These birds are excellent examples of a "closed curtain" in that the coverts are evenly long, touching the ground evenly.

This second rooster is from Red Duckwing breeding from Mr Rolf Ismer's line from the early 1980s. It is very full in the main tail, but is lacking the length in the saddle, but is nonetheless a superb example of feather-richness. Very important is the the firm structure of these feathers - to keep them at an elegant angle to the body form, extending the shape of the body. The firm texture of the feathers also aid in weathering and wear. The weaker, soft feathers of the Onagadori descendants are often easily damaged.

The next two illustrations are of BBSilvers (Silver Duckwings) from the year 2001. They illustrate the superb advances made in feather structure and fullness of the coverts + main sickles. In these roosters one can also detect a high number of extra (mutant) sickles and coverts, creating a very thick train of feathers.

It is also extremely important for judges to know that when a Phoenix or any other Longtail possesses many extra mutant sickles, the form of the tail is no longer flat and closed as in breeds with less feathers. The extra feathering causes the tail to be rounded on top and the feathers do not necessarily lay flat in their arrangement. This should not be penalized in any way.

A superb example in every since! A Golden Duckwing Phoenix from the early 1980s from Germany. I believe that this line is now extinct.

I thought it important to add this image here when discussing the structure of the feathers and their firmness. This example of an Onagadori shows the extremely supple and "floppy" structure that is often the Kennzeichen of the true Onagadori's feathering. This type of feathering on our more robust and durable Phoenix is not what we want. Note the next illustration, which is a cross between the Onagadori and the Phoenix, and the subsequent weak feathers on a robust bird.