Purpose of a Bird's Tail Feathers
Whether it's the triangular spread of a circling red-tailed hawk's tail or the ornate festoons of a male pheasant, the posterior feathers of birds are often distinctive and always utilitarian.
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Background Anatomy
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The flight feathers of a bird's tail are called rectrices. They are anchored to the rear vertebrae.
Flight
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Tail feathers help provide lift, stability and maneuverability in the flying bird--especially in younger animals, who are more inexperienced in flight. Some types of raptors, for example, seem to be more reliant on their tail feathers for lift while immature, giving them greater opportunity to learn the aerial ropes and also buffering their predatory strikes.
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Visual Display
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Few breeding displays match the splendor of the Indian peacock Many birds, especially males, use their tail feathers for breeding display--most famously the peacocks of Africa and Eurasia, although in their case the feathers in question are actually modified coverts, not tail feathers proper. Such decorations can be elaborate indeed, and even detrimental to the bird's flight (and, if their pomp attracts predators, to the bird's life).
Sound Display
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Some male birds even employ their tail feathers to produce sound in their breeding theatrics. For example, the male Wilson's snipe of North America "winnows"--creates a whistling sound--as air passes over its fanned tail, the feathers of which are modified for this purpose, as it flies.
Physical Support
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Woodpeckers steady themselves against tree trunks using their stiff tail feathers. Some birds, like woodpeckers foraging vertically on a tree trunk, brace themselves with strong, stiff tail feathers.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of frank wouters Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Alan L Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of Sharon Mollerus
