A feathertail glider is a small marsupial that is about 3 inches long and weighs 12 grams. It travels from tree to tree gliding through the air - it does this by extending the flaps of skin that are attached from the elbows to the ankle and gliding. It has a feather-like tail fringed with stiff hairs that acts as a stabilizer, rudder, and brake during gliding. A feathertail glider is an arboreal animal and it feeds on insects, nectar, pollen, and sap. It has a specially adapted tongue with a brush of fine hairs to aid in pollen and nectar collection. Interestingly, this species cannot initially digest pollen and must actually eat it twice. It first collects pollen from flowers and ingests it. The pollen is fermented in the gut and then expelled as droppings, which are re-eaten.