Dennis Paulson wrote:

> I will say that I already have some information about this.=20
> We get a lot of birds in the Slater Museum that have lost and
> are regrowing tail feathers (some or all of them from cats,
> I'll bet), and I haven't yet seen one growing in white.

Fright moult - rapid loss of feathers, usually body, sometimes tails occurs =
in most birds. In the UK I saw it most in thrushes and Blackbirds (turdus =
merula - thanks Serge). At some of the sites I banded at, Blackbirds would =
be retrapped on many occasions over several years. A few birds lose a some =
feathers when being trapped (for those concerned, I have only seen one bird =
lose more than half a dozen feathers at one time - the bird suffered no ill =
effects and was seen/caught regularly long after).

Anyway, there was no evidence of white feathers replacing the lost ones, =
either in new or previously banded birds. This is very subjective, however =
given the regularity of retrapping some individuals, any feathers which were =
being replaced and growing in white were likely to be readily noticeable.

The numbers of birds banded in the UK is large, so it is possible that any =
lost feathers being replaced with white ones would be picked up on very =
readily. I have no knowledge of this being the case.

Stuart MacKay=