Birds with long tails are some of the most graceful and fascinating creatures in nature. Their flowing feathers add beauty and elegance to their appearance, making them stand out among other birds. These tails often serve both practical and decorative purposes, helping with flight balance and attracting mates.
Many species, such as the Resplendent Quetzal and the Ribbon-tailed Astrapia, are known for their incredibly long and colorful tail feathers. These birds use their tails in courtship displays, showing off their beauty to potential mates. The longer and brighter the tail, the more attractive the bird appears in the wild.
Other long-tailed birds, like the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher and the Magpie, use their tails for balance and maneuvering while flying. Their tails help them make quick turns and smooth glides, giving them better control during flight or while chasing insects. This shows how beauty in nature often goes hand in hand with function.
In some species, only males have long tails, especially during the breeding season. The Long-tailed Widowbird and Pin-tailed Whydah grow dramatic tail feathers to impress females, which they shed afterward. This trait demonstrates how tail length can be a sign of health and strength.
Birds With Long Tails
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher
A stunning bird of the southern Great Plains, the Scissor-tailed Flycatcher is named for its extraordinary tail, which can be twice as long as its body. The tail is deeply forked, with long, slender outer feathers that the bird opens and closes like a pair of scissors, especially during its fluttering aerial displays.
Indian Peafowl (Peacock)
The male Indian Peafowl, or peacock, possesses the most famous long tail in the animal kingdom. This “train” is not a true tail but consists of elongated upper tail coverts. Each feather is tipped with an iridescent, multicolored “eye” spot, which the male fans out in a spectacular display to attract females.
Long-tailed Widowbird
Found in the grasslands of Africa, the male Long-tailed Widowbird is an unforgettable sight during the breeding season. It grows an incredibly long, flowing black tail, which can measure up to 20 inches (50 cm) or more. This cumbersome tail is used in a slow, bouncing flight display to show off the male’s fitness to potential mates.
Ring-necked Pheasant
The male Ring-necked Pheasant is a common game bird known for its long, pointed, and beautifully barred tail. This tail is a key feature of its profile, whether it is running through fields or bursting into a fast, low flight. The tail’s length and condition are often indicators of the bird’s health.
Greater Roadrunner
A symbol of the American Southwest, the Greater Roadrunner has a distinctive long, dark tail that it holds at an upward angle while running. The tail acts as a rudder for balance and agility during its high-speed pursuits of lizards and snakes and is also used for signaling and as a sunshade.
Wilson’s Bird-of-Paradise
While many birds-of-paradise have long tails, the male Wilson’s Bird-of-Paradise has a unique set of two delicate, curved, violet tail wires. These specialized feathers are part of an overall breathtaking and bizarre plumage that he uses in an elaborate courtship dance on the forest floor.
Fork-tailed Flycatcher
Similar to its scissor-tailed cousin, the Fork-tailed Flycatcher has an exceptionally long, forked tail. Native to Central and South America, it is a graceful aerial hunter. Its tail streamers are so long that they often appear to be an extension of the bird’s body rather than its tail.
Superb Lyrebird
This ground-dwelling Australian songbird is a master of mimicry and has a spectacular tail. The male’s tail consists of two long, curved, wiry outer feathers and a series of broad, silvery inner plumes. During his complex courtship display, he fans this ornate tail forward completely over his head to form a shimmering canopy.
Magnificent Frigatebird
Soaring effortlessly over tropical oceans, the Magnificent Frigatebird has a deeply forked, long, and slender tail. This tail shape is highly efficient for its dynamic, acrobatic flight as it harasses other birds for their food. The tail is clearly visible as a distinctive “W” shape when the bird is soaring high overhead.
Long-tailed Sylph
A type of hummingbird found in the Andes, the male Long-tailed Sylph is a vision of iridescent colors. Its most striking feature is its incredibly long, forked tail, which can measure over 4 inches (10 cm)—more than double the length of its body. This glittering blue and green tail streams behind it like a ribbon as it hovers at flowers.
Greater Racket-tailed Drongo
A master mimic of the Asian tropics, this black bird is instantly identified by its two extraordinary tail wires that end in flat, webbed “rackets.” These unique feathers swivel and flutter acrobatically during flight, and the bird is known for its intelligence and ability to imitate the calls of other bird species.
White-tailed Tropicbird
An elegant, snow-white seabird, the White-tailed Tropicbird is defined by its two immensely long, slender tail streamers, which can be as long as its body. These streamers trail behind it like white ribbons as it soars and wheels on stiff wings over the open ocean.
Long-tailed Jaeger
This seabird, a relative of gulls and skuas, possesses central tail feathers that extend 3-6 inches beyond the rest of its tail, forming sharp points. A nimble predator and pirate, it uses its agility, aided by its long tail, to chase other birds and force them to disgorge their food.
Green Peafowl
Lesser-known than its Indian cousin, the male Green Peafowl is equally magnificent. Its “train” or crest of elongated upper tail coverts is also fanned into a dazzling display, but the feathers have a more golden-green and blue iridescence and a different, more triangular eye-spot pattern.
Pin-tailed Whydah
A small African finch, the breeding male Pin-tailed Whydah is a study in contrast, with a black and white body and a remarkably long, slender black tail. This tail, which can be three times the length of its body, is a key feature in its hovering flight display over potential mates.
Red-billed Streamertail
The national bird of Jamaica, this hummingbird is also called the “Doctor Bird.” The male has two spectacular, long, black tail streamers that cross each other and flutter independently as it hovers. Combined with its iridescent emerald body, it is a breathtaking sight.
Lady Amherst’s Pheasant
A bird of breathtaking beauty, this pheasant boasts a long, graceful tail barred in black and white. Its plumage is a kaleidoscope of colors, including a metallic green and blue ruff, but the sweeping, ornate tail is its most prominent and elegant feature.
Long-tailed Paradise Whydah
Another African whydah, the breeding male of this species grows an extravagantly long tail during the mating season. Its tail is not just long but broad, creating a dramatic, flowing silhouette during its undulating flight displays to impress females.
White-throated Magpie-Jay
A boisterous and highly social bird of Central America, this jay is as striking as it is loud. It has a powerfully long, blue tail, tipped in white, that makes up more than half of its total length. The tail is often held cocked or gracefully trailing as the bird moves through the dry forest.
Resplendent Quetzal
The legendary quetzal of Central American cloud forests is the ultimate symbol of long-tailed beauty. The male’s tail coverts during the breeding season grow into shimmering green plumes that can reach over three feet long, flowing behind him in iridescent waves as he flies.
Asian Paradise-Flycatcher
Males of this species occur in two color morphs (white and rufous) and are defined by their two immensely long, ribbon-like central tail feathers. These elegant streamers, which can be 12 inches long, trail behind the bird like a banner as it flits through the forest canopy catching insects.