Brown bird with long tail

In the world of birds some would think or say that brown is dull. But this article will show you that this is not necessarily true. We will look at a list of 10 birds that are mainly brown, however they all have extraordinarily long tails. We will use pictures to aid with identification and have information as to where you might find them, their preferred habitat and diet. 

Anything but dull or boring is this stunning variety of a small bird with a long tail. The male Indian paradise flycatcher as shown in the above picture. Their long tails or streamers as they are known are thought to attract and encourage females in breeding season. The colour of their long tail is more of a cinnamon brown which also covers their wings and back. They have a glossy black head with a black crest, black bill and black eyes which have a magnificent blue eye ring. It is known that the male comes in two colours, one as seen above and the other is a white morph which is white where this one is brown. 

Measurements

• Length; 19-22 cms 
• Weight; 16-22g

Native to

Central Asia & Myanmar 

Habitat

Tropical & subTropical forests

Diet

Mainly insects

The male speckled mouse bird gets its name from the dull mousy brown colouring of its plumage. Even with its so-called boring colouring this bird has some nice features such as its fluffy crest and very long tail, which appears longer than the body length of this bird, as seen in the picture above. 

Measurements

• Length; 35cms 
• Weight; 55g

Native to 

Central, Eastern & Southern Africa

Habitat

Forest, scrubland, savannah, freshwater areas, grassland

Diet

Seeds, berries, fruits, nectar, leaves

As you can see from the picture above the male pheasant has long tail feathers and  more of a red / brown and a chestnut brown, black and white colouring to its plumage. It has a big red wattling on its face, and its head and neck colours are usually dark green. This large bird is mainly bred by gamekeepers for shoots, however there are birds who have been able to escape the gun and live wild in forests and farmland.

Measurements

• Length; 71cms 
• Wingspan; 80cms
• Weight; 1.4kg

Native to 

Originally native to Asia, but introduce to europe by the Romans 

Habitat

Forest edges, open farmland, meadows

Diet

Seed, grain, berries, shoots and insects

The female pheasant as pictured above is a light brown, speckled with white & darker brown, and again a long tail. Their colouring is very good camouflage.  

Measurements

• Length; 53-60 cms
• Wingspan; 70cms
• Weight; 750g – 1.2kg

Native to 

Originally native to Asia, but introduce to europe by the Romans 

Habitat

Forest edges, open farmland, meadows

Diet

Seed, grain, berries, shoots and insects

As can be seen above the wings and the back of this bird are a chestnut brown in colouring. While the head and large broad tail are black. They have red eyes which can look a bit sinister. Although they are quite a large crow-like bird, they are actually not related to the corvid family, instead they are the largest member of the cuckoo family.

Measurements

• Length; 45-50cms
• Weight; 208-270g

Native to 

Southeast Asia & Indian subcontinent

Habitat

Grassland, marshes, creeks, shrubland, mangroves

Diet

Mainly insects caterpillars, snails, small invertebrate, fruit and has been known to take eggs from nests 

Related and similar in looks to the previous bird but a little smaller, the Senegal Coucal is another mainly brown bird with a long tail. The colouring of these birds as seen in the above picture are that the back and wings are a chestnut brown in colour. They have white throat, chest and underparts and a black head and neck and tail. Like the previous bird they also have red eyes. Again they are another member of the cuckoo family.

Measurements

• Length; 38cms
• Weight; 150-160g

Native to 

Endemic to mid to Southern Africa

Habitat

Forest edges, tall grasslands, thickets and scrub

Diet

Insects, invertebrate

The brown thrasher birds as shown in the above picture are as their names suggest brown, and for the purposes of this article they have a relatively long tail in comparison to their bodies. Both the males and females look alike. They have brown heads, backs, wings and tails. Their underparts are buff with brown speckles and they have a yellow – orange eye. They are a larger songbird, similar to the thrush.

Measurements

• Length; 23-30 cms
• Wingspan; 29-32 cms
• Weight; 61-89g

Native to 

North America – Southern Eastern Canada, Eastern & Central US  

Habitat

Mixed woodlands, thickets, shrubland, undergrowth

Diet

Mainly insects, invertebrates, spiders and nuts.

A similar bird to the previous and of the same family, however the long billed thrasher has more of a grey-brown appearance. They also have a long tail as the brown thrasher but their eyes are more orange, and as its name suggests they have a longer bill which is curved down as seen in the above picture. 

Measurements

• Length; 26-29 cms
• Wingspan; 33cms
• Weight; 68g

Native to 

North America – Southeast Texas & Northeastern Mexico

Habitat

Busy, dry landscape, dense vegetation

Diet

Mainly insects, spider, snails, small fruit

This unusual brown bird which has a tail twice the length of their bodies as pictured above, and is of the pheasant family. However the males display their tail feathers like a peacock would. This large bird has a blue head, with a black crown, which stands out from the mostly red – brown colouring that the rest of the plumage has. Another feature is its red legs. It is a shy bird and unfortunately due to habitat loss and hunting it is now on the IUCN list as a vulnerable species. (IUCN 2022).

Measurements

• Length; 160-200 cms
• Wingspan; 
• Weight;2-2.72kgs

Native to 

South east Asia – Borneo, sumatra, malay

Habitat

Jungle forests

Diet

Mainly fruit, insects

The male cape sugarbird is a further specimen of a brown bird with a long tail, albeit the brown is sort of grey – brown. As you can see from the picture above they have a yellow patch under their tails, and quite a long decurved beak, as this is a specialist nectar eating bird, the shape and length of their beaks is important. 

Measurements

• Length; 22-41 cms
• Weight; 30.5g – 43g

Native to 

South Africa

Habitat

Shrubby areas

Diet

Nectar from the proteaceae family of plants 

In Summary

I do hope you have enjoyed and found this article of brown birds with long tails interesting. We have looked at 10 different species of birds from across the world. We have seen what they look like with the aid of pictures, the habitats and diets. Also we have seen that out of the ten bird species there is one on the IUCN list as vulnerable which is sad to see. 

If you have any questions or comments about this article or any of the other articles published on Birdfinder.co please do not hesitate to message. 

IUCN. 2022. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2022-2. https://www.iucnredlist.org. Accessed on [6th January 2023].