Long-tailed Birds

Birds sport long tails for various purposes — balance during flight, precise steering capabilities, communication cues such as health and social status displays, and to attract a mate. Scientists have stated that longer tails in birds likely evolved to enhance mating success by making them visually striking. This is evident in birds like the Long-tailed Widowbird and Greater Bird-of-Paradise, which are celebrated for their unique tail feathers. Most of these birds are even considered exotic.

Different Types of Long-tailed Birds

In most bird species, males have more distinctive plumage and are more likely to have larger tail feathers, which are often used to court potential mates. The birds listed in the table are those with tails that are at least as long as their body length.

Species	Body Length (in inches)	Tail Length (in inches)	Tail Characteristics	Where They Can Be Found
Pheasants and Allies
Reeves’s Pheasant	80-83	94-95	Intricately patterned tail, with a mix of white, brown, and black feathers	Central and Eastern China
Malayan Crested Argus	6-26	66-68	12 feathers in their tails, which are considered the widest among all birds	Malaysia
Vietnamese Crested Argus	6-26	66-68	Same type and number of tail feathers as the Malayan Crested Argus	Vietnam and Laos
Great Argus	22-23	41-56	Elongated tail feathers and secondary wing feathers with big eyespots	Parts of Southeast Asia, like Borneo, Sumatra, and the Malay Peninsula
Indian Peafowl	39-45	38-44	Iridescent tail feathers with eye-like patterns	Indian Subcontinent
Lady Amherst’s Pheasant	9-17	29-31	Grayish white tail feathers with black bars and red streaks at the base	Northern Myanmar to southwestern China
Golden Pheasant	11-13	24-31	The female’s tail is longer. Central tail feathers are black with cinnamon spots and a cinnamon buff tip. Upper tail coverts are the same color	Western China
Common Pheasant	13-15	18-20	Black tail with brown streaks	The Balkan region to mainland China and Taiwan
Passerine Birds
Ribbon-tailed Astrapia	11-12	36-39	Tail consists of two white, ribbon-like feathers	Papua New Guinea
Greater Bird-of-Paradise	14-17	34-36	Yellow tail feathers with white borders raised in an erect position during courtship	Aru Islands in Indonesia and southwest New Guinea
Lesser Racket-tailed Drongo	9-11	31-46	Tail feathers end in racket-shaped extensions	Southeast Asia
Superb Lyrebird	15-18	2-28	16 tail feathers include 2 outer “lyrates” (broad, S-shaped, brown, and buff-patterned), 12 flexible silvery feathers, and 2 central silvery feathers	Southeastern Australia
Long-tailed Widowbird	6-8	17-20	Tail consists of 12 narrow black feathers	Angola, Kenya, Zaire, Botswana, and South Africa
Long-tailed Paradise Whydah	9-10	13-14	Tail made up of flowing black feathers	Sub-Saharan Africa
Taiwan Blue Magpie	10-12	13-17	Blue with white tips, with the central feathers being the longest	Taiwan
Fork-tailed Flycatcher	4-5	11-12	Forked tail longer than its body	Central Mexico to Argentina
Scissor-tailed Flycatcher	6-7	8-9	Forked tail that is black dorsally and white ventrally	Northern Mexico and parts of the United States
Seabirds
Long-tailed Jaeger	4-12	9-11	Two central pointed tail feathers	High Arctic of Eurasia and North America
Quetzals
Resplendent Quetzal	14-16	12-40	Iridescent green tail feathers, which consist of central plumes and streamers	Ranges from Panama to Mexico
Motmots
Turquoise-browed Motmot	4-5	8-9	Long tail with racquet-like tips, often swung like a pendulum	Central America
Hummingbirds
Marvelous Spatuletail	1-2	4-5	Two outer tail feathers with bare shafts that cross each other, ending in large purplish-black spatules or “racquets”	Peru
Red-billed Streamertail	4-5	4-5	Tail feathers are black with a green gloss	Jamaica
Black-billed Streamertail	4-5	4-5	Similar to the red-billed, tail feathers are black with a green gloss	Eastern Jamaica
Long-tailed Sylph	1-3	4-5	The upper surface of their tail feathers is iridescent blue, green, and violet, and the underside is bluish black	Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela

Many other birds have distinctive long tails, such as the Greater Racket-tailed Drongo, the Long-tailed Hawk, and the White-tailed Tropicbird. However, their tails, while long, are not longer than their bodies. Additionally, some birds, like Wilson’s Bird-of-Paradise, feature uniquely curved tails that stand out.