# Id this bird?  \[From just a feather!\]

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-bird-from-just-a-feather/818551>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [July 25, 2018, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-bird-from-just-a-feather/818551 "2018-07-25T14:16:48Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 9\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\
**Post date:** [July 25, 2018, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-bird-from-just-a-feather/818551/1 "2018-07-25T14:16:48Z")

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[Pic](https://imgur.com/a/dByA50a). Found in central South Carolina near a lake.

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**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\
**Post date:** [July 25, 2018, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-bird-from-just-a-feather/818551/2 "2018-07-25T14:21:47Z")

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My guess is a raptor of some kind. Redtail hawk maybe. It’s a lot easier to ID from a primary than a little feather like that though.

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**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\
**Post date:** [July 25, 2018, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-bird-from-just-a-feather/818551/3 "2018-07-25T14:37:59Z")

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Colibri provided [this link](https://www.fws.gov/lab/featheratlas/idtool.php) to The Feather Atlas a while back. By choosing “barred” and “brown”, I got over two hundred hits, many which were raptors.

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**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\
**Post date:** [July 25, 2018, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-bird-from-just-a-feather/818551/4 "2018-07-25T14:46:24Z")

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> [@Ulfreida](#):
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> It’s a lot easier to ID from a primary than a little feather like that though.

Yep.

[Here are some pictures from a flight feather atlas](https://www.fws.gov/lab/featheratlas/browse-species2.php?CommonName=Red-tailed%20Hawk).

ETA: ninja’d!

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**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\
**Post date:** [July 25, 2018, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-bird-from-just-a-feather/818551/5 "2018-07-25T15:18:17Z")

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Thanks. Kinda figured that a) it was probably a bird of prey, and b) might not be able to narrow it down any further given the info at hand.

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**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\
**Post date:** [July 25, 2018, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-bird-from-just-a-feather/818551/6 "2018-07-25T17:55:14Z")

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My first guess would be some kind of woodpecker

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**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\
**Post date:** [July 27, 2018, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-bird-from-just-a-feather/818551/7 "2018-07-27T17:51:06Z")

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> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#):
>
> My first guess would be some kind of woodpecker

The elusive Ivory Billed Woodpecker!

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**Author:** ![Discordian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@Discordian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Discordian)\
**Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-bird-from-just-a-feather/818551/8 "2018-08-01T23:58:17Z")

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My gut says an owl.

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**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\
**Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/id-this-bird-from-just-a-feather/818551/9 "2018-08-02T01:55:19Z")

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I’d say owl too, given the floof on it.