With their color combinations, the shapes that their feathers acquire or their strange behaviors, birds offer us spectacles worth portraying. These 13 species are true wonders of the natural world, having developed extremely striking tails, either because of their length or because of their strangeness, which draw a very particular dance in the sky.
1. Bishop Longtail
The males of this common species in Africa have a tail that can measure up to half a meter. As they fly, they attract females by unfurling their feathers and creating a photo-worthy spectacle.
2. Astrapia mayeri
This species is one of the birds of paradise that has the characteristic of having a tail that is much longer than its body. Although it measures 32 cm, with its length it acquires 120 cm! This fascinating animal is in danger of extinction, threatened by illegal hunting for its strange tail feathers.
3. Wilson’s Bird of Paradise
What is striking about this fascinating species that is usually found in New Guinea is not its multicolored body but the particular mustache-shaped tail that the males have, very similar to the one popularized by Salvador Dalí.
4. Paradisea apoda
The male of this species, which is usually found on the island of New Guinea, can measure up to 43 cm in length and is characterized by long yellow and ocher feathers on its tail. Its body is light brown, but it has a yellow crown, an emerald green throat, and a blackish-brown breast.
5. Loddigesia mirabilis
This species of hummingbird that lives in Peru is unique among birds for its spatula-shaped tail. The male has two long outer tail feathers that intersect when flying, creating a bluish-purple show worth admiring.
6. Lyrebird
This species of birds inhabit eastern Australia, they are generally terrestrial and can measure between 76 and 103 cm, attracting attention for their long tail, which they unfold during the act of seduction to attract their perfect partner.
7. Eumomota superciliosa
This bird of great beauty and plumage with various shades of green, light blue, white, yellow, orange and black, lives in Central America and has as its most striking feature two long feathers on its tail that when flying, especially when they are scared, they shake in the shape of a pendulum, causing some to know it as a “clock bird”.
8. Peacock
Who has never noticed the incredible spectacle of the peacock’s tail? This bird native to India stands out naturally for the amazing range of colors displayed by the tail of the males during courtship to the female.
9. Tyrannus forficatus
This common bird species in North America is distinguished by its scissor-shaped tail that seems to cut the air with its feathers when flying.
10. Pharomachrus mocinno
The Guatemalan quetzal is known for its long tail of bright turquoise feathers that when flying generate a show of color that blends with the green of its habitat.
11. Trochilus polytmus
The male of this species of hummingbird native to Jamaica has a tail between 15 and 18 cm long, much longer than its small body, which vibrates when flying and generates a very particular sound similar to a buzz.
12. Chrysolophus amherstiae
Although it looks like a chicken, this bird native to southeastern Tibet is known as “silver pheasant” and the adult male can have a tail of 80 cm in length. It is unmistakable for its black and silver head, long and wide gray tail, red and blue, and white and yellow body plumage.
13. Dicrurus paradiseus
This species of bird that inhabits Asia is easily identifiable by its extensive outer tail feathers and its crest that begins on the bill. Its plumage is blue and black with metallic sparkles, it is around 35 cm long, but its tail can be 30 cm longer!