Found Feathers and the Feather Atlas
GOAL
This website is designed to assist feather identification by providing high-resolution scans of flight feathers of major groups of North American birds. This is an ongoing project that will continually add new species.
HOW TO USE THE FEATHER ATLAS
To search the image database by the common or scientific name of a bird species or group, click on “Search Scans.” To browse by taxonomic group (for example, owls or woodpeckers), click on “Browse Images.” Feather identification can be made by comparing an unknown feather with the scans of similar feathers on the Feather Atlas. The range of possibilities can be narrowed down by examining the details of plumage illustrated in bird field guides.
The scans typically illustrate the dorsal surfaces of 12 wing flight feathers (remiges) or six tail feathers (rectrices) from an individual bird (definitions of feather terms, with illustrations can be found on the Glossary page). If the ventral surfaces of the feathers reveal distinct patterns not visible in the dorsal view, then a ventral scan is also provided.
For certain species (e.g., Bald and Golden Eagles, and many ducks), all the primaries are illustrated, and separate scans are provided for secondaries and occasionally other feather types, such as coverts.
(Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Forensics Lab—The Feather Atlas)