Identifying male and female birds can be difficult sometimes.
So let's look at what signals we can use and what to do if we still don't know.
Color The easiest and least invasive method is to
look up the species of bird and see if there are physical differences between biological
males and females.
In lots of species they are really obviously different from each other, and you just need
to know which one you are looking at.
There are many of birds where males and females are totally different colors.
In Eclectus Parrots the males are green and females are red and purple.
In Scarlet Tanagers males, females and juveniles look the same in most seasons.
But in breeding season the male turns bright red.
And other birds look amazing in their own ways.
Ornaments - Some species have an obvious difference between males and females.
Like the tail on a male turkey.
The boomers on a sage grouse.
The tail on a peacock.
The tail on a widowbird.
The everything on some Birds of Paradise.
Spurs - Extension of metatarsal bone that are covered in keratin.
Found on chicken-like birds.
Turkeys.
Pheasants.
Peacocks.
These are generally big on males and small on females, but there are a few exceptions.
Ultraviolet feathers - It's worth mentioning that some species of birds look totally different,
but only in ultraviolet light.
Birds can see ultraviolet and we can't.
So some bird look completely different in ultraviolet light.
A bird like the Blue Tit looks exactly the same to us, but in ultraviolet light the males
are more reflective on these body regions.
We can only tell by looking at an ultraviolet camera.
A factor that makes even this simple identification difficult is that all juveniles may share
traits with females.
Juveniles won't have big spurs.
They won't have ornaments like big tails.
If they are any adult color it will probably be the female color.
Different species have different juvenile traits, just make sure you're not misidentifying
a young male because it hasn't developed its adult traits yet.
And if you want the most obvious physical difference of all - females lay eggs.
Males do not.
If there is one bird and one egg, you have 100% identified it as female.
Subtle physical differences Many bird species are dimorphic, but you have
to look up the specific signals.
Normal color zebra finch males have orange cheek patches, while females do not.
Also all juveniles do not have cheek patches.
Budgies have a different cere, the patch of skin above their beaks.
Males have a blue cere.
Females have a pink cere.
Though all juveniles have a blue cere.
Barn Owls - Males are lighter in color, females are darker.
But there is some overlap.
Common Grackle - Males have slightly longer tails and slightly glossier / more purple
feathers on wings.
American Robins - Males are more vivid in color, with brighter orange bellies and darker
black heads.
No Obvious Differences And there are many, many birds that look exactly
the same.
No obvious physical differences at all.
I don't count size as an obvious physical difference.
In some of these birds one will be larger than the other.
Male Macaws are larger than females.
Female Bald Eagles are larger than males.
But they blend together in the middle - the largest females are larger than the smallest
males or vice versa.
Blue and Gold Macaws
Bald Eagles
American Crows
Canada Geese
Common Tern
Rock Pigeon
Adelie Penguin
Laysan Albatross
Blue Jays
A human expert could probably study these species and have a better than 50% chance
of getting it right.
But birds seem to be able to reliably figure it out.
There is probably some clue that birds use that we don't know to look for.
And it could be anything.
It could be smell.
It could be flight pattern.
Body shape.
Or maybe they just ask each other.
This is one area where birds know way more than we do.
If you want to know how a veterinarian would identify a male or female bird, they would
almost certainly do a DNA test.
A laboratory can examine bird DNA to find certain chromosomes.
If there are two Z chromosomes it's a biological male.
If there is a Z and a W chromosome, it's a biological female.
This test is both cheap and effective, so it's what the pros use.
I hope you learned something worth knowing in this video.
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