Long-tailed Birds

Around the world, it isn’t uncommon to see birds with long tails. The purpose of these tails varies from species to species, some use them to steer while flying, some balance themselves while sitting on branches, and other birds use them to attract a mate. Regardless of the reasons, these long-tailed birds are incredibly eye-catching and stand out.

Different Types of Long-tailed Birds

Here’s a list of birds known for having long tails, arranged in order of the length of their tails.

Species of Bird	Tail Length (in inches)	Where are They Originally From?
Reeves’s Pheasant	94-95	Central and Eastern China
Malayan Crested Argus	68	Malaysia
Vietnamese Crested Argus	68	Vietnam and Laos
Great Argus	41-56	Parts of Southeast Asia, like Borneo, Sumatra, and the Malay Peninsula
Ribbon-tailed Astrapia	39	Papua New Guinea
Indian Peafowl	38-44	Indian Subcontinent
Greater Bird-of-Paradise	36	Aru Islands in Indonesia and southwest New Guinea
Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo	31-46	Southeast Asia, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam
Lady Amherst’s Pheasant	31	Ranges from northern Myanmar to southwestern China
Superb Lyrebird	28	Southeastern Australia, from Victoria to Queensland
Golden Pheasant	24-31	Western China
Scarlet Macaw	24	Central and South America, including Belize, Bolivia, Guatemala, Panama, Mexico, El Salvador, and Honduras
Common Pheasant	20	The Balkan region, ranging from mainland China and Taiwan to Siberia
Long-tailed Widowbird	20	Angola, Kenya, Zaire, Botswana, and South Africa
Long-tailed Paradise Whydah	14	Sub-Saharan Africa, including Cameroon, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Uganda, and Kenya
White-tailed Tropicbird	13-18	Islands dotted in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans
Taiwan Blue Magpie	13-17	Taiwan
Resplendent Quetzal	12-40	Ranging from Panama to Mexico
Long-tailed Hawk	12-15	Central and Western Africa, including Angola, Central African Republic, Central African Republic, South Sudan, and Uganda
Alexandrine Parakeet	11-14	Southern and Southeast Asia, including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Laos, Nepal, Vietnam, and Thailand
Fork-tailed Flycatcher	11-12	Central Mexico to Argentina
White-bellied Go-away Bird	9.4-9.8	Eastern Africa, especially around the Horn of Africa
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher	9	Northern Mexico and parts of the United States
Eurasian Goshawk	8-12	Throughout Europe, except for Iceland and Ireland, as well as parts of Asia belonging to the Himalayas, including China, India, Japan, and Nepal
White-throated Magpie-jay	8-11	Ranging from Jalisco in Mexico to Guanacaste in Costa Rica
Turquoise-browed Motmot	8-9	Central America from Costa Rica to Mexico
Speckled Mousebird	7-8	Ranging from eastern to southern Africa, including Cameroon, Eritrea, Ethiopia, South Africa, Tanzania, etc.
Greater Racket-tailed Drongo	6-7	Indian subcontinent, as well as Borneo and Java
Peregrine Falcon	5-8	Worldwide
Marvelous Spatuletail	4-5	Peru
Red-billed Streamertail	4-5	Jamaica
Black-billed Streamertail	4-5	Eastern Jamaica
Wilson’s Bird-of-Paradise	1-2	Indonesia