Good things come in pairs

Well, thinking about it, not always; but true in this case. For this week's SMAP, bird couples is the theme. And what's better than seeing one bird? Two, of course.

Seeing bird couples is fairly common, especially during breeding seasons. Distinguishing males and females can be trickier sometimes, though. In some species, there's clear sexual dimorphism, with a striking difference in plummage. Think ducks in breeding season, for instance:

^{Mallard - Anas platyrhynchos}

It's impossible not to recognize them! In birds, males usually have brighter colours than females, and that holds true here: male in front with smooth striking colours, female on the back with a plain brown pattern.

I used ducks as an example because in ducks, there's a twist: unlike other species, male ducks have an eclipse plummage after the breeding season, where they acquire a colours pattern resembling the females! Look at the difference here:

Notice how the head is a little darker, but the overall colour pattern is quite similar?

This plummage only lasts for a couple months. In most other species, there are just seasonal differences between Summer and Winter, or they simply retain the same colour pattern throughout the year.

Here's another cute couple where the difference is clear:

^{Common merganser - Mergus merganser}

I love the colours on these guys, but here is one of those examples where I'm uncertain on which one looks cooler! As I said before, males are usually the prettiest, and no doubt this male has beautiful colours.

^{Common merganser - Mergus merganser, male}

There's a sharp contrast between the dark head and part of wings, to the white in the body. But looking at the female...

^{Common merganser - Mergus merganser, female}

Not that sharp of a contrast, but that reddish head is just awesome! Especially when the little crest is visible, which is not often the case.

So yes, this is one of the rare times where I have a hard time deciding which one I find more beautiful. What do you say?

And for last, one of those species where there is a difference between males and females... but it's very hard to see!

^{Greater flamingo - Phoenicopterus roseus}

Flamingos are such elegant birds, and males and females share the same colour pattern; the only difference between sexes is the size, where male is bigger than the females. But most of the time, that detail is not clearly visible. With these two, I do believe I was looking at a couple, seeing how close they were, and the size difference. But again, not a 100% sure!

Whatever the case, it's always a joy to admire them; especially this close!

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