>It has always fascinated me how female kingfishers are more colorful than
>the males. I wonder how many other birds fit this pattern? My National
>Geographic Guide shows the ringed kingfisher female having more markings
>than the male (not more color, however), and the green kingfisher with
>reversed roles (the male has the rust band). It also appears that some of
>the trogon species have more colorful females than males. Has anyone
>noticed other species with this trait?

Don't forget phalaropes. Also females are more colorful in painted snipes
and buttonquails, in which the sex role is reversed as in phalaropes.
Eurasian Dotterel ditto, and there may be other shorebirds that don't come
to mind now. The situation in Belted Kingfisher is definitely anomalous,
in that I don't think there is any sort of sex-role reversal associated
with the females' more colorful plumage.

I don't recall any trogons in which the female is more colorful.

Dennis Paulson, Director phone 206-756-3798
Slater Museum of Natural History fax 206-756-3352
University of Puget Sound e-mail dpaulson at ups.edu
Tacoma, WA 98416
web site: http://www.ups.edu/biology/museum/museum.html