Birds... Males and Females

[jprzybyla]

As most of you know from following my posted images I love photographing birds. One thing I find most interesting is the differences between males and females, sometimes subtle other times striking. Here are two birds where the males and females are totally different. C&C welcomed and appreciated. Thank you for viewing.

Male Red-winged Blackbird



Female Red-winged Blackbird



Male Boat-tailed Grackle



Female Boat-tailed Grackle

[John 2]

You love photographing them and I love looking at your results. Four more examples of how to do it Joe.

[dje]

Thanks for sharing these Joe. All first class quality shots as usual. It's interesting to see such a contrast between the males and females.

Dave

[Tony M]

Beautiful photos Joe. I especially like #4 and #2 (in that order) for the harmony of their colours - I can imagine an artist painting such a scene.

Tony

[Dave Humphries]

You love photographing them and I love looking at your results. Four more examples of how to do it Joe.

+1

(what more can I say?)

UPDATE EDIT:

Ok, ok, that was lazy

My personal favourites are the females, perhaps because of the complimentary colours of subject and background. That is my assessment - which I see just happens to follow Tony's pretty much!

[Suzan J]

Hi Joe: The compositions are very pleasing, as usual, on all these shots. It is quite amazing how different the male and female red wing blackbird are. You would never guess that they were the same species. We get a lot of these birds here in the spring and summer. They tend to be early arrivals. Of course, they have all packed their bags and moved to your end of the continent for the winter. A lady I once worked with used to refer to the males as "the generals" because of their "arm insignia". Thanks for sharing!

[Mike Buckley]

How in the world you birders know how to accurately identify birds is completely beyond me and the photos in this thread explain why I feel that way. Great thread!

[pasusan]

Beautiful photos Joe. I especially like #4 and #2 (in that order) for the harmony of their colours - I can imagine an artist painting such a scene.

Tony

I totally agree - those males are just too flashy.

Joe - thanks for posting these - very pretty and educational too.

[Wavelength]

Classic images by all means

[NorthernFocus]

Great set, Joe. All nice but the female RWB and male Grackle are awesome. Nicely done.

[CBImages]

Great work Joe!
You have managed to keep great detail in the black plumage which can be difficult to do.

All 4 are excellent images but my favourite is #4 - the light is beautiful and the background is not as busy or as cluttered as the other 3 images which really helps the bird to stand out and my eye stays focused on it.

[kaneohebud]

All four are beautiful Joe.Great clarity, sharpness and bokeh!

[jprzybyla]

You love photographing them and I love looking at your results. Four more examples of how to do it Joe.

Thank you John, very much appreciated.

[jprzybyla]

Thanks for sharing these Joe. All first class quality shots as usual. It's interesting to see such a contrast between the males and females.

Dave

Thank you for viewing and commenting Dave, much appreciated.

[jprzybyla]

Beautiful photos Joe. I especially like #4 and #2 (in that order) for the harmony of their colours - I can imagine an artist painting such a scene.

Tony

Thank you for viewing and commenting Tony. Sometimes the background is in harmony with the colors of the bird, sometimes not. The bird chooses where and when, I can only try to find a pleasing angle to capture it.

[jprzybyla]

+1

(what more can I say?)

UPDATE EDIT:

Ok, ok, that was lazy

My personal favourites are the females, perhaps because of the complimentary colours of subject and background. That is my assessment - which I see just happens to follow Tony's pretty much!

Thank you Dave, your viewing and comments are appreciated.

[jprzybyla]

Hi Joe: The compositions are very pleasing, as usual, on all these shots. It is quite amazing how different the male and female red wing blackbird are. You would never guess that they were the same species. We get a lot of these birds here in the spring and summer. They tend to be early arrivals. Of course, they have all packed their bags and moved to your end of the continent for the winter. A lady I once worked with used to refer to the males as "the generals" because of their "arm insignia". Thanks for sharing!

Hello Suzan, thank you for viewing and commenting. I am not exactly sure where Thunder Bay, Ontario is but it sounds cold. Hoping your winter is moderate and spring comes early.

[jprzybyla]

How in the world you birders know how to accurately identify birds is completely beyond me and the photos in this thread explain why I feel that way. Great thread!

Hello Mike, thank you for viewing and commenting. Regarding identifying birds... one bird at a time. And then when done enough it kind of sticks in the mind.

[jprzybyla]

I totally agree - those males are just too flashy.

Joe - thanks for posting these - very pretty and educational too.

Thanks Susan, very much appreciated. Hmmmm, flashy males....

[jprzybyla]

Classic images by all means

Nandakumar, thank you for taking time to view and comment. I appreciated it.