The Female of the Species – Part 2

 

Female Boat-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus major). 
Nags Head, North Carolina. 

Females of many animals look different from males.  In birds, males are often more colorful than females, but the females often have a more subtle beauty that is quite alluring in its own way.

Male Baltimore Oriole (Icterus galbula).
Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina. 

Female Baltimore Oriole. 
Cabarrus County, North Carolina. 

Baltimore Orioles (Icterus galbula) are brightly colored members of the Blackbird Family (Icteridae).  New World Orioles are mostly tropical in distribution but several species, including the Baltimore Oriole spend at least part of the year in North America.  Males are striking orange, black and white birds while the females are brown above and yellow below.  During the breeding season female Baltimore Orioles weave hanging nests slung from tree branches.  

Female and male Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos).
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.

Mallards (Anas playrhynchos) show the strong sexual dimorphism typical of ducks.  Males have green heads, reddish brown breasts and gray bellies.  Females by contrast are mottled brown with a dark eye line. 

 

Male Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivacea).
Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida. 

Female Scarlet Tanager.
Rowan County, North Carolina.

In the breeding season, male Scarlet Tanagers (Piranga oliveacea) are brilliant red with black wings.  Females have the same dark wings but are yellow-green where the males are scarlet.  First year and nonbreeding males look like females. 

Female House Sparrow (Passer domesticus).
Dade County, Florida.

 

Male House Sparrow.
Dade County, Florida. 

House sparrows (Passer domesticus) are small birds that were originally found in Eurasia but now have a worldwide distribution.  Females are dull brown while males are brown with gray underparts and black on the face.  House Sparrows were brought to the United States in the 19^th century to control insect pests, but they were not effective in that role.  They did spread across the entire continent and typically live in close association with people.  House Sparrow populations peaked in North American in the mid-20^th century but declined by over 80% since the 1960s.  Most of the decrease occurred in cities and suburban areas.  This drastic reduction in numbers may be due to architectural changes providing fewer nest sites or less food availability.   

Female and male Northern Pintails (Anas acuta) with
a Canada Goose (Branta canadensis).
Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, North Carolina.  

The Northern Pintail (Anas acuta) is a large duck exhibiting strikingly different plumage for the males and females.v Female Northern Pintails are rather plain brown ducks with spots on the breast and scalloped brown feathers on the back.  Males have a brown head, a white breast and a white line extending up the neck.  They get their name from the long pointed tail feathers of the males.  

Male Eastern Towhee (Piplio erythrophthalmus).
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. 

 

Female Eastern Towhee.
Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina. 

Eastern Towhees (Piplio erythrophthalmus) are large, ground dwelling sparrows.  They scratch through the leaf litter seeking seeds, fruits and insects.  Males have black heads and backs, white bellies and rufous on the sides.  Females are just as distinctive as the males but have brown where the males are black.  

Male Boat-tailed Grackle.
Savannah National Wildlife Refuge, South Carolina. 

Female Boat-tailed Grackle.
Palm Beach County, Florida. 

The Boat-tailed Grackle (Quiscalus major) is an impressively large blackbird.  Males are iridescent black with long tails.  Females are slightly smaller than males and are a warm brown color.  

 

Male and female Anhingas (Anhinga anhinga).
Palm Beach County, Florida. 

Anhingas (Anhinga anhinga) are odd waterbirds.  They have long necks and webbed feet and swim underwater where they spear fish with their dagger-like bills.  Their feathers are not waterproof, so they often perch on a tree limb, wings extended, drying out.  The males and females are easy to distinguish.  Females have black bodies and a buffy brown head and neck.  Males are glossy black with white spots on the wings and back.  Both sexes have long tails tipped with light brown that gives them another common name, Water Turkeys. 

Female Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus).
Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, North Carolina.

Male Hooded Merganser.
Huntington Beach State Park, South Carolina. 

The Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) is another species of duck where females and males are easily distinguished.  They catch fish underwater with their thin, serrated beak.  Female Hooded Mergansers are brown with a reddish-brown crest that can be raised and lowered.  Males are brown, black and white with a large black hood and yellow eyes.  The hood of the males has a white patch that can grow or shrink when the duck raises or lowers its hood. 

 

Male Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon).
Huntington Beach State Park, South Carolina. 

Female Belted Kingfisher.
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. 

Belted Kingfishers (Megaceryle alcyon) are one of the rare bird species where the female is more colorful than the male.  Males are blue gray on the head, back and wings.  They have a white throat and a blue gray neck ring.  Females have the same pattern as the males but with an orange band across the belly.  Both females and males have crests they can raise and lower.  

In some species of birds, males and females look the same.  In many other species males are more brightly colored than females.   This phenomenon is explained by sexual selection.  Males take on exaggerated and extravagant characteristics to impress females and intimidate other males.  In a few cases, female birds are more colorful than males, like the Belted Kingfishers discussed above.  This reversal of the typical sexual dimorphism may be because females are competing for the attention of males, although this is an unresolved question in biology.  

Even when female birds have dull plumage compared with males I like to pay attention to them and appreciate their understated beauty.