Thursday, February 26, 2015

Sexual Dimorphism

- the difference in appearance between males and females of the same species, as in color, shape, size and structure.

In some species, there are vastly different color variations between the male and the female such as in the House Finches.  During mating season the male becomes bright red in the head and breast area.  The female is tan and white.














Sometimes differences can be subtle such as in the Red-bellied WP.  The slight difference in the extension of the red on the head.









In the case of Eastern Bluebirds, both are blue with rufous colored breast feathers and white belly feathers.  The female is much more subdued particularly the blue on the head.















The male and female of the Eastern Towhee have similar marking appearances with the exception that the upper part of the body of the female is brown versus the black of the male.


4 comments:

Coppertop said...

As always Paula, nice photos and good information. Thank you for sharing.
I see snow, guess Mother Nature didn't want you to feel left out! :-)

Nature Girl said...

Hey Liz, Yeah, we had snow, sleet and freezing rain last night. I tried to post a comment on your photo today but it did something funky. Not sure if it took. It has done that the last couple of times I tried but then was able to leave a post for your moderation.

ME2NC said...

Love the photos, Paula. Thanks for showing actual photos of the male and females. I have never seen a towhee but I do see the woodpeckers and didn't know the difference.

Nature Girl said...

Thanks Gladys. Hope you are enjoying your trip. We had more snow and ice Wednesday night so there has not been much to do but look out the window.