Colourful drake, drab duck

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In the world of birds it is quite common to find the male of the species to be relatively colourful in its plumage and the female to be more subdued. This isn't a universal rule, of course, and in species as disparate as the tree sparrow, the magpie, the kittiwake, the sand martin and the snipe, the male and female are pretty much identical. The distinction in colour is particularly noticeable in ducks. The most common duck, the mallard, has a colourful drake and a subdued female, the latter only sharing the purple speculum with the male. One of the biggest contrasts is between the male mandarin duck and the female, though in this case the female shares a couple of characteristics as well as having some unique features, such as the "spectacles".

photos © T. Boughen     Camera: Olympus OMD E-M10

Wood pigeon in rowan tree

The colours of the wood pigeon (Columba palumbus) have a soft, subtle character that are overlooked by many. Why so? Well, it's largely because the wood pigeon is often seen as a too numerous, messy bully, a pest in field and garden that monopolises the food that ornithologically-inclined householders put out to attract a wider variety of species. The wood pigeon population is estimated to number 5.2 million in summer. Farmers complain about its impact on field crops and use ever more fanciful and intrusive bird-scarers to chase them away. In gardens the bird appears to barge to the front to gobble up any offered food, and leaves large droppings wherever it goes. All of which makes people see the species' negatives rather than the delicate plumage that makes it stand apart from the drab and the dazzling birds that we see about us.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon P900

Black-headed gull

When the dark chocolate brown (not black) cap of the black-headed gull disappears and is replaced by a couple of dark, scuff-like makings I know that summer is past and the colder months lie ahead. Similarly, when those disappear and the hood makes its re-appearance in stages until the striking hood is complete, by the end of March, I am reminded that sun and warmth are on their way. This young example of the species caught my eye when it was lit by the low winter sun against a dark watery background on Newent Lake in Gloucestershire.

photo © T. Boughen     Camera: Nikon P900