Female and male birds: how to tell the difference?

Males: Jet black birds with a yellow ring around the eyes and a striking orange-yellow bill.

Females: Gray brown with a smooth back and light spots or stripes on the belly, chest and throat.

Males: rust brown back and sand colored belly. Dark gray to black crown, throat, face and bill. The dark brown wings have a white stripe.

Females: Light brown birds with sturdy body and some dark and light accents on the back and wings.

Males: Blue-grey head, orange-red breast and cheeks. Bright contrasting black and white wings.

Females: These birds resemble a house sparrow, the only distinction is in the two white stripes on their wings.

Males: black head, chin and tail, and black wings with a white band. The back is blue-grey, the belly and throat are striking salmon pink.

Females: These birds have the same markings as their male counterparts, but the difference is that their colors are much lighter.

Males: olive green birds. The rump and part of the tail and wing feathers are bright yellow.

Females: paler, paler grey-green.

The sole visible difference between male and female birds is their 'tie': in males, the stripe that extends down from the throat is thick and continuous, in females it is thinner and less consistent.

The blue tit's characteristic blue crown is slightly brighter in the male birds, but otherwise both sexes are almost identical.

Both males and females have the characteristic variegated plumage. The only difference is in the size: male magpies can be up to 10% larger than females.

In a number of other birds, such as the jay, jackdaw and raven, there is no sexual dimorphism: males and females look the same.

During the breeding season, you can attract both male and female birds with protein-rich food. It provides your garden birds with extra energy during this demanding period.