Resources

Found Feathers project journal on iNaturalist: See what the iNaturalist feather identification community does and updates to the project.

Video playlist (embedded below): Videos on the process of feather identification, the mechanics of feather development and usage, and real-world applications of feather ID. Begins with an excellent video by the Koaw Nature YouTube channel that explains how to get started with feather identification and how to use the iNaturalist Found Feathers project (thanks for the shout-out at 14:35!).

General Feather Information

Reference Specimens/Online Feather & Bird Image Databases

  • The Feather Atlas (US Fish and Wildlife Service): Based in North America. Illustrates flight feathers (primaries, secondaries, rectrices), with body and covert feathers rarely included. The Identify Feather Tool allows you to easily search by pattern, color, size, position, and/or type of bird.
  • Featherbase: Based in Germany, but represents birds from around the world. Illustrates both flight and body feathers. Most comprehensive online feather database with over 1600 species.
  • Slater Wing and Tail Image Collection: Focuses on North American birds, but other species are represented. Contains complete wings and tails, so it is a great resource for identifying covert feathers in addition to the main flight feathers.
  • Vogelfedern: Based in Germany. Currently contains 530+ species. Use the Identification Guide to browse specimens based on traits such as color, shape, and size.

Feather Identification

Legality of Feather Collection

High-Quality Bird Photographs/Information

Birds in the Hand (Bird Banding/Ringing)

Interesting Further Reading

3 thoughts on “Resources”

    1. I’m glad to hear that you like the resources page I’ve put together! I hope it’ll come in handy should you ever have a feather to identify. Also, thank you for bringing up the Ologies podcast—I‘ll add a link to that episode right away.

      Liked by 1 person

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