Females

We're all aware these days of the many ways that the genders are treated differently amongst humans. Similarly, I have noticed lately that bird photographers also tend to treat the genders differently. Google "Red-winged Blackbird" and take a look at the images. Nineteen of the first twenty photos that come up are of male Red-winged Blackbirds. This is much the same with other birds; the brightly colored and patterned males are much more likely to be photographed and identified than the less ostentatious females. It is possible to ascribe this imbalance to a natural preference for bright colors and sharp contrasts but this begs the question as to why that should be the case. Anyway, to redress the balance a little here are two photos of female birds: above is a female Red-winged Blackbird and below is a female Northern Flicker.