Bird Lovers: How many tail feathers is my Amazon supposed to have????

[Ladyhawk]

I need to know how many tail feathers a double yellowheaded Amazon is supposed to have. :D It never entered my mind to count them...can you believe that? I've looked online, but can't find anything stating how many tail feathers Gabby is supposed to have. He has nearly finished his moult this year and his tail is askew. It has been for perhaps a couple of years now, but I always thought that some tail feathers were missing, causing the lop-sided appearance.

Quite some time ago, something frightened Gabby and he flew off his cage. I remember he lost at least two tail feathers, maybe more. When he freaks out, I usually hold him for awhile and repeat, "It's okay...it's okay...it's okay" until he quiets down. During this episode, I probably did the same thing, but birds can't tell you when they are hurt. I now suspect he might have broken his tiny little tail bone or seriously damaged a feather follicle. Right now, when he fans his tail, the central feathers point slightly to the left--he is a member of the green party, after all--leaving a gap between the central feathers and four normal feathers on the right side. Curious, I counted his feathers. He has four feathers on each side that are the vibrant lime green, dark green and red that make us Amazon folks "ooh" and "aah" over our birds. There are three central feathers that are green. Two of these three feathers stick together, one on top of the other. It was rather hard to get Gabby to cooperate while I inspected them. :) Hehe...brat. :)

I felt Gabby's "parson's nub" and detected what I think is a follicle in the gap between the feathers. If this is a tail feather follicle, it should grow another central green tail feather, but I don't know if Amazons are supposed to have an odd or even number of feathers. Eagles have an odd number of feathers, but from the way Gabby's feathers have moulted, I think he's missing a tail feather. The two central feathers have always been a uniform green. The ones just next to the centrals have been dark green with a lighter green tip. The rest of the feathers have red in them. That would mean twelve tail feathers, total. Gabby has eleven tail feathers and two of them are pretty much stuck one on top of the other. Gabby won't let me look carefully at the green feather directly under his central feather. The Gabster is a typical Amazon: "Don't you dare touch my tail (feet, back, etc.)!" Head rubs and occasional belly rubs are fine, but only if His Royal Greenness is in the mood.

So, if the remaining feather doesn't grow in--if there is a remaining feather, LOL--it probably means there was some kind of follicle damage, although there still could have been a break at some time in the past. I looked at a parrot skeleton online and the tailbone looks very, very fragile. Of course, we all want our pets to look their best, but this isn't a life-or-death issue.

Do any of you parrot people want to count birdie tail feathers? At least then, I'd have a better idea of what I'm dealing with. A yellow nape or yellow-crown is probably close enough that it has the same number of tail feathers. It may be that all Amazons (all parrots?) have the same number of tail feathers. Anything Amazona ochrecephala is probably close enough. Even little Gracie, the parrotlet, might have the same number of tail feathers as an Amazon. They're supposed to be related, after all. I laugh at the idea of a bird that tiny with the attitude of an Amazon. :)

Everyone tells me this isn't something to see the vet over, but I am a little concerned. Also, Gabby hasn't been to the vet in awhile. Every time I take my birds to the vet, I worry about contagions from other people's sick birds. "Well bird" visits should probably be confined to a single day a week--Mondays?--and should be preceded by a thorough decontamination of the waiting room and exam rooms. Just my opinion, but geez! I'd hate to lose my bird to some contagious disease when I took him in for a "well bird" exam. Understand what I mean?

That crazy bird has lived with me for nearly eighteen years. Things just wouldn't be the same without him.

MP3 of Gabby Burping

MP3 of Gabby Saying Hello

MP3 of Gabby Saying My Name

[amazona]

1. it is less than you think -- bump this tomorrow or PM me?

I can get this information but at the moment I'm a bit inebriated. PM me and I'll let you know.

[Ladyhawk]

2. LOL...no problem.

I forgot what species your Amazon is. :) Probably he / she has the same number of tail feathers Gabby is supposed to have...or has. And yes, I'll PM you. Your Amazon is probably going to be just about as thrilled to have his tail feathers checked as Gabby was. :D

[Vanje]

3. 12

6 pairs of retrices.

[Ladyhawk]

4. Thanks! This is what I thought.

Twelve is the magic number! "Pairs" is right. I've noticed that my bird moults symmetrically. When a flight feather on his right wing falls out, within a week the corresponding flight feather on the left wing falls out. How cool is that? Also, the moulting in most flighted birds is "staggered" so that the bird can fly throughout the moult.

So, Gabby is missing a feather. I thought so! The feather he is missing is a dark-green-tipped-with-lime-green feather. There are only two of these. That's one pair and they border the central pair of uniform green. The rest of the pairs look like the ones in this painting I did of Gabby:



P.S. The little feathers are tail feathers from a lovebird named Pippin...very similar to Amazon tail feathers.

On edit: guess which pair of feathers is missing from the painting? :) The central solid green feathers...LOL! Count 'em...there are ten. :D Hmmm...the fan is solid with no gaps even though two feathers are missing. Weirdness. Gotta find the model I used for that pic.

Some waterfowl lose all their flights during the summer and are confined to the water and the ground.

[Vanje]

5. What a beautiful painting!

Thats very very nice!
Super-exceptional!

Do you know that the central pair of tail feathers are called the "deck feathers". I think its an old falconry term.
(Before I became a ne'er-do-well, I was an ornithologist.)

Thanks for giving me a chance to talk 'bird'.

I'll be seeing ya.

[Ladyhawk]

6. Question: is this true of all parrots, or just Amazons and close kin? n/t

[bertha katzenengel]

7. I don't know, but as long as he can SHAKE A TAIL FEATHER!

he ought to be fine. ;)

(Love me some Tina.)