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 



FIG. 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 



