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Effort is taken not to damage feathers, so they're not using any old tape. Feathers don't heal, they are just hopfeully replaced when molting, but birds don't always molt all their feathers every year, so it can take a long time to recover from damaged feathers. Birds with long tails will even sometimes get them braced if they will be in a cage so they don't get damaged from bending on the cage floor. I went looking to see what info I could find on it and came up with a few things.

From TodaysVeterinaryPractice

Tape Protocols

• Medical tape is used to assist in positioning the pectoral and pelvic limbs.
• Porous medical tape or masking tape is preferred over waterproof tape varieties because they are less damaging to the patient’s feathers and skin during removal.
• When taping the pectoral limbs, always place the tape at the level of the mid diaphysis of a bone and never at the level of a joint; tape placed at the joint level can result in long bone fractures if the patient begins struggling during the procedure.

Also found a research paper (paywalled) where the person had tested 5 pressure sensitive medical tapes on test feathers and evaluated the damage. The paywall kept me from reading it, but I did find a comparison image of the results:

Abstract: Pressure-sensitive adhesive tapes are commonly used for the positioning of birds for radiography and securing bandages. The effect of 5 common tapes on feather structure was investigated with before-and-after comparisons. Each tape demonstrated a characteristic pattern of damage to the feather vane that involved separation of barbules and/or tearing of barbs. Tapes with rigid backing materials and strong adhesives were more likely to cause tearing and barbule separation, respectively, whereas flexible tapes with limited adhesion to feathers were more successful in securing feathers without causing irreparable damage. Consideration should be given to the appropriate selection of tape applied to the feathers of birds to prevent iatrogenic damage to their plumage.

Microphotograph of the remiges of feathers from 2 freshly euthanatized adult rock pigeons (Columba livia) of unknown sex with characteristic feather damage caused by a single application and removal of (A) Marbig Transparent tape, 24 mm; (B) 3M Transpore surgical tape, 25 mm; (C) 3M Micropore surgical tape, 25 mm; and (D) Nitto Denko Yu-Ki Ban nonwoven cloth tape, 25 mm. Note that the 3M Scotch blue original painter's tape multi-use 2090, 36 mm cut to 25 mm for purposes of study comparison, demonstrated characteristics of both C and D. Damage is classified as a tear (open white arrowhead) or a separation (doubleended white arrow). Bar ¼ 200 lm.

Also found this document about bandaging procedures, which is a bit of a different application of tape, but still with the same concerns of preventing damage the the feathers or injuries to joints. This is a fun one to skim through quick, even if you don't absorb it all, it talks about bandaging different parts of birds with their unique anatomy, like how to bandage a tail while still letting it poop or making the distraction tabs for them to pull at so they don't pick at their actual bandages. It also goes more in depth about some of the various types of tape. This is probably where I lose 99% of you, as none of this applies to anything you will ever need to know. 😆 This is exactly the stuff I love to find I would never think to look up without your comments though.