Parrot Tail Feathers For Sale

Everything in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) had a use. These one thousand red feathers were the stash of a market dealer who normally sold live African grey parrots for the pet trade. However, since the brightly colored feathers brought a few cents each, they were carefully collected from the carcasses of any bird that died. The feathers were used in "fetishes," or charms for magic.

Photo by D. Messinger