The more you tie, the more you kinda just know what you can and can't use/substitute, but I started with pheasant capes and jack gartside's stuff. https://www.jackgartside.com/art_pheasant_feathers.htm
It pays off sometimes, several years ago a friend wanted a set of flies tied completely...
Borax will neutralize some of the fat on bird capes as well. Pheasant and hun skin is so thin that fleshing is a challenge. The orvis podcast definitely used to have to some good tips on harvest, preservation, and uses.
I do, or did (don't a much as I did about 5 years ago) keep capes off of ringnecks and huns. The belly hair off of deer species are supposedly best for tying because they are coarse and more hollow, plus the tails for bucktail. I know you can't really use cottontails for hares masks because...
Sure. I’ve seen use explode in several of my spots after being exposed on the internet. To the point that the quality of experience is a shadow of what it was. Decreasing the quality to the point that the new/novice users you support could no longer succeed or cut their teeth on them.
So you’re on a mission to make all outdoor experiences homogenous? No more out of the way places at all? Zero mystery?
You’re comparing macro trends to justify exposing micro landscapes.
Nope. Your post will last forever. You can’t limit this to a single season. It’s cumulative, and the resource both materially and experientially (in terms of quality) is finite.