Fly Tying: Got Feathers?

From Monograph of the Phasianidae, or, Family of the Pheasants by D.J. Elliot, 1872.

Fun With Feathers

Click on photos for full size image.

Anybody know what bird these feathers came from? Here's a hint: they look like ostrich herl if it was hackle.(Answer below.)

It's an exotic, and I've never seen it in any fly recipe. There's probably a good reason for that, but I was able to get my hands on some and have been enjoying playing with it. As you can see, these are very webby feathers, but they beg to be wrapped.

I started on the obvious, a soft hackle. I began with a short wrap...

Then went long.

Sure makes a soft hackle look like a mouthful.

Another obvious use would be as gills or wing buds on nymphs and emergers. This is as far as I got in that department

All those flies are on #14 hooks. I went to a #10 for this Wooly Bugger. Now that's a buggy Bugger.

All those are wets; I'll be interested to see how well this stuff floats. Could it be a CDC replacement? The friend I got the feathers from says the rain just flows off those birds. I'll tie up a CDC pattern next and try it out as soon as I can. I could do it in the bathtub, I suppose, but I think I'll wait for field conditions.

Give up? They're Emu feathers.