Long and magnificent tails boast not only fabulous birds, but also real representatives of the bird world. Long-tailed birds are called birds whose tail length significantly exceeds the size of the body. Let's try to answer the question: "Which bird has a long tail?".
Why tail feathers are needed
In most birds, the tail functions as a helm and brake, and also improves maneuverability and soft landing. A bird with a long tail uses it to increase lift, especially it helps predators.
Males also use feathers to attract the female, showing beautiful plumage during mating season. And some birds use their tails to get food.
Long-tailed birds
As a rule, a long and beautiful plumage is formed in males. It gives charm and helps attract females. But the presence of long feathers is fraught with consequences, because such a luxury creates certain difficulties during flights and attracts predatory representatives.
The question of which bird has a long tail is easy to answer. It is enough to select representatives of birds in which the tail plumage exceeds the size of the body. These include:
- A dwarf nectary, whose tail contributes to sharp turns and dives during flights.
- A frigate using tail feathers as a rudder and brake.
- Argus (a hybrid of pheasant and peacock). A feature of the tail is the presence of two particularly elongated feathers, which are twice the length of the peacock tail and grow up to one and a half meters.
- Momota is an American bird, which itself models the shape of its tail, partially exposing the rod. As a result, the end of the pen resembles an arrowhead.
- A widow weaver using her luxurious tail in the mating season to attract a companion. At the end of the season, the males discard the jewelry and acquire regular feathers.
- Peacock, whose tail consists of more than two hundred feathers with colorful colors. Birds dissolve their pride during courtship and at clashes with rivals.
- Quesal, which is considered to be one of the most beautiful birds. The length of the tail feathers is more than twice the size of the body itself.
- Astrapia, or a bird of paradise. The presence of a long and fluffy tail, several times larger than the body, prevents the bird from flying and moving in forest vegetation, so it often gets tangled in the branches.
- Pheasant Reinart - the owner of the longest tail feathers in the wild, which can reach a length of more than 170 cm and a width of 12-15 cm.
- Onagadori is a Japanese breed of decorative phoenix roosters. The tail feathers of this representative grow throughout life. So, in a seventeen-year-old rooster, the tail length reached 13 meters and growth continues.
Therefore, there are several answers to the question of which bird has a long tail. The longest plumage is possessed by the artificially bred phoenix and the Reinarte pheasant formed naturally.
Tail Recorder Features
Phoenix chickens are difficult to distinguish from ordinary chickens. A feature of cultivation is a transplant to a higher perch as the feathers lengthen. In order for the tail to acquire the necessary length and decorativeness, the birds must be kept in a tight cage, and when letting them out for a walk, lay long feathers in a special cart that the bird drags along.
In a ranking called "Which bird has a long tail?" The first place belongs to the decorative Japanese onagadori rooster. Before the exhibition, his feathers are frizzed with paper curlers. And moving from place to place, they are wound around the neck or arm.