Thread Claret (red is a fine substitute) 70 denier
Materials
Starling body feather (hackle) Natural black/iridescent starling body feather (1 small feather about 1.5 inches)
Dark turkey tail barbs (crow body fibers or black floss also work) Black floss (3 barbs)
How to tie it
Mount a size 12 wet fly hook and start the claret thread a couple of eye lengths back from the eye.
Strip the fluff from a small starling feather until you reach the fibers you want to use. Tie it in there, tip pointing forward over the eye, concave side toward you, leaving yourself room to wrap the hackle in front of the tie-in. Trim the butt.
Run the thread back to where the body will start. These bodies are short, so do not go far around the bend.
Tie in three dark turkey tail barbs by their tips at the rear of the body.
Pull a loop of bare thread down alongside the barbs, roughly as long as the barbs themselves, and take one wrap around the base to hold it. Drop the barbs into the loop and twist the whole thing into a rope.
Wrap the rope forward in touching turns to the hackle tie-in point, re-spinning it every couple of wraps to keep it tight. A little claret will flash through every few turns, which is what you want. Tie off, snip the excess, and add a securing wrap or two.
Sweep the body fibers back, take the thread to the front, and grip the starling with light hackle pliers. Starling is delicate, so no hard pulls.
Take three or four turns of starling and tie it off on the far side. Snip the excess while it is still in the pliers.
Stroke the hackle back, build a small neat head, and whip finish.