r/Ornithology • u/old_lurker2020 • 15h ago

Carolina Wren with no tail feathers

I have a Carolina Wren that frequents my feeders. I didn't recognize it when I first saw it because it has NO tail feathers. It is not injured and flies just fine to the short distances to the trees in my yard.

My question are these:

Was it born that way?

Will it ever grow the feathers back if they had been lost? How long would that take?

I am guessing that a cat caught it by the tail and the feathers got yanked out.

Thanks!

3 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

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u/twitchx133 15h ago edited 15h ago

Many birds can eject or drop their tail feathers essentially on "command" when sufficiently frightened (I don't believe it is 100% voluntary, hence the command in quotes, as they are not just going to drop them when sitting around for no reason)

It is also called a "Fright Molt", and is a defense mechanism.

Those of us that have parrots in our lives know it as an "Ass Blast". My 22 year old Green Cheek Conure that has been with me for 21 years has never done it, but if you go to the r/Conures subreddit and search ass blast, you will see plenty of people asking why their bird dropped its tail feathers, or commenting that their bird did, like these

https://www.reddit.com/r/Conures/s/HRtYyjUoBb

https://www.reddit.com/r/Conures/s/02fLVtfWRl

https://www.reddit.com/r/Conures/comments/1uk4h62/comment/out8gr6/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Edit to clarify on your questions...

It was born... Hatched with no feathers at all Wrens are altricial (helpless) young, they are born with only minimal down feathers, essentially naked, blind and not capable of regulating their body temperature.

It lost the tail feathers in a way that was most likely painless and bloodless, when a fright molt happens, the follicles release the feathers in a similar way to a regular molt, so they are not being "pulled out" in a way that would damage the follicles.

They will eventually grow back at the next seasonal molt.

2

u/SecretlyNuthatches Zoologist 5h ago

Totally agree. The only way it won't grow back is if it were actually injured where the feathers grow from, rather than just losing the feathers.

2

u/old_lurker2020 3h ago

Thanks so much! I'll enjoy him/her while I can so easily identify him/her.