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Since the 20th century, scientific ornithology has been closely linked to the conservation of birds. The study of feathers is a factor that is often overlooked. In museums, the majority of their bird skin collections are archived, stored away in drawers under lock and key and only ever seen by a very selective audience and not the general public.

You only love what you know, and you only protect what you love.
Konrad Lorenz

Being able to touch, feel and study a feather in the hand engages people, especially children, with nature; what child hasn’t stopped to pick up a feather in a park or their backyard and marvel at it, and wonder what bird it came from. From a long, slender Arctic Tern primary, which has undertaken an incredible migratory journey of around 37.000 miles / 60.000 kilometers from pole to pole, to the soft, downy feather of a Barn Owl, helping the bird to fly on silent wings as it hunts at night; every feather has a fascinating story to tell, each so unique in its makeup, shape, form, texture, color and function it serves to the bird. Feathers can teach us so much about birds and how they live. They bring people closer to the natural world – and therefore play an important role in its preservation.

Featherbase is a working group of German feather scientists and other collectors worldwide who came together with their personal collections and created the biggest and most comprehensive online feather library in the world. Using our website, it is possible to identify feathers from hundreds of different species, compare similarities between them, work out gender or age-specific characteristics and look at the statistics of countless feather measurements. In contrast to the conventional work of museums, Featherbase is much more oriented towards the general public, allowing not just enrolled scientists the opportunity to gain access to the collection, but anyone with an interest in studying birds and their feathers. Featherbase also frequently collaborates with scientific or educational organizations by offering images, data or teamwork in general.

Featherbase works completely independently, without administrative affiliation, and first and foremost without commercial interests. We are a non-profit making entity and funded entirely by our own contributors. The collecting of feathers and skins for our database is approved by the relevant authorities, and for any protected/CITES listed species held, we are fastidious about maintaining records of their origin.

2006
species
7628
specimens
18142
images
114015
measurements

recent changes

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Dawid Fikus created the specimen 10652 in Sky Lark (Alauda arvensis)

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Dawid Fikus created the specimen 10651 in Sky Lark (Alauda arvensis)

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Dawid Fikus created the specimen 10650 in Sky Lark (Alauda arvensis)

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Dawid Fikus created the specimen 10649 in Marsh Tit (Poecile palustris)

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Dawid Fikus created the specimen 10648 in Eurasian Great Tit (Parus major)

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Dawid Fikus created the specimen 10647 in Eurasian Great Tit (Parus major)

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Dawid Fikus created the specimen 10646 in Blue Tit (Cyanistes caeruleus)

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Dawid Fikus created the specimen 10645 in Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio)

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Dawid Fikus created the specimen 10644 in Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio)

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Dawid Fikus created the specimen 10643 in Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio)

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Dawid Fikus created the specimen 10642 in Red-backed Shrike (Lanius collurio)

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Dawid Fikus uploaded a new image to 1897 inside Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (Dryobates minor)

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Dawid Fikus created the specimen 10641 in Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (Dryobates minor)

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Dawid Fikus created the specimen 10640 in Middle Spotted Woodpecker (Leiopicus medius)

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Dawid Fikus created the specimen 10639 in Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major)

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Dawid Fikus created the specimen 10638 in Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major)

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Dawid Fikus created the specimen 10637 in Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major)

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Dawid Fikus created the specimen 10636 in Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major)

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Dawid Fikus created the specimen 10635 in Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major)

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Dawid Fikus created the specimen 10634 in Great Spotted Woodpecker (Dendrocopos major)

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Dawid Fikus uploaded a new image to 2393 inside Eurasian Wryneck (Jynx torquilla)

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Dawid Fikus created the specimen 10633 in Little Stint (Calidris minuta)

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Dawid Fikus created the specimen 10632 in Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea)

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Dawid Fikus created the specimen 10631 in Eurasian Wryneck (Jynx torquilla)

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Dawid Fikus created the specimen 10630 in Eurasian Wryneck (Jynx torquilla)

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Dawid Fikus created the specimen 10629 in Common Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis)

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Dawid Fikus created the specimen 10628 in Broad-billed Sandpiper (Calidris falcinellus)

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Dawid Fikus created the specimen 10627 in Horned Grebe (Podiceps auritus)

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Dawid Fikus created the specimen 10626 in Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea)

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Dawid Fikus created the specimen 10625 in Dunlin (Calidris alpina)

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Dawid Fikus created the specimen 10624 in Dunlin (Calidris alpina)

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Dawid Fikus created the specimen 10623 in Sanderling (Calidris alba)

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Dawid Fikus created the specimen 10622 in Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres)

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Dawid Fikus created the specimen 10621 in Spotted Redshank (Tringa erythropus)

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Dawid Fikus created the specimen 10620 in Common Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula)

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Dawid Fikus created the specimen 10619 in Common Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula)

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Dawid Fikus created the specimen 10618 in Common Swift (Apus apus)

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Dawid Fikus created the specimen 10617 in Common Swift (Apus apus)

Random specimens