The terms behind every plate.

• A
  Auriculars
• C
  Crest · Culmen · Coverts
• E
  Eclipse plumage · Epaulette
• G
  Gorget
• H
  Hackles
• L
  Lores
• M
  Malar stripe · Mantle
• N
  Nape
• P
  Primaries · Primary projection
• R
  Rectrices
• S
  Supercilium · Scapulars · Secondaries
• T
  Tarsus
• V
  Vent
• W
  Wing chord

01Crest/ˈkrest/Topography

Elongated, often erectile crown feathers raised in display or alarm — the pointed peak on the head of a Northern Cardinal, Blue Jay or Tufted Titmouse. A crest changes a bird's silhouette and is itself a field mark; the cardinal lowers it at rest and flicks it up to sing.

Seen Cardinal plateSee NapeSrc Bird topography

02Lores/ˈlɔːrz/Topography

The small areas on each side of the face between the bill base and the front of the eye. Lore colour and pattern often separate near-identical species — the bare turquoise lores of a breeding egret, the jet-black mask running through the lores on a Northern Cardinal — so a guide names the region precisely.

Seen Cardinal plateSee Supercilium · MalarSrc Lore (anatomy)

03Supercilium/ˌsuːpərˈsɪliəm/Topography

The "eyebrow" stripe running from the bill base, above the eye, toward the rear of the head — distinct from the eyestripe, which crosses the lores and continues through the eye. The bold buff supercilium of the Carolina Wren is a textbook example.

See Lores · AuricularsSrc Supercilium

04Auriculars/ɔːˈrɪkjʊlərz/Topography

The ear-coverts: the patch of feathers over the ear opening, on the cheek behind and below the eye. A contrasting auricular patch — outlined, paler, or boldly framed — is a classic sparrow and warbler mark, and the reason "cheek pattern" so often clinches an ID.

See Malar · LoresSrc Bird topography

05Malar stripe/ˈmeɪlər/Topography

A "moustache" line of feathers running from the bill base down along the edge of the throat. Its presence, colour and width is a reliable mark — the bold black malar of a Peregrine Falcon, the streaked malar that separates confusing sparrows.

See Supercilium · GorgetSrc Bird topography

06Nape/ˈneɪp/Topography

The back of the neck, where the colour of the head meets the mantle. A subtle but useful field mark — the rusty nape of a Red-bellied Woodpecker, the grey nape that confirms a winter gull — often settles an ID the face alone leaves open.

See Crest · MantleSrc Bird topography

07Mantle/ˈmæntl/Topography

The upper back together with the closed-wing feathers (scapulars and inner coverts) — the unbroken "cape" of colour you see on a perched bird from behind. Mantle shade is a primary gull mark, and the smooth grey mantle of the Great Blue Heron sets off its black shoulder.

Seen Heron plateSee Scapulars · NapeSrc Bird topography

08Scapulars/ˈskæpjʊlərz/Topography

The feathers covering the "shoulder," where the folded wing meets the back — they bridge the mantle and the wing coverts. Scapular pattern (plain, spotted, or boldly edged) is a quiet but decisive shorebird mark, and part of what reads as the heron's blue-grey cape.

Seen Heron plateSee Coverts · MantleSrc Bird topography

09Coverts/ˈkʌvərts/Topography

The small contour feathers that overlie the bases of the flight feathers in neat, shingled rows — greater, median and lesser coverts on the wing, plus the undertail and uppertail coverts. Pale tips on the wing coverts form the wing-bars that name half the warblers.

Seen Conventions (method)See Scapulars · PrimariesSrc Bird topography

10Gorget/ˈɡɔːrdʒɪt/Topography

A distinctly coloured throat patch — classically the iridescent throat of a male hummingbird, which flares from flat black to fire depending on the angle of the light. The word is borrowed from armour: the gorget protected the throat.

See Hackles · MalarSrc Bird topography

11Hackles/ˈhækəlz/Topography

Erectile, often elongated and pointed feathers along the neck or throat. The shaggy throat hackles of the Common Raven are a key separator from the smooth-throated American Crow — the bearded, ragged throat the raven plate was drawn to show.

Seen Raven plateSee GorgetSrc Cornell · Hackles

12Epaulette/ˌepəˈlet/Topography

A coloured patch at the bend of the wing, on the lesser and median coverts — the scarlet-and-yellow shoulder of a male Red-winged Blackbird, flashed in display and half-hidden at rest. The Great Blue Heron wears a quiet chestnut version at the wing bend. Another armour loan-word, for the shoulder-piece.

Seen Heron plateSee Coverts · ScapularsSrc Bird topography

13Secondaries/ˈsekənderiz/Topography

The inner flight feathers of the wing, attached to the forearm (the ulna) — the broad trailing edge inboard of the primaries. Together the primaries and secondaries make the full flight surface; the secondaries' length and pattern shape the wing's trailing line in flight. The flight-feather set is incomplete without them.

See Primaries · CovertsSrc Bird topography

14Vent/ˈvent/Topography

The region between the belly and the undertail coverts — the underside of the bird just forward of the tail. Vent colour and contrast is a quiet but reliable mark: the clean white vent of a confusing warbler, the buff vent that separates near-identical thrushes.

See CovertsSrc Bird topography

15Primaries/ˈpraɪməriz/Topography

The outermost flight feathers of the wing, attached to the "hand" (manus) — the visible splayed "fingers" of a soaring corvid or raptor. Numbered P1 (innermost) outward. The Common Raven spreads about four-to-six fingers; the crow shows fewer and blunter.

Seen Raven plateSee Rectrices · CovertsSrc Pyle (2008)

16Primary projection/ˈpraɪməri/Measurement

How far the primaries extend beyond the longest tertials on the folded wing — a key structural ID clue that separates long-winged migrants from short-winged residents at a glance, before a single feather is counted. Long in a Veery, short in a Hermit Thrush.

See Primaries · CovertsSrc Pyle (2008)

17Rectrices/rekˈtraɪsiːz/Topography

The long, stiff flight feathers of the tail (singular: rectrix). Their relative lengths give the tail its outline — the diamond wedge of a raven against the squared fan of a crow, the deep fork of a swallow.

Seen Raven plateSee PrimariesSrc Bird topography

18Wing chord/ˈwɪŋ ˌkɔːrd/Measurement

The standard wing measurement: the unflattened wing, taken along its natural curve from the carpal joint (the wrist) to the tip of the longest primary. Used to compare species and subspecies — and the figure you meet most often in a Larkfen data block (heron: 430–490 mm).

Seen Heron plateSee Culmen · TarsusSrc Wing chord (biology)

19Culmen/ˈkʌlmən/Measurement

The dorsal ridge of the upper mandible, measured from the forehead feathering to the bill tip — the standard bill-length metric. We note exposed culmen (to the feathering) versus total culmen (to the skull) where the two meaningfully differ.

Seen Conventions (method)See Wing chord · TarsusSrc Bird topography

20Tarsus/ˈtɑːrsəs/Measurement

The most conspicuous (lower) segment of a bird's leg — properly the tarsometatarsus — from which the toes spring, and a standard measurement. In the Great Blue Heron the long tarsus is exactly what lets the bird stalk the shallow margin.

Seen Heron plateSee CulmenSrc Bird topography

• Key datum · Heron wing chord
  430–490 mm
• Primaries numbering
  P1 inner → outer
• Raven primary "fingers"
  4–6 spread

21Prebasic / prealternate molt/priːˈbeɪsɪk/Molt

The modern (Humphrey–Parkes) molt terms. The prebasic molt produces the basic (non-breeding) plumage; the prealternate molt produces the alternate (breeding) plumage. They replace the older "post-nuptial / pre-nuptial" — a correction we made on the redline.

Seen The redline (method)See Eclipse · JuvenalSrc Pyle (2008)

22Eclipse plumage/ɪˈklɪps/Molt

A comparatively dull, usually brief plumage worn by species that otherwise have a bright breeding dress — most familiarly the late-summer plumage of male ducks, when the drake moults out of his colours and briefly resembles the female before regaining them.

See Prebasic moltSrc Merriam-Webster

23Juvenal plumage/ˈdʒuːvənl/Molt

The first true coated plumage after the natal down — often softer, streakier and duller than the adult. Spelt juvenal (the plumage), distinct from juvenile (the bird wearing it). The streaked, scaly look of a young Northern Cardinal with its dark bill is juvenal.

Seen Cardinal plateSee Prebasic moltSrc Pyle (2008)

Where sources conflict — heron population spans ~700,000 (PIF) to a much wider IUCN band — Larkfen prints the figure qualitatively rather than a single contested number. Items still pending verification are flagged ⚑ on their plate, never quietly invented.