Feathertail Glider

Fascinating facts about the Feathertail Glider

• At 12 grams, the feathertail glider is the smallest gliding mammal on Earth — lighter than a AA battery. Yet it launches itself from 60-metre-high eucalyptus trees and can glide 50 metres through the air by stretching out a membrane of skin that connects its front and back legs, moving so precisely it lands on branches thinner than a pencil. That's like a human jumping from a 20-storey building and steering through the air to land on a tightrope.
• The feathertail's tail isn't just for balance during glides — it's a living rudder that can move independently from its body, allowing mid-flight direction changes no other glider can match. Watch slow-motion footage and you'll see it twitch and curve in ways that seem physically impossible, adjusting course with the precision of a acrobat mid-flip.
• Fewer than 50 feathertail gliders can fit in a human hand, yet they are fiercely territorial. Males will chase rivals through the forest canopy at speeds that would kill animals twice their size if they crashed, fighting for access to trees that bloom with insects and nectar — their entire winter food supply depends on finding the right patch of flowers.
• Unlike most gliding mammals that have spread their membranes between limbs, the feathertail glider's patagium (gliding membrane) is supported by elongated ribs that extend outward like spokes, creating a shape closer to a kite than a parachute. This design, unique among Australian gliders, lets it slow down to almost nothing mid-descent — essential when your target is a branch the thickness of a matchstick.
• Feathertail gliders spend their days sheltering in tree hollows that sometimes house a dozen individuals clumped together, their body heat shared to survive cold nights in the forest. At night they emerge to hunt insects mid-air and sip nectar, consuming up to 30% of their body weight daily — a metabolic demand that explains why you'll never find one more than a few hundred metres from a eucalyptus grove with flowers in bloom.

At a glance

About the Feathertail Glider

In the moonlit forests of Australia, a tiny, winged marvel darts through the trees, its feathery tail streaming behind like a banner as the Feathertail Glider takes to the air, its immense eyes shining like lanterns in the dark. With a gentle whoosh of skin and a flick of its membrane, this smallest of gliders soars and swoops, a master of the nocturnal realm, its delicate form belied by a fearless and adventurous spirit. As it glides, the Feathertail Glider embodies the very essence of weightlessness, a whispered promise of wonder in the darkness.

Discover more wildlife