Spotted Shags Cliff Colony
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Bird Reference Photos: In Flight, on Foot and Up Close

Birds are hard to draw because the important parts move fast or hide under feathers. These 31 bird reference packs show wings open and folded, feathers at close range, and the legs and feet most references crop out. Start with Seagulls masked (78 cut-out photos, many in flight), Australian Pelican (84 photos with extreme close-ups) or the free Pier Bird Colony.

31 products

Wings and flight

A wing in flight changes shape through every beat, and a single photo rarely shows you the moment you need. These packs give you many wing positions to choose from:

  • Seagulls masked: 78 photos of gulls in flight from different angles, plus standing poses and 7 large flock images. Each bird is already cut out as a PNG file.
  • Little Black Cormorant: 138 photos from Sydney of cormorants flying over a lake, swimming, perching in trees and drying on the ground.
  • Galah Cockatoo Parrots: 185 photos, including galahs taking off and flying between branches.

Feathers up close

Feather detail is what separates a believable bird from a symbol of one. Australian Pelican has extreme close-ups of the feathers, feet, beak and head at 6000 × 4000. Chickens goes further, with 255 photos at 7174 × 4788 on a Nikon D810, down to close-ups of eyes, beaks and feet. For display feathers, Peacock has 76 photos of males and females walking in a park in Tasmania. The female is less colorful, which helps if you need to paint both.

Legs, feet and walking birds

Many bird drawings go wrong below the body. Long legs bend in an unexpected direction, and feet carry a lot of character. Wading and ground birds are good for studying this:

  • American Flamingo (97 photos) and Lesser Flamingo (42 photos), both in a pond, photographed in Singapore.
  • Spoonbills: 58 photos, also from Singapore.
  • Australian White Ibis: 241 photos from Sydney in different poses and action sequences.
  • Weka Bird: 139 photos of a flightless bird from New Zealand's South Island, with walking sequences and 3 short videos of the bird digging for worms.
  • Emu: 47 photos of the large flightless Australian bird.

Colonies, parrots and regional birds

Some birds are best studied in groups. The seabird colony packs, with gannets, penguins, shags and gulls, are collected on our marine animal and seabird reference page. Cockatoos, lorikeets, rosellas and the kea have their own page: parrot reference photos. Birds photographed in Sydney, New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania are also listed on Australian animal reference photos.

Frequently asked questions

Which packs are best for drawing birds in flight?

Start with Seagulls masked, which has many flight angles already cut out. Little Black Cormorant and Galah Cockatoo Parrots also include flying birds. Most other packs focus on perched, walking and feeding birds.

What does "masked" mean in a pack title?

A masked pack includes PNG files with the background already removed. You can drag a bird straight into a painting, collage or composite without cutting it out yourself. Seagulls masked is the bird pack with this format.

Can I use a bird photo as a texture for a 3D model?

Yes. The license allows you to create your own 3D models and textures from the photos, for example a feather texture for a bird model. You cannot resell the photos or the packs themselves.