Birds With Spectacularly Fancy Tail
Long-Tailed Widowbird The males of this African bird species put extra effort into looking good during breeding season. Between six and eight of their tail feathers grow to more than 20 inches — about three times the length of the bird's body — in order to show off the health and fitness of the male for prospective mates.
Ribbon-Tailed Astrapia This is a species of bird-of-paradise, many of which are famous for over-the-top plumage. The males grow two extraordinarily long tail feathers to impress females. The two feathers can grow to more than three feet in length.
Wilson's Bird-of-Paradise A fancy tail doesn’t have to be exceptionally long — it can also be exceptionally well styled. Such is the case with the tail feathers of the Wilson’s bird-of-paradise. The unusual appearance of the bird, starting with its naked blue head, is made all the more interesting by the two violet tail feathers that curl in opposite directions.
Greater Bird-of-Paradise So many species of bird-of-paradise are all about the fancy feathers. Not to be outdone by anyone is the greater bird-of-paradise. The thick, yellow tail is not actually tail feathers, but rather flank plumes that are used in the bird's courtship ritual.
Red-Billed Streamertail Even the smallest of bird species will do their best to show off with particularly fancy tails. The red-billed streamertail is also known as the scissor-tail hummingbird. Males sport tail feathers that are 6 to 7 inches long, while their bodies are only about 4.5 inches long.
Marvelous Spatuletail If the streamer tail seems fancy, it has nothing on the marvelous spatuletail hummingbird. This species sets a high bar when it comes to attention-getting feather designs, and it does a lot with just a little. The males have just four tail feathers, two of which are elongated, cross over each other, and end in bright violet disks, or paddles.
Greater Racket-Tailed Drongo The spatuletail isn’t the only species with these racket-like tail feathers. The greater racket-tailed drongo is a medium-sized bird from Southeast Asia. The bird has a glossy black body with a hint of blue and green.
Long-Tailed Paradise Whydah Also known as the eastern paradise whydah, this sparrow-like species is a real standout thanks to its long, straight tail feathers. The tail feathers of the males can grow to roughly three times their body length, but they only sport them during breeding season. Outside of breeding season, the males look practically identical to females.
Norwegian Lemmings Norwegian lemmings have long been seen as stupid because they fight animals much bigger than themselves when necessary. These rodents grow to be about 6 inches long and weigh about 4.5 lbs. Yet, they attack animals, like cats, birds of prey, and bullmastiffs.
Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher This species is also known as the Texas bird-of-paradise. Both males and females have long tails, but those of females tend to be about 30% shorter than the males. These birds like to perch out in the open, such as on barbed-wire fences, and they're easy to spot because of those dramatically long black tails with white edges.
Lady Amherst's Pheasant This species is native to southern China and Myanmar, though you may have spotted it in zoos across the world, as well as feral in a tiny area of England where it was introduced. Even though they seem like show birds, they are actually difficult to spot in their native habitat, as they prefer to live in dense vegetation with thick undergrowth.