16 replies to this topic

[Melissa :)]

In the past week, I have seen two Chipping Sparrows (juvies) and one Gray Catbird, all without tails. Is this normal??

[Liam]

Yes, it means you have a cat in your neighborhood.

[Melissa :)]

But they were seen in two different places, neither in my neighborhood!

[fisherman1313]

It could be that there are cats in the two places you saw the birds. It could have also been some other predator.

[Melissa :)]

I think location might help to figure out the mystery:

The Chipping Sparrow were seen flitting from the woods over a big field filled with black-eyed susans at Abbott's Mill, (southern) DE. I doubt there were cats there...

And the Catbird was seen in the woods about a foot away from the water of Dragon Run, so definitely no cats. The only birds of prey there were eagles and herons, but I doubt they went after a Catbird in the woods, near the water.

Any other ideas?

[fisherman1313]

There's a whole list of predators that could have been responsible. Another possibility is what is known as "fright molt", this happens when a bird drops feathers in response to extreme stress (a close encounter with a predator or speeding car, perhaps).

[Melissa :)]

I wonder if those pesky beavers were mean to that Catbird...

[Sparky the Cuttlefish]

It's also quite possible that that the birds narrowly missed getting eaten by a hawk/cat/etc., and then flew off somewhere else. Just because the birds were in an area without obvious predators doesn't mean that they haven't been in an area with predators recently.

[Melissa :)]

That's probably what happened with the Catbird, but the Chipping Sparrows were juvies and looked like they had just fledged.

[sailormom64]

I saw a young house finch with no tail feathers, and what appeared to be its "siblings" all had tails. (The parent birds were still feeding them, so I know they were younguns)

[hbvol]

When the Carolina wrens under my deck fledged last year, the young ones were almost tailless for a week or two.

[creeker]

Fledglings often have very short tails when they leave the nest. Example here: Fledgling Common Yellowthroat.........

[Melissa :)]

That must be it then! Well at least for the Chipping Sparrows, not sure about the Catbird but he flew just fin so he's not badly injured!

[Shoveler26]

Wow I have noticed that too on the chipping sparrows!

[Aveschapines]

Definitely, fledglings have short tails and they grow as the birds convert to adult plumage. THe first time I saw a baby Rufous Collared Robin, I was looking through the quail for an ID; between the different coloration (extremely different in this case) and the almost nonexistent tail, I was totally off on the ID!

I have noticed here that all the Great-Tailed Grackles molt their tails at the same time around September. It's hilarious to see all the tail-less wonders flying around during those few weeks! But I have occasionally seen other birds with no tail or just a bedraggled, frayed feather - I saw a Bushtit like that a few days ago.

[Liam]

Creeker makes an excellent point. I often see tailless fledglings.
But keep in mind that cats don't have to be domestic or feral. There are wild feline predators, like the Bobcat, that prey on birds.

[cestma]

I've been seeing lots of fledglings lately, and have been meaning to post some pics of the tailed vs. "tail-less" (very short tailed) ones, as the contrast has been fascinating me. (Among the "tail-less"--an adorable clutch of hairy woodpeckers.) You've inspired me to try to get around to it.

I've been thinking that a thread or threads dedicated to fledgling/juvie birds in general might be helpful (or at least fun!) . . . they can look so different from the adults.

--Diane G.