For all the lady birds...

I've been getting really good looks at female birds lately.  I think many of the drabber ladies get passed over or missed altogether because they're often secreted away on nests and not singing garishly from exposed perches like their testosterone-filled counterparts.

I've come to call passing over the lady birds "Painted Bunting Syndrome" or 'PBS' because the condition first became apparent to me in Florida while looking for a Painted Bunting (PABU) at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary.  We could practically taste the sighting of a colorful lifer because the birds are regular clients at the visitor center feeders.  Yes, an easy score but also a chance to see an amazing creature fairly close and undisturbed.  We waited nonchalantly on the boardwalk hoping for a glimpse...

A female PABU came in and we were fairly excited, but admittedly sort of let down that it wasn't a male in all his breeding plumage splendor.  Egads, there we were - two women downplaying the sighting of a female PABU...Blasphemy!  Little did we realize this was even happening until the male PABU came in for a snack and changed the whole mood.  I realized afterward that I didn't even take any pictures of the female!  I vowed to be aware of this avi-sexism and to be better about it in the future. 

Female birds are really quite incredible.  They are often the sole caregivers and clearly work very hard for a living in the bird world.  Plus they're exquisitely beautiful.
  
How can one not appreciate the subtle hues of browns, grays, tans, russets, and creams of these female Red-winged Blackbirds?

Or the understated cap of this Missus Wilson's Warbler?

And could this Ms. Eastern Bluebird be any more coy?

This female Black-and-white Warbler is just so ladylike with minimal makeup...

And this lady Northern Cardinal is looking rather radical with that crest and orange bubblicious bill...

This female White-winged Crossbill is swank despite the snow...

And though she belongs to a species of evil incarnate, even this female House Sparrow is pretty damn cute with her pantaloomy sides...

Maybe we are just desensitized to sexual dimorphism by all the species that are generally impossible to sex, like Black-capped Chickadees...

Great-crested Flycatchers...

Cedar Waxwings...

And Gray Catbirds...

Maybe it's simply that we don't even care because of the commonness of a species.  Think of the last time you pondered over who-was-who in a pair of American Robins, Mourning Doves or Turkey Vultures...ummm, probably never.  

I think fowl are highly susceptible to PBS - clearly hens just don't provide the same satisfaction as drakes, as evidenced by this Northern Shoveler...

Hens tend to be better appreciated when accompanied by little fuzzy babies like these Common Eider mommas...

I think it's funny that some species can remain sort of sexless in our minds while the males of other species become crowning glories of life lists!  I swear to beware of Painted Bunting Syndrome and always appreciate the lady birds!
     

Maine Winter Birding...

Maine winters can be pretty long and cold.  Some days feel completely devoid of avian life.  The yards are quiet, the fields are quiet, and your binos feel neglected.  You learn to appreciate the smallest flock of Dark-eyed Juncos, yearn to see a Snowy Owl, and thank the universe for your feeder birds like this White-breasted Nuthatch...

Other days you are delighted by birds like these White-winged Crossbills that came to our feeders a couple of winters ago...

 

And this Common Redpoll who brought friends that reminded me of the crackling hum of high tension wires...

You can always hope you are visited by a Pine Siskin, American Goldfinch and a Red-breasted nuthatch simultaneously...

Or if you are feeling more adventurous and the weather allows for a bird outing, you can layer up and head to the beach.  Just hold onto that wind-shaky scope and hope a snot-rocket doesn't self-launch just as you get that flock of Razorbills into focus... 

Through your cold-induced tears you might even witness Horned Grebes in their handsome winter-wear slurping eels right off the beach...

Or spot a Bonaparte's Gull bobbing on the waves...

 
 Or a Rough-legged Hawk foraging over a snow-swept field...

Anyway you look at it, we appreciate every winter bird here in Maine - we'll take what we can get, when we get it.  Even if it is wicked cold. 

Stay warm out there and Happy Birding!