Bird Word: Collar
Collar: a contrasting coloured band of feathers on the neck of a bird.
The collar, neck and nape of a bird can refer to basically the same part of the bird’s body, just below the crown or top of the head and just above the back. Some species of birds have a distinctive band or collar of contrasting coloured feathers in this area, and this helps with identification.
Some birds even have a reference to this collar in their name and this helps to categorise the bird in the observer’s mind. Some examples are:
- Collared Sparrowhawk
- Collared Kingfisher
- Red-Collared Lorikeet (a subspecies of the Rainbow Lorikeet)
- Red-Necked Avocet
- White-Naped Honeyeater
For more in this series of articles check out the Glossary of Bird Words here.
Collared Sparrowhawk