HIS WINGS AND TAIL 113 
or “ pointed.” If the outside feathers are long- 
est, the tail is “forked ” (Fig. 15). 
The feathers of the tail are called rectrices, 
or “ rudders,’ because they are supposed to be 
used to steer, or direct the bird’s course in fly- 
ing. But the tail is used also as a brake to 
check the speed in alighting. 
The tail is used more than any other organ 
to express the emotions. 
Some birds, like the cat- 
bird and thrasher, keep it 
moving nearly all the time, 
jerking it this way and that, 
and tossing it upward. 
In woodpeckers and swifts the tail feathers 
are not soft at the end like others, but the stems 
or shafts project beyond the feathery part, and 
are stiff like the tail of a sapsucker (Fig. 16) 
or sharp like this of the chimney swift (Fig. 
17). These birds use the tail as 
~~~ a prop to hold them against the 
== 
Fig. 16. 
Tail of Sapsucker. 

a — FB : 
SE = ce trunk or chimney wall, and 
Fie. 17. to help them in climbing. 
Swift Tail. Tail feathers are not so 
strongly rooted as wing feathers, 
and are easily pulled out. Sometimes, when a 
man or boy tries to catch a bird by the tail, the 
bird will escape, leaving his tail in their hands. 
