Female with no tail feathers

[Gene Crosby]

I have approximately 33 pairs and I try to keep a close watch. A few days ago I noticed one female does not have any tail feathers. I know this occurred suddenly because her compartment faces the patio. I am curious if anyone knows of a disease that would cause this. My guess is she probably barely escaped from the grasp of a hawk. It does not seem to hinder her her ability to feed her young. She catches more bugs that her male and her young is about to fledge. It does seems to take her a little longer to gain altitude. I feel sorry for her and it is not a pretty sight. Thanks

[Dick Sherry]

Stan, I think you are right that this was the result of an encounter with a predator of some type. The feathers will grow back and she should be just fine. It does give them a very odd appearance. Chimney swifts may start making passes at her!

[Tim Mangan-Kansas]

Her tail feathers will grow back but will they grow back in time for the long migration south?

Tim

[BumBee]

Stan,
I have caught all three species oaf doves that resides in my neighborhood,
and i was removing a white wing dove from the trap, and I made a
mistake of grabbing the tail of this bird. As soon as i had the full grasp
of the tail, all of the tails feathers came off like they were not attached
to the white wing dove at all.

i think it is a defensive mechanism on their part.

[phillip26r]

I have an SY female at my site that had only one tail feather when she showed up in early May.

Her tail feathers are now almost fully regrown.

She was really easy to identify with that one tail feather!

[Gene Crosby]

Thanks guys for the reply. Sorry it took so long to check-back. She is still doing fine and feeding her young. One of the babies flew off, but flew back and landed on the perch in front of it's compartment. She is still feeding it. They will probably all fledge tomorrow.

Thanks again,

Stan