of the feather you are trying to identify, you can significantly narrow your search by choosing from the options below. If you're not sure what type of feather you have, select "Search All Feathers". No selection will still search all feathers.
For more information, see:
Identifying Feather Position.
Diagram of Red-tailed Hawk showing primary wing feathers, secondary wing feathers, and tail feathers
Sometimes, you'll have a good idea what kind of bird your feather came from. For example, a barred feather with a soft, fuzzy texture is probably from an owl. Selecting options from the list below will allow you to restrict your search to particular groups. You can select as many as you wish.
    • Ciconiidae, Gruidae, Rallidae)

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