As the most colorful terrestrial vertebrates, birds are covered under varieties of feathers with multiple functions, such as camouflage, mate choice, signal recognition. These brilliant colors attract scientists to put their sights on the subject of bird coloration. Birds use a series of chemical pigments and physical structures to produce a diverse color palette. Melanins and carotenoids are two major classes of common compounds in plumage colors. Melanins are synthetized in vivo while carotenoids are derived from diet. It would be helpful to further investigate the molecular regulation mechanisms by reviewing the pigmentations, identifications and genetics of melanins and carotenoids.