Wing Type Finder / Index

This page is a very long catalog of major raptor and vulture species, as well as bat/membrane wing types, designed to help young avians see the varying shapes, patterns, and species of bird and bats that they may have the wings of.

You can click through the table below for ease of finding specific types.

All are listed by Genus as opposed to common group names.
All photos displayed are Ventral (underside) and Dorsal (topside) for ease of viewing. If dorsal or ventral photos are unavailable, only one image will be shown.

Wing Shapes and Patterns

Wing Shapes and Patterns

Bird Wing Shapes

Bird wings come in five major defined shapes -

Active Soaring
Passive Soaring
Elliptical
High Speed
Hovering

Avians can have any of the first four - Hovering wings are specially designed for hummingbirds and their relatives, and are biologically improbable and useless for an avian to grow.

Avians most commonly have Passive Soaring or High Speed wings, with the third most common being Owl-variant Elliptical shapes.

Family Accipitridae

Eagles

Aquila

Bonelli's Eagle (Aquila fasciata )

Cassin's Hawk-Eagle (Aquila Africana)

Ventral - Dorsal unavailable

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