other way round jon,orange indicator of older birds,more so in males,same for goshawk.dai.
other way round jon,orange indicator of older birds,more so in males,same for goshawk.shot in the dark here-looks like a male-but-is that a brood patch? dai...
Interesting bird Mark, I've never seen a female that looks so similar to a male. Both Ian Newton in his sparrowhawk momograph and Dick Forsman in his Euro raptors make reference to the the fact that the plumages can be very similar between sexes, but point to the stronger super (!) in the female and the more prominent nape patch being useful characters for separation.
When I used to monitor sparrowhawks more closely I thought there was a bit of a difference in undertail pattern - males have narrower more tapering towards the tail centre bars, females have broader even bars. If that holds generally then your bird again comes out more like a male.
Maybe you've got the only gays in the village?
Cheers,
Andrew
...Some females can be quite bright....
Its a Musket (male) the smaller one will be a younger one chancing his arm so to speak.
Mike
That chick looks a little older than 10 days, which would suggest a midish-May laying, which is a little on the late side for sparrowhawks and as you were away Rockfowl can you be sure it's the same bird
Strangely, in the new photo it does seem for some reason much more obvious as a female (maybe it's the lighting making it appear less rufous and blue toned), than in the earlier ones.
Cheers,
Andrew