This is Bird Note.

When a bird flies off and leaves only a feather, is that one clue enough to identify the species?

The short answer is maybe. But first, know that unless you

have special permission, collecting feathers is prohibited in the U.S. to protect birds from

poachers looking for ornamental feathers. Instead, you can take a photo. Set a common item like

sunglasses next to the feather to give a sense of its

size. Now, to try and ID the bird, some species feathers are distinctive, like the bright yellow

shafts from a northern flicker in the eastern U.S. By uploading the photo to I-Naturalist,

an app and website that helps people identify wildlife,

you'll get help from a hive mind of thousands of users.

If enough people recognize the feather, you're on your way to an ID.

Other resources can help too.

A website called Featherbase has guides to over 1,700 species feathers. Photo

references like this can get you closer to solving the mystery. Keep your prime suspect in

mind when you're back where you found the feather, and you might get to see the bird itself.

Feathers and all.

For bird note, I'm Mark Bramhill.