# Tailmark and ribbon tail



## MaryOfExeter (Sep 30, 2007)

What causes this type of tailmark (in Indian Fantails)
















They remind me of stork marks, but the upper tail coverts are usually colored as well. As in those two birds. Is it that or frill stencil maybe? Undergrizzle perhaps? Bird that carry pencil also have that lightening effect at the base of the feathers.


Also, what causes ribbontails? Toy stencil?


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## re lee (Jan 4, 2003)

The first one would a black tail mark. NOW tailmark is hard to set and you do get a certion amount that are faded like this and a few that hold good color depth. So it would be just a faded tailmarking common to see. ribbin tail well I am not sure where and when it developed But like ash red you have a color ban at the top of the tail So it became a project then a set color pattern.. Like saddles or any split color bird you have to work on color depth and hope for the best.


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## MaryOfExeter (Sep 30, 2007)

I actually prefer these grizzled looking tailmarks. They are very pretty in my opinion. I also like the ones with more color but still has the grizzle look up the feather shaft.


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## rudolph.est (May 14, 2009)

I think I read somewhere that ribbon tails were the result of recessive red or ash-red and some bronze interacting. There are other breeds with ribbon tail, some middle eastern breed(s) I think or Lebanons maybe? Also some Russian tumbler breeds I think, but always only in red an yellow.

Mumtastic says it is caused by ash-red, T-pattern and Lebanon bronze.

Dina Mergiani has this to say (use google or babelfish translation for this page in Romanian)


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## re lee (Jan 4, 2003)

MaryOfExeter said:


> I actually prefer these grizzled looking tailmarks. They are very pretty in my opinion. I also like the ones with more color but still has the grizzle look up the feather shaft.


I have seen several tail marked birds. I still would not call that grizzle. Because tail marks seem as I said to have a faded tail to a good tail color. Some will have a few solid white tail feathers and fade more then your picture shows. Setting the color depth along with a quality bird takes time. As grizzle probably is not even in the breeding back ground of the bird in the picture. The idea is to work towrds that solid colored tail And the pictured bird is 1 step closer but not there and is still considered a tail mark. My self I like resessive red tail mark And agin it is hard work to develop Tried that over 20 years ago.


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## MaryOfExeter (Sep 30, 2007)

rudolph.est said:


> I think I read somewhere that ribbon tails were the result of recessive red or ash-red and some bronze interacting. There are other breeds with ribbon tail, some middle eastern breed(s) I think or Lebanons maybe? Also some Russian tumbler breeds I think, but always only in red an yellow.
> 
> Mumtastic says it is caused by ash-red, T-pattern and Lebanon bronze.
> 
> Dina Mergiani has this to say (use google or babelfish translation for this page in Romanian)


Lebanon bronze would make a lot of sense. I thought about that but then wondered about the effect on the flights as well, that you normally see in Lebanons. But now I realize the ribbon tail Indian Fan I saw in this book had white flights.




As for the "grizzled" tailmarks....
In the Encyclopedia of Breeds, they call that kind "stork tail marked". That's how I would describe it. But that doesn't mean it is actualy grizzle. If I had one, I'd test mate it to another color to see if the kids were grizzled.


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## rudolph.est (May 14, 2009)

I have definitely seen 'tail mark' on homers where the entire bird if white except for a normal blue tail and black tail bar, I even owned one when I was a teenager. The breeder I got it from has since passed, and I cannot find any more now. According to him the trait was simple recessive (he always mated the tail marked mother to a son to get 50% tail marked, 50% blue) and his birds never had this grizzling effect.

I always thought that this was the same as the tail mark in fantails.


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