12 Birds with colorful tails
If you love bird sighting, one of the things you will be amazed to see are birds with colorful tails. You could wonder if there are creatures of such until you get to see one. There are many of them out there and on this page, I will share with you the common ones you should know.
Just as said earlier, there are many birds with colorful tails and they are the Long-Tailed Widowbird, Ribbon-Tailed Astrapia, Wilson’s Bird-of-Paradise, Greater Bird-of-Paradise, Red-Billed Streamertail, Marvelous Spatuletail, Greater Racket-Tailed Drongo, Long-Tailed Paradise Whydah, Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher, Lady Amherst’s Pheasant and Superb Lyrebird.
Types of bird tails
Bird tails come in a variety of shapes and sizes, so it can be hard to tell one from another. Here are some common types of bird tails:
- The brushtail is a long, thin tail that comes in different colors and patterns. It’s often found on the tail of birds like bowerbirds, red-rumped parrotlets, and African penduline tits (the latter species even has bright green bristles).
- The fan tail is also long and thin, but it’s more like a round brush than a brush tail. It has a lot of bristles sticking out at an angle. You’ll find it on birds like woodpeckers or wood swallows.
- The bar tail is also long and thin, but it’s much longer than the fan tail—even when folded up. It has many bristles that are closer together than on the fan tail and look very similar to those of a brush tail. You’ll find this type of tail on house sparrows, starlings, blue waxbills, and other birds that live in urban areas.
Does color in bird tails make them special?
Yes, indeed. It is a very important part of the bird’s appearance and it makes them unique. The colors on the tail are very important to birds because they help make their tails look beautiful, which is natural for them.
Birds have many different colors on their tails and they are all unique. They have blue, red, green, orange, yellow, and purple colors on their tails. The colors help them to blend into their surroundings better so that no one can tell what kind of animal they are.
In birds, the males are known to have brighter colored tails than females and most of them are bright red or orange in color. However, some birds like kingfishers and hummingbirds have white tails that can also be attractive to other birds.
12 Birds with colorful tails
Are you on this page to find out birds with colorful tails? If yes, then let me take you through the journey.
1. Long-Tailed Widowbird
Long-Tailed Widowbirds (Cynanthus quercetanus) are a type of bird with colorful tails. Their tail feathers are long and straight, with a black tip. They have long legs which they use to jump around trees and caves. The species is native to Central America and Mexico.
In addition, they are very sociable birds, often gathering in groups of 10 to 15 individuals. They have long tails and long wings, which help them to fly through the air at greater speeds than other birds.
Also, long-tailed widowbirds can be found in open areas such as grasslands and deserts, but they also inhabit semi-desert and urban environments.
2. Ribbon-Tailed Astrapia
The Ribbon-Tailed Astrapia is a bird that has a colorful tail, and it is often seen in the forest. It has a long neck and body, with an odd-shaped head. The color of the tail is orange with black bands. The wings are dark brown and the eye is blue or gray.
This bird can be found in South America, including Brazil, Peru, and Paraguay. The Ribbon-Tailed Astrapia is very common in the wild because it likes to feed on fruits that grow in trees.
3. Wilson’s Bird-of-Paradise
The Wilson’s Bird-of-Paradise is a very colorful bird with bright, iridescent feathers that can make it seem like it has a rainbow on its tail.
The tail itself is long and whip-like but has fine feathers along the edge. This species of bird lives in rainforests and open woodlands, where it feeds on fruit, flowers, and leaves.
Also, the Wilson’s Bird-of-Paradise is named for John Wilson, who first collected specimens in Papua New Guinea in 1859. These birds are found in both Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.
They are also known as the “rainbow parrot,” as they are known to use their brightly colored tails to attract mates during mating season.
4. Greater Bird-of-Paradise
The Greater Bird-of-Paradise (Paradisaea apoda) is a colorful parrot from the New Guinean forest. It has a tail that is bright green, blue, and yellow. The feathers around its eyes and on the edges of its wings are red.
Greater Birds-of-Paradise are native to Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. They can be found in areas with tall trees, including rainforests.
They eat fruit and berries, as well as insects and other small animals that they find in their habitat. These birds mate for life and have one chick every two years or so.
5. Red-Billed Streamertail
The Red-Billed Streamertail is a small, colorful bird that lives in the United States and Canada. It has a black body with a brilliant red bill and tail. Its legs are brown, and it has a short neck and head.
Also, the Red-Billed Streamertail is found in open areas near water. It eats insects, spiders, and mollusks. The male builds a nest on the forest floor in the summertime. The female will lay one egg at a time. The young hatch after about 10 days.
In addition, the Red-Billed Streamertail can be found in many places around the world where there are streams or rivers. They are very common in British Columbia in Canada as well as parts of northern California and Washington State in the United States.
6. Marvelous Spatuletail
The Marvelous Spatuletail is a colorful bird with a long tail that can be up to two feet long. This bird has a reddish-orange body and long, forked tail feathers. They have blue eyes and a black beak.
Also, the Marvelous Spatuletail lives in forests and wetlands all over the world. They eat insects, seeds, and berries. The males are very protective of their territory and will chase away other birds that come near it.
7. Greater Racket-Tailed Drongo
The Greater Racket-Tailed Drongo is a small bird that can be found in India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. They are up to 5.5 inches long with a wingspan of 8 inches. The males have bright green tails while the females have orange tails.
These birds are very similar to the Bali Myna, but they have longer tails and shorter bills than their counterparts. They also have a black face mask with white on their forehead, cheeks, and throat.
8. Long-Tailed Paradise Whydah
The Long-Tailed Paradise Whydah is a bird that lives in the Atlantic and Indian oceans. They are known to have colorful tails, which are made up of a variety of colors. Their tails are typically red or orange, but they can also be yellow or green.
The Long-Tailed Paradise Whydah is also known for being very friendly and easygoing. They will often swim alongside humans when they are on boats or in other places where people are present. They will often nuzzle against humans’ legs as if they were pets.
This bird species is not endangered at this time because many people do not see them or know about them because they live in deep waters where people seldom go.
9. Scissor-Tailed Flycatcher
The scissor-tailed flycatcher is a small bird found in the United States and Mexico. It has a long tail and pointed wings, which it uses to catch insects in midair. The bird eats insects, spiders, and other small animals.
Also, it has a short bill, which it uses to catch flying prey. It also has a long tail that it uses for balance when it hunts bugs in the air. Its wings are pointed so it can easily catch insects as they fly past them. The bird makes its nest in trees or shrubs near water sources and lays two eggs at a time.
10. Lady Amherst’s Pheasant
Lady Amherst’s Pheasant is a large bird with a brightly-colored tail. The male has a brown body and wings, while the female has black and white feathers.
The pheasant’s tail is bright red on top, green beneath, and yellow at the tip. The male’s red tail is larger and brighter than the female’s yellow tail. In addition, the pheasant can be found in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, and China. It eats seeds and grasses.
11. Superb Lyrebird
The superb lyrebird (Menura novaehollandiae) is a member of the lyrebird family, a group of birds that includes the celebrated red-crowned black cockatoo.
This bird’s tail feathers are a vibrant shade of blue, green, and purple. Its head is mostly white with black markings on its cheeks, and it has long feathers that extend all the way down its back.
Also, the superb lyrebird lives in Australia and New Guinea. It eats insects and fruit, which it finds by perching on branches and shaking them with its tail feathers to get at the insects hiding in them.
12. Peacock
The peacock, a beautiful bird with colorful tails, is one of the most well-known birds in the world.
Also, the peacock is a member of the pheasant family, which includes many other colorful birds such as pheasants, grouse, and partridges. Peacocks are native to India and Southeast Asia.
In addition, they have blue eyes and large, feathery tails that can be as long as 20 inches (50 cm). Their feathers vary in color from white to blue to green to brown.
Furthermore, peacocks are active during the day and tend to avoid direct sunlight; this helps them remain hidden from predators. They spend most of their time eating insects and plants they find on their travels around trees or fields where they live.
Conclusion
There are many birds with colorful tails that you need to know and on this page, you will get to know some of them. Birds with colorful tails are a delight to see in the wild. They are an amazing example of how nature is still at work even though we have advanced our technology.
Also, birds with colorful tails come in all shapes and sizes, from large to small. The colors of their tails can range from red to green, yellow, blue, and purple. Some even have patterns that look like flames or spots on them.
