Rump of robin

"Whether it's the triangular spread of a circling red-tailed hawk's tail or the ornate festoons of a male pheasant, the posterior feathers of birds are often distinctive and always utilitarian.

The flight feathers of a bird's tail are called rectrices. They are anchored to the rear vertebrae.

Tail feathers help provide lift, stability and maneuverability in the flying bird--especially in younger animals, who are more inexperienced in flight. Some types of raptors, for example, seem to be more reliant on their tail feathers for lift while immature, giving them greater opportunity to learn the aerial ropes and also buffering their predatory strikes. eHow.com"

"Bird tails are symmetrical in feather shape and pattern on the two halves of the tail. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service"

Bird Tails

Sunny and brisk, not much wind, rain expected tonight. That makes for perfect outdoor burning conditions. We have to call the local Fire Department and secure a permit over the phone. Burning is allowed with a permit from January to May, 10-4. The Fire Department has trucks that drive through the town keeping an eye on these burn piles. We have a mountain of fall and winter brush and limbs stacked up in a clearing in our woods, ready to go.

At painting yesterday I decided on a new piece. A sort of mysterious double portrait of the great grandparents, sitting on a lawn in about 1910. They lived and raised my maternal great grandfather in what is now our summer place, Downeast, on the coast of Maine. A realistic painting, but with a different color scheme, we'll see what happens, It was a good start, on Will anyway, for 4 hours work.

Linnie & Will