Tails 425 
tail-feathers have grown beyond the others, instinctively 
begin to pick at the vane, soon denuding the shaft so 
symmetrically that the rackets are equal in size. The 
Fra. 341.—Motmot swinging its tail. 
photographs show this perfectly. Figure a is the tail 
of a young male where the operation of ornamental de- 
nudation has just begun; while b shows the condition 
in an adult female. The photograph of the entire liv- 
ing bird also shows the rackets, as well as the peculiar 
pendulum motion of the tail from side to side, although 
