Wingspan Bird Powers Explained: White, Brown, Pink, Teal & Yellow
Wingspan uses color-coded bird powers to show when each ability resolves. The base game starts with white, brown and pink powers; expansions add additional timing categories.
White: when played
A white power resolves immediately after you successfully play that bird, unless the card text says otherwise. It does not activate again when you later use the habitat.
Brown: activated
Brown powers trigger when you take the action for that habitat and move your action cube from right to left across your player mat. Resolve each activated power when you reach that bird.
Can you skip a brown power?
Yes, unless a card specifically creates a mandatory instruction. Standard activated powers are optional.
Pink: once between turns
Pink powers react to something another player does. Each pink power can normally activate at most once between two of your own turns, even if its trigger happens multiple times.
Teal: end of round
European Expansion introduced teal powers. Resolve them at the end of a round according to the expansion timing rules, after players finish their normal turns for that round.
Yellow: game end
Wingspan Asia introduced game-end powers shown in yellow. These resolve at the end of the game at the timing specified by the rules/card.
What about powers with no colored box?
Some card text is a static restriction or condition rather than a triggered power. Follow the wording on the card and appendix.
Do powers trigger when a bird is tucked or cached?
No. Moving a card under another bird or caching food does not count as playing that bird into your habitat.
Related Wingspan guides
Publisher source
Power timing checked September 2026.