Tail coverts

“ Resembling Indicator in its bill and general form, save for the tail, which is composed of 12 quills, the two middle pairs of nearly equal length, somewhat pointed and curved strongly outwards, the next pair considerably shorter, but also pointed and slightly curved; while the fourth, fifth and sixth are straight, greatly narrowed, and stiffened, becoming successively shorter, so that the outermost pair is not half so long as the median. The tail-coverts are unusually long, those below as long as the longest rectrices, and projecting in the fork of the tail. ”

“ The tail-feathers exhibit indications of spots along the shafts, as in var. calurus; while the upper tail-coverts have a very few bars of blackish.
Young (37,338, Tres Marias Islands, January; Col. A. J. Grayson) . Similar to the adult in general appearance, but differing in the following particulars: Tail deep umber, with about twelve or thirteen narrow bands of black, and very narrowly tipped with whitish; lateral lower parts thickly spotted with blackish, and tibiæ spotted transversely with the same; lower tail-coverts with distant bars of blackish. ”

“ Outer tail-feathers and primaries edged with white. Length, 5.50; wing, 2.70; tail, 2.10.
Young. Ground-color of the upper parts (except wings and tail) light ochraceous, more brownish on top of head, upper part of back, and on upper tail-coverts; the streaks blacker and more conspicuous than in the adult. Beneath with an ochraceous tinge anteriorly, the streaks broader, and deeper black, than in the adult, though less sharply defined. The infra-maxillary streak expanded into a broad blackish elongated blotch.
Hab. Eastern North America to the Missouri plains, and northwest to Alaska. ”

“ Tail much rounded. Top of the head much darker than the back; tail distinctly tipped with white; concealed white spots of the scapulars very small, or obsolete. Wing, 8.50–11.00; tail, 7.50–10.50; culmen, .60–.80; tarsus, 2.10–2.75; middle toe, 1.30–1.85. Hab. Whole of North America and Mexico.
Adult. Rufous markings beneath, in form of detached bars, not exceeding the white ones in width; dark slate of the pileum and nape abruptly contrasted with the bluish-plumbeous of the back; upper tail-coverts narrowly tipped with white; scapulars with concealed spots of white. Young. ”

“ Crest about one third longer than the bill. Tail much graduated. General color above light purplish-blue; wings and tail-feathers ultramarine-blue; the secondaries and tertials, the greater wing-coverts, and the exposed surface of the tail, sharply banded with black and broadly tipped with white, except on the central tail-feathers. Beneath white; tinged with purplish-blue on the throat, and with bluish-brown on the sides. A black crescent on the forepart of the breast, the horns passing forward and connecting with a half-collar on the back of the neck. ”

“ Wing-coverts, greater and median, dark brown, broadly margined with cream, which would form two bars across the wing; but this, like the tail, is much worn and abraded. Outer tail-feathers have the outside portion white from the base, inside dark brown, as are all the others excepting two central ones, which are lighter brown; the tips only of second pair appear to have been white, but, as I have before said, this member is so worn and short, that not much can be judged of it. Legs and toes dark brown. ”

“ For how pretty it looked, though dead, lying on its back, the little black legs stuck stiffly up, the long wings pressed against the sides, their black tips touching together like the clasped hands of a corpse; and the fan-like black and white tail, half open as in life, moved perpetually up and down by the wind, as if that tail-flirting action of the bird had continued after death. ”

“ All the comings and goings took place in silence, over the top of the tree, and I have watched the nest an hour at a time without being able to see a sign of its occupancy, except the one thing a sitting bird cannot hide, the tail. And, by the way, how providential—from the bird student's point of view—that birds have tails! They can, it is true, be narrowed to the width of one feather and laid against a convenient twig, but they cannot be wholly suppressed, nor drawn down out of sight into the nest with the rest of the body. ”

“ The hair of his tail and body are black and white. Upon the tail they are disposed in a bunch, which he turns up on his back, and covers with it his whole body, when he is inclined to sleep, or wants to shelter himself from the rain or heat of the sun. The long hair of his tail and of his body is not round in all its extent; it is flat towards the ends, and feels like dry grass. He waves his tail frequently and hastily when he is irritated, but it hangs down when he is composed, and sweeps along the ground. The hair of the fore-part of his body is longer than that on the hind part. ”

“ Skin, bone, and feathers. Ugh! you would only trouble me in my empty stomach, and there study out at leisure the various odds and ends of my organisation. No, no! get up; give my mouth a wide berth; sit on my tail, if you like the fur.”
Concealing my dread of his hungry fangs, I perched lightly on the tail, where I was not unfrequently disturbed by the tremor of his emotions.
Fellow Sparrows, the tail of a beast of prey is the safest perch, and it affords a true index of the play of passion in the brute. ”

“ As he gives the blow, his head turns so as to meet the tail half-way—the whole body thus forming a semicircle. Should the prey not be killed by the blow of the tail, it is flung right into the jaws of the monster, where it is sure to be despatched in a trice. ”

“ When catching the ephemeridæ that play above the water, the tail is not expanded: it is reserved for times of courtship. I have seen the female sitting quietly on a branch, and two males displaying their charms in front of her. One would shoot up like a rocket, than suddenly expanding the snow-white tail like an inverted parachute, slowly descend in front of her, turning round gradually to show off both back and front. ”

“ The tail resembles a seal’s tail, being thick and short: his fat is like hog’s lard. He lies commonly upon the ice shoals, and can live a good while on shore, till hunger drives him back into the seas; his nourishment being both herbs and fishes: he snores very loud, when he sleeps; and when he is provoked to anger, he roars like a mad bull. ”

“ What we call the tail is only the tail covert, and the back view shows the real tail is of stiff feathers, arranged, when these are spread, in an inverted heart shape. Then comes a sudden noise like a loud sneeze, repeated again and again before one can see that it is caused by the sharp striking of the tail feathers against each other and the tail covert—and again he turns and paces. ”

“ In 1882 the black-tail was very much more abundant than the white-tail almost everywhere in the West, but owing to the nature of its haunts it is more easily killed out, and in 1897, through both species has decreased in numbers, the white-tail was on the whole the more common. ”

“ For instance, there is one with spiked coat and rough, ringed tail, which has a red head, blue throat, neck and sides, while the back varies from red to brown towards the tail. It sits on a rock and quaintly raises itself up and down on its forelegs. ”

“ Not unlike a Buzzard when aloft, the shrill whistling note, when heard, constitutes a clear mark of distinction; while the broad wings and long deeply-forked tail bestow such graceful ease of motion and perfect steerage power as few birds can claim, whether for soaring and circling aloft, quartering the ground for booty, or hovering over the water to fish. ”

“ If the tail is small, slender, or bony, like that of a squirrel or a rat, it can usually be slipped out of the skin by pulling the bony part between two sticks held close together against the skin of the tail. ”

“ When travelling the tail drags on the ground, and they hobble along with their long front claws drawn underneath; at other times, they move by slow leaping movements, and can travel backwards almost as fast as forwards. When turned over they have much difficulty in replacing themselves in their natural position, and you may see them kicking with their legs and claws for a minute or two before they are right. ”

“ Lawson Tait has called attention to the use of the tail in the cat, squirrel, yak, and many other animals as a means of preserving the heat of the body during the nocturnal and the winter sleep. He says, that in cold weather animals with long or bushy tails will be found lying curled up, with their tails carefully laid over their feet like a rug, and with their noses buried in the fur of the tail, which is thus used exactly in the same way and for the same purpose as we use respirators. ”

“ Tail slightly rounded, and a little emarginate. In the full spring dress there is [Pg 581] no trace of any second color on the back, except an exceedingly faint and scarcely appreciable wash of dull brownish over the whole upper parts. The markings of the third tail-feather vary somewhat in specimens. Sometimes the whole tip is margined with brown; sometimes the white extends to the end; sometimes both webs are margined with brown; sometimes the outer is white entirely; sometimes the brownish wash on the back is more distinct. ”

“ For their predatory habits they are admirably adapted; their teeth are terrible, and produce a dreadful wound; the neck is slender, the body increasing gradually to about the middle in diameter, and then decreasing. The tail is a grasping instrument, strongly prehensile, and aided by two hooklike claws, sheathed with horn, externally visible on each side, beneath, just anterior to the base of the tail. Though externally nothing beyond these spurs appear, internally is found a series of bones, representing those of the hinder limbs, but of course imperfectly developed ”

“ Remarkably for its large head, nude, scaly extremities, and extremely short, nude, scaly tail. "The structure of the ear, limbs and tail has special reference to a burrowing animal—the ear being valvular, so that it may be effectually closed against the entrance of foreign substances, and the feet devoid of hair, but scaly, and the tail reduced to very small dimensions. The eye is also excessively small, and buried deep in the dense silky fur. The hind feet, contrary to what is almost invariably the case in burrowing mammals, are larger than the fore feet."—Anderson. ”

“ The tail is long, short, tufted, or reduced to a mere tubercle, and it may be quite invisible externally. Some have the hair of the head long, and radiating in all directions; others have the face encircled by a kind of mane. ”

“ As she lies in repose the enormous bushy tail is curled round and laid over the face, so that barely any outline is perceptible. It is curious to see how, even in this condition, the large ears are gently moved at every sound, and when the creature is roused from her torpor the brilliancy with which the eyes gleam from among the heavy fur of the tail is really remarkable. ”

“ Whilst leisurely cropping the short curly grass, he occasionally lifted his tail into the air, and stamped his foot as a fly or mosquito annoyed him—flapping the intruder with his tail, or snatching at the itching part with his ponderous head. ”

“ This very slender and slippery species, reaching a length of 6 inches, is remarkable for its long fingers and toes, and its rather compressed tail. The general colour is brown above, dirty whitish below, generally with numerous, small, light blue and pale brown spots on the sides of the neck, body, limbs, and tail. There are several colour-varieties, one of them with white specks. It is a very active and surprisingly good climber, easily escaping out of high-walled bell-glasses, hiding in the daytime in dark and moist localities. ”

“ In the case of animals having a bushy tail or brush as the fox, wolf, etc., the tail is merely sewed up on the under side after poisoning and not lined or trimmed. Pumas, tigers and others with short furred tails are trimmed and lined like the rest of the rug. In lining large rugs a double trimming of felt is often used and a lining of strong canvas is used throughout, as when on the floor it is not visible, protects the skin as well, and costs somewhat less. ”

“ In the autumn they cover the outside of their houses with mud, and they walk over it as they are at work, and their tails drag along upon it; and this I expect made persons first suppose that they were plastering it, with the tail for a trowel. When they are caught and kept, boys, they still keep up this fashion of slapping with the tail; so that I rather think it is part of the nature of the animal.
"At another time, perhaps, I will tell you more about the beaver; but it is now late, and I must bid you good morning."
"Good day, Uncle Philip." ”

“ Red-tails, like other hawks, show a great variation in plumage. The dark phase of a Western Red-tail compares favorably with the plumage of an adult Golden Eagle, but the smaller size and the reddish upper tail surface which reflects the sun as the bird soars, furnishes the clue. ”

“ Oh, that tail—that awful, writhing, lashing tail! I can stand Indians, bears, wolves, anything but that tail, and a rattler is all tail, except its head. If that tail touches me I shall let go. It did touch me, I did not let go. Pride held me there, for I heard the sound of galloping hoofs. Whiskers' empty saddle had alarmed the rest of the party. ”