20.07.2021 - Birds Identification - Part 4

Well folks, after a long gap indeed, we are going to continue to discuss on the features of birds which helps to ID them. The tail! Tail is another obvious feature of a bird. You may note on the length of its tail: long, medium or short, or even its approximate ratio compared to its body length, i.e. twice the length of its body. 

Most of the time, the tail is a display ornament for mating, for an example the game birds or fowls. The tail feathers are much elongated and colorful in male birds. Healthier males have much beautiful and attractive tail feathers; females' choose such males to have a healthier offspring. 

A male Pin Tailed Whydah with its long tail. Photo by: Capt Kumar (Singapore)

Its a good highlight for gender identification for some birds, i.e. Indian Paradise Flycatcher, where males have much elongated central tail feathers while the females are short tailed. However, be very careful at some times the male may have loss their elongated tail feathers, thus it may look like a female. In such cases, we have to look into other features which may help us on the gender identification.

A male Indian Paradise Flycatcher (in moult). Photo By: Supriya Malhotra (Calcutta)

Greater Racket Tailed Drongo. Photo by: Saravanan Palanisamy (Shah Alam, Selangor)

When it comes to flight, tail produce the lift, supplementing the lift produce by the wings. It also influences flight maneuverability and agility. The tail also act as a stabilizer when they perch. For woodpeckers, the tail works together with its feet, to adds the stability and support during their perch on vertical surfaces. 

A male and female Common Flame-back Woodpeckers. Photo by: Saravanan Palanisamy (Shah Alam, Selangor)

Pin Tailed Parrot Finch. Photo by: Ng Jung Chuan (Fraser's Hill, Pahang)

Next, the shape of the tail. Below are the examples of the tail shapes:

Tail Shapes of Birds

Another way to use tail as a feature to ID is their length compared to the wings. One such example, the Slender Billed Crow. When folded, the wings of a Slender Billed Crow are slightly longer than its tail. This feature is helpful to differentiate this crow from the Large Billed Crow, which shares similar habitat. 

(Thanks to those contributed photographs and informations for this blog entry: Terence Ang, Capt Kumar, Supriya Malhotra, Ng Jung Chuan)

To Be Continued...