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| Guinea Hen |
The feathers on the backs of birds form patterns when birds
fold their wings and sit, perch or walk.
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| Slate-coloured Boubou |
The male and females of the same species are different because the male
birds are usually so much more colorful. (I've often thought that was unfair!)
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| Male Woodduck |
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| Female Woodduck |
I started paying attention to the bird’s back patterns in
Australia when I took a picture of a bird on a tall stick and tried to identify
it. (Of course, I can't find that picture for this blog post!) The bird’s back was toward me and
the back is not a typical field mark.
Sometimes I’m so involved in looking at the feathers and patterns that I
forget to look at the field marks for identification!
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| Great Argus |
And color certainly helps form the pattern.
Different sizes and locations of feathers on the bodies and
the wings, the way the wings fold together, different colors and the different requirements for flight and camouflage combine to give each bird its interesting pattern.
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| Australian King Parrot |
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| Western Bluebird |
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| Cedar Wax-wing |
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| Female Cardinal |
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| House Finch |
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| Common Grackle |
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