FAQ

Bird Swatch Archive is a growing digital archive exploring color found throughout the avian world. Each specimen is presented as an illustrated archive entry alongside a five-color palette inspired by its plumage, markings, and anatomy.

Each palette is developed by closely observing the bird's characteristic colors and reducing those observations to five representative swatches. The goal is not to record every visible color, but to create a concise color portrait of the species.

No. Bird Swatch Archive palettes are interpretive color records rather than scientific color measurements. Lighting, photography, display calibration, age, sex, seasonal plumage, and individual variation can all affect how a bird's colors appear.

Bird Swatch Archive draws from established ornithological and natural-history references when developing specimen information. Image and source information is included on individual archive entries where applicable.

Bird Swatch Archive is an ongoing archive. New specimens, Collections, and editorial groupings are added over time.

Yes. You are welcome to use the published HEX colors as inspiration or as part of your own original creative work.

Bird Swatch Archive's illustrations, photography, layouts, written content, and other original site materials remain subject to their respective rights.

Yes. HEX values are provided so designers, artists, and other curious people can work with the colors directly.

It is the specimen's Bird Swatch Archive accession number: a permanent identifier assigned to that archive entry.

Collections bring together specimens around shared color, visual, biological, geographic, or editorial ideas. They offer another way to explore relationships across the archive.

The heart lets you save specimens you want to revisit. Your saved entries can be viewed together through the Saved or Liked area of the site.

Where anonymous saving is available, Bird Swatch Archive can remember liked specimens in your browser. Signed-in experiences may allow those selections to remain connected to your account across supported devices.

Yes. You can share links to individual Bird Swatch Archive entries and use the site's sharing tools where available.

When sharing Bird Swatch Archive artwork or a generated sharing asset, please link back to the original specimen page.

Bird Swatch Archive studies photographic references when developing archive entries. Source or photographer information is shown on individual specimen pages where applicable.

Source information helps document the photographic reference associated with the archive entry and appropriately acknowledge the original image where required.

The published color values may be used in your own original work, but Bird Swatch Archive illustrations, photographs, layouts, and other original visual assets should not be reproduced or redistributed as your own.

For a specific licensing, editorial, or collaboration request, please contact Bird Swatch Archive.

Please contact Bird Swatch Archive with the specimen name or accession number and the correction you would like us to review.

The Field Shop is Bird Swatch Archive's collection of objects, books, tools, and materials for looking more closely at birds, color, nature, and visual culture.

No. Some items are Bird Swatch Archive products, while others are selected from outside retailers or independent sellers.

You will leave Bird Swatch Archive and complete your purchase directly with that retailer. Their pricing, availability, shipping, returns, and customer-service policies apply.

Some outbound links may be affiliate links, which means Bird Swatch Archive may receive a commission if you make a purchase through them, at no additional cost to you.

Products sold directly by Bird Swatch Archive are purchased through Bird Swatch Archive checkout and fulfilled according to the shipping information shown during checkout and in your order confirmation.

For Bird Swatch Archive merchandise purchases, use the order or tracking link provided after checkout or in your confirmation email.

Bird Swatch Archive Exhibitions are juried exhibitions that extend the archive's interest in color, nature, observation, and visual culture into contemporary art.

Each exhibition has its own theme, eligibility requirements, timeline, and submission guidelines.

Eligibility varies by exhibition. Always review the individual Open Call before submitting.

Not necessarily. Unless an individual Open Call specifically requires it, the work does not need to depict birds.

Bird Swatch Archive Exhibitions may explore broader ideas connected to color, nature, observation, place, material, or visual culture.

Accepted media and artwork requirements vary by exhibition and are listed in each Open Call.

The application fee, if one is required, is listed on the individual Open Call. It covers the submission and review process and does not guarantee selection.

Each exhibition is reviewed by the juror named in the Open Call.

The public exhibition page will identify the individual as the Juror and credit the exhibition as Juried by that person.

Submitted work is reviewed according to the criteria and process described in the Open Call. Some exhibitions may use blind review so identifying artist information is not shown to the juror during the initial review process.

Selected artists will receive instructions about their Artist Agreement, artwork information, images, pricing, shipping, and any additional onboarding required for the exhibition.

Sales terms, commission, artist share, shipping responsibility, and other conditions are described in the applicable Open Call and Artist Agreement.

Artists can sign in to the Artist Workspace to view their application, submission status, agreement, onboarding, sales, and fulfillment information when applicable.

Yes. Submitted applications remain available to the artist as read-only records after the application deadline.