Evening star., 1945-08-25
This and That
By Charles E. Trdcepell.


How long does 1t take bird to grow
a new tail?
That was the question this column
posed the other day, and now the an
swer is in.
Thirty-two days does it, according to
local authority in the bird and ami
NAL world, who writes as follows:
THE other day writer in your COL
umn related a story about cardinal
that had lost his tail. In your reply
you asked if any one knew the length Of
time it took cardinal to grow new
tail.
Therefore I am raising my hand in
quite the same manner a little boy
know. Yes, had a redbird that had
lost its tail. The bird was brought to
me with its entire tail feathers lacking.
THE feathers had been pulled out,
so there were no stubs present. Look
ing through my notes the other day,
I found that it took exactly 80 days
for the new tail to complete itself.
''The tail of bird is an important
structure The feathers that make up
the tail always are in pairs. The tail
of the ancient Archaeopteryx contained
20 feathers, and so does the tail of our
English sparrow.
THE fan-tailed pigeon is an example
of extreme development Of the tail,
whereas the emu is a tailless bird The
principal use of the tail feathers is, of
course, to perform the function Of q
rudder.
There Is one interesting analogy to
the fin of fish, and that is the tail
of the blue duck of New Zealand. This
bird lives in swift mountain streams
and when swimming carries its long
tail entirely submerged. BY vigorous
sidewise f1icks of these tail feathers it
can turn around, as If on a pivot, with
out being carried down stream, even
when in the center of a rapid, swirling
current.
"The shape. of the tip of the tail varies
greatly in birds. 1t may be square or
rounded, or indented in the center.
These conditions may be paralleled or
duplicated in many families of birds.
For example, the forked type is seen
in our common barn swallow; in those
dainty relatives Of the gulls, the terms,
and again in the forked-tailed kite and
the scissor-tailed fiycatchers.
The tail also serves as q brake,
When great pelican settles gradually
toward the surface Of the water, or a
duck momentarily hovers before alight-
ing, the TAIL wide spread and brought
forward, gives efficient aid In retard-
ing the impetus.
Many birds use their tails as prop or
support. The chimney swift clings to
wall, and with the help of the tail
supports itself. The tails OF wood
peckers and creepers are not denuded
at the tip, as Is the chimney swift, but
they are stiffened throughout and are
very elastic and are used as a support
or brace while the birds cling to the
bark of tree.
I'm many birds the tail is q perfect
index Of the emotions, doing much to
compensate for the lack of facial ex-
preston.
Tails can be decorative also. The
tail coverts of the quezal measures three
to four feet in length, whereas the
body of the bird Is about the size of a
dove.
THE train of the peacock should not
be overlooked, but these beautiful
feathers that are thrown up in a fam
like fashion are not the tail, but the
upper tail coverts.
There is one bird known as the mot
mot, that occurs in many parts of Mex
leo and southwark, that possesses tail
feathers which are bluish-green In color,
but the bird does not think that they
are to his liking, SO he pulls of with
his beak q few of the barbs and pro-
duces racket-shaped extremity.
$50 much for tails.
When you watch birds, give some
attention to their tails. Most birds are
proud OF them. Observe the mocking-
bird as he preens his tail.
Sincerely, M. D."
This column wishes to thank this au-
thority for an interesting dissertation.
we feel sure that many who read 1t will
IN the future pay more attention to the
tails OF their feathered friends as they
see them In their rardens.