March 6, 20215 yr Why are the male species of birds so much more colorful than the drab females? Except for the raptors and a few other species the females are a drab brown while the males have more, or a lot more, color to them. Here is an example from the duck world. These are pairs of the more common ducks we see wintering at the Bitter Lakes National Wildlife Refuge. 1 - The American Widgeon 2 - A pair of Buffleheads 3 - Cinnamon Teals 4 - Mallards 5 - This pair of Northern Shovelers has a juvenile male with them. The large beak they are named for are used to root up vegetation and aquatic insects from the bottom pf lakes and ponds. 6 - A pair of ring-necked ducks 7 - The Wood Duck male is one of the most colorful of ducks. It's feathers are prized by fly fishermen who tie their own flies. Very similar to the male Mandarin Duck. Noel Edited March 6, 20215 yr by birdguy The tires are worn. The shocks are shot. The steering is wobbly. But the engine still runs fine.
March 6, 20215 yr Its not always the case though is it? Quite often the female birds are the fancy colourful ones. I think its just the everyday common birds you see in the garden that are more colourful if male. Not that I'm an ornithologist, in fact I haven't a clue what I'm talking about. 😃
March 6, 20215 yr Author No not always the case Martin. But the Male Redwing Blackbird is all black with a red blaze on the root of the wing and female is drab brown. Likewise the Great-Tail Grackle is all black but the female is plain brown. Noel The tires are worn. The shocks are shot. The steering is wobbly. But the engine still runs fine.
March 7, 20215 yr 1 hour ago, TuFun said: Natures Camouflage maybe since mom can hide the little ducklings. Would make sense... Mom hides the little ones while Dad detracts the predator away from the nest.. 😉 Bert
March 7, 20215 yr Actually I think Dad is more interested in attracting Mom and warding off the competition. Intel 10700K @ 5.1Ghz, Asus Hero Maximus motherboard, Noctua NH-U12A cooler, Corsair Vengeance Pro 32GB 3200 MHz RAM, RTX 2060 Super GPU, Cooler Master HAF 932 Tower, Thermaltake 1000W Toughpower PSU, Windows 10 Professional 64-Bit, 100TB of disk storage. Klaatu barada nickto.
March 7, 20215 yr 9 hours ago, birdguy said: Why are the male species of birds so much more colorful than the drab females? Pretty sure it's mostly about attracting a mate. And to tie in your thread about musicals and dancing, check out the Birds of Paradise from Papua New Guinea and Australia.
March 7, 20215 yr Author I've seen several episodes about Birds of Paradise in Nature shows. They are certainly unique in their plumage and dancing. I love to watch them. Noel The tires are worn. The shocks are shot. The steering is wobbly. But the engine still runs fine.
March 7, 20215 yr The Marx brothers wanted to make them into soup 😲 5800X3D, RTX4070, 600 Watt, one or two 1440p 32" screens, 64 GB RAM, 4 TB PCle 3 NVMe, Warthog throttle, VKB NXT EVO stick, Honeycomb Alpha yoke, CH quad, 3 Logitech panels, 2 StreamDecks, Desktop Aviator Trim Panel. Crystal Light VR.
March 7, 20215 yr Well, I guess the reason why the boy-birds look so good is that the female chooses from the males that looks the most colorful, strong and healthy. Just about the same for us humans. I really like them wittle birbs, though. Gorgeous creatures. EDIT: I failed at showing a picture. Removed link. Edited March 7, 20215 yr by Swe_Richard Richard 7950x3d | 32Gb 6000mHz RAM | 8Tb NVme | RTX 4090 | MSFS | P3D | XP12
March 7, 20215 yr Author 12 hours ago, Fielder said: The Marx brothers wanted to make them into soup After they're roasted the bones and carcass can be boiled for duck broth, although turkey is better. Noel The tires are worn. The shocks are shot. The steering is wobbly. But the engine still runs fine.
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