Last updated on October 15th, 2022 at 03:03 pm
If you’ve ever seen a bird that appeared to have no tail, it’s likely that a predator recently attacked it, it’s molting, or it just has such a small tail that you weren’t able to recognize it as such.
All birds have tails. This is because they share common ancestors and have inherited a certain kind of skeleton, including a tail. Many birds use their tails for flight, although the tail also serves a purpose in flightless birds: to help them balance when walking, running, or perching.
Why All Birds Have Tails
Birds use their tails for a wide number of purposes, regardless of whether or not they can fly.
You might be surprised to learn some of the ways that birds can use their tails, what different bird tails can look like, and where exactly their tails came from in evolutionary history.
Below are 12 surprising facts about a bird’s tail:
1. Birds Have Tails Because Dinosaurs Had Tails
Birds are descended from theropod dinosaurs like the T.rex, which used to use tails for balance.
As these animals evolved to fly, birds lost the heavy tail in place of a lighter, smaller appendage.
Without a heavy tail to balance while walking, birds began crouching forward and developing stronger femurs for time on the ground.
2. If a Bird Loses Its Tail, It Will Grow Back
Feathers are living tissues, like hair, and when a bird loses its tail to a predator, it will grow back.
Birds routinely lose their tail feathers as a part of the molting process, and they’re accustomed to a cycle of losing and then growing back tail feathers.
Caveat: If a bird is seriously injured beyond losing feathers, its tail may not grow back.
3. Some Birds Flash Their Tails as a Warning Sign
Birds like the junco and the towhee will flash their tail feathers at rivals to tell them to stay away.
These feathers are typically bright white so that they are visible from quite a distance.
This is how these birds send signals to others that they are reaching their territory’s boundaries.
4. A Peacock’s Tail Can Reach 6 Feet (1.8 m) in Length
Peacocks have large tails that they use primarily for courting females. A peacock’s tail can grow up to 6 feet (1.8 m) long.
The tail makes up about 60% of a peacock’s body length, yet these birds are still capable of flight.
They don’t fly very long or very far, but their massive tails don’t prevent them from becoming airborne.
Watch the following video as an example of a peacock in flight:
5. Bird Tail Feathers Are Called Rectrices
The word rectrix (plural: rectrices) refers to the tail feather of a bird. This word comes from the Latin word rector, meaning “one that directs.”
The rectrix was named this because the tail feathers are commonly used to direct the bird’s flight path, like a rudder in the air.
6. Birds Can Have 6 to 32 Tail Feathers
Birds vary in the number of tail feathers they have, with the number of rectrices ranging from 6 to 32.
Most species have 12, but some birds have more because the feathers themselves are smaller or because the birds are bigger.
The number of rectrices also depends on the bird’s needs in terms of flight and courtship.
7. Tails Help Birds Stay Balanced While Sleeping
Tail feathers are key to balancing a bird while it’s standing upright on the ground, counterbalancing the body and the head so that they can perch for long periods.
This is especially important while the birds are sleeping because they cannot engage their muscles to balance themselves at this time further.
8. A Bird Can Move Up or Down by Moving Its Tail
Birds that fly can change their position in the air simply by moving their tails.
This is because the tail plays a large role in the bird’s lift, the force that keeps a bird flying in the air.
When a bird raises or lowers its tail feathers, it can control how high it rises or descends in the air.
Because of this, birds can also use the tail to adjust how quickly they descend while landing, like a brake.
9. Birds of Prey Can Spread Their Tail Feathers Out Like a Fan
Birds of prey like raptors and vultures can fan their tail out to create a wide shape.
The increase in surface area increases the lift that the bird catches with its feathers, allowing it to continue circling in thermal winds for longer periods than other birds can.
10. Woodpeckers Can Prop Themselves Up by Their Tails
Woodpecker tails are so stiff that they can prop themselves up by tail against a tree.
This provides the necessary balance when a woodpecker is pecking or foraging for food.
Without sturdy tail feathers, the woodpecker would risk flipping backward when it pulled its head back.
11. Birds Often Move Their Tails Up and Down When Excited
When a bird gets excited or happy, it will often wag its tail up and down, not unlike the way that dogs do.
However, if your bird fans its tail out, this is likely a sign of aggression.
Note how the bird is moving and the shape of the tail to read your bird’s body language accurately.
12. You Can Identify a Bird by the Shape of Its Tail
Birds have 7 distinct tail types, each with its benefits and drawbacks.
Some birds have ambiguous tails that meet criteria for more than one category, like the Common Loon, which has a tail that is somewhat rounded, somewhat fan-shaped.
Others fit into one distinct category only.
See the following chart for examples of birds with each kind of tail.
| Tail Type | Examples |
| Fan-Shaped Tail | Long-eared Owl, Bald Eagle, Common Loon |
| Forked Tail | Barn Swallow, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Rufous-capped Warbler |
| Notched Tail | Barred Owl, White-tailed Kite, Belted Kingfisher |
| Pointed Tail | Black-billed Magpie, White-headed Woodpecker, Wood Duck |
| Rounded Tail | Barn Owl, Common Loon, California Towhee |
| Squared Tail | Western Screech Owl, White Egret, Great Blue Heron |
| Unique Tail | Long-tailed Duck, Red Junglefowl, Rainbow Bee-eater |