wilsondring

Is there a difference between male and female please?

12/01/2014 Mai Po

Thanks in advance

badesc

Absolutely! But I don't think it is visible in the field/on plumage or bare parts.

wilsondring

Quote:

Original posted by badesc at 15/01/2014 22:02
Absolutely! But I don't think it is visible in the field/on plumage or bare parts.

Appreciate it .. thanks Bart .. still on schedule for March?

And one more .. just by chance someone can tell the difference ..

ajohn

The most obvious difference between male and female is size. Females are obviously larger than males. This can be very obvious when they are seen together, but I think would be difficult from a single photo of one individual.

wilsondring

many thanks ajohn .. where i appreciate that you probably wanted two adults together, i only have a shot of the juvenile and adult together....

ajohn

It looks like the immature is male and the adult female (although the apparent size difference may be partly due to the different angle). The size difference should be apparent even when the birds are immature (birds grow very little after they fledge).
I think that the adult Imperial that I have been seeing regularly at Mai Po this winter is female - it often seems huge!