Sue Ann Jennings, age 11, Dallas, Texas,

Which bird has the longest tail?

What a to‑do this question started. Those birds with long tails, it seems, are mighty proud of themselves, Andy innocently asked a sea gull which of his bird relatives had the longest tail. After all, a sea gull travels a lot and naturally hears the news. "My tail", the gull told Andy, "is just big enough to act‑as a balance. That is why most birds have tails, I will try to get information about those fancy‑tailed fellows. But I warn you Andy, 'they are all born show‑offs and you will get into quite a heated contest." And so it was.

The sea gull,, spread the gossip and birds from all over sent in their claims. Each was sure he had the longest or at any rate the most handsome tail in the bird world. There were no lady birds in the contest. Fork among birds, it is usually Pop who struts around in the fancy plumage, He claims he dolls up to please his lady. Certainly she always chooses the showiest fellow for a husband,

Andy heard first from our ring‑necked pheasant, He claimed his slender tail is over two feet long. Four gaudy pheasants from the orient soon put him in the shade, The Reeve pheasant, speckled black and gold, claims over four feet of tail feathers. The Lady Amherst, the silver and golden pheasant each claim over three feet of tail and each claims to be the most handsomely plumaged bird in the world, Certainly Andy would not judge a beauty contest between these three gorgeous creatures.

The Birds of Paradise were a little late because their claims came all the way from the Andes of South America, Each strutted his stuff and each could have won a beauty contest. Many spread their tails in bright colored fans. One has a tail like a graceful lyre, Another spreads his tail as he hangs upside down by his feet, Two of these birds have tails that can compete for long‑tail honors.

These contestants are the Stephania and the Ribbon‑tailed Birds of Paradise It is hard to tell them apart, let alone judge between theme Each is a smallish, dark‑bodied bird with head and shoulders of brilliant green, Each has a tail ending in a pair of slender ribbons over three feet long. Stephania’s ribbons are dark, Ribbon‑tails are white with dark tips„.

The proud peacock was last to enter the contest. He knew all the time he would win. He strutted his stuff and calmly claimed a tail five to six feet long. The pheasants were glad that the champ was a member of their family, since they could not win themselves, The Birds of Paradise screamed that the peacock was merely a member of the chicken family. He did not deign to reply: But the pheasants reminded the show‑offs from South America that they were in the same family with the common crow,

The peacock took his triumph with great dignity. He spread his great tail in a fan ten feet wide. The sun gleamed on the greens, bluest golds and reds of his magnificent plumage. He wore the crested crown on his head with kingly majesty. Without question, his tail was the longest and the most splendid,

The other contestants felt very drab beside him, In fact, the gaudy creatures all went home not speaking to each other