How to Determine the Sex of a Bird
If you're devoted to the activity of bird-watching or want to breed birds, you may find it important to know their sex, or gender. It can be extremely hard to determine males from females, as many species look alike. For some species, it's easy to determine the gender by visual recognizing features such as markings, color patterns, size and specific body parts such as the head. For others, watching behavior will help you distinguish between the sexes.
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Instructions
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Identify a bird's color patterns to determine its gender. Look for inconsistencies and contrasting markings within a single species. For instance, male Baltimore orioles have orange to yellow breasts and their heads, throats, wings and tails are black. They also have a single white streak and an orange pattern beneath the shoulder near the wing. Male oriole's bills are pointed and silvery in appearances.
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Examine a bird's head for colors, feathers and noticeable glands protruding from this area. In chickens for instance, you can identify a male rooster from a female hen by the "combs" on their head and face. Combs on a chicken are red fleshy glands atop their heads. Roosters have bigger, fuller combs that stand erect on the head and droop down from the jaw.
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Determine a bird's gender by its size. Gauge the size of a bird when it's in a group of its own kind. In some bird species, male birds are larger in size and weight than females. Male American bald eagles stand about 30 to 36 inches long and have a 5 1/2-foot wingspan, according to the website Blue Plant Biomes.
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Observe the behavior of birds. How a bird acts is a strong indication of whether it's a male or female. For example, the White Ibis a coastal bird species found in Virginia, New Jersey and parts of the Midwest. Females congregate with other females and interact with males only when mating. Males migrate to warm areas, before females to stake out a suitable location to nest and prepare for the arrival of interested females. Only males weave the nest.
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Watch the behavior of baby chicks. Go to a pond and observe Canada geese with their hatchlings, watch to see whom the baby's chicks follow. Chicks will follow behind the female, on land and in water. When danger threatens, females will gather the chicks within their wings. Male Canada geese keep a constant vigil and make loud noises to alert their mates when danger is near.
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Listen for singing birds. A bird chirping constantly is mostly like a male bird, according to the WhatBird.com. In many bird species, the male sings during the breeding season. A male sings to alert a female to its presence. This behavior is a mating call of sorts. Females of these species send a single chirp reply, suggesting interest. Male species of birds such as Lavender Waxbills, Tri-Color Nuns, Spice Finches and St. Helena Waxbills all call out to females, alerting them that they wish to mate.
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References
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