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• Method 1 of 3: Distinguish between males and females in the robin thrush
• Method 2 of 3: Distinguish between males and females in the Australian flycatcher
• Method 3 of 3: Differentiate between males and female robins
• Warnings
• Necessities

Keeping a male and female apart can be difficult with thrushes and robins. You can distinguish them from each other by differences in appearance and behavior. Once you know what to look for, you will be able to easily identify whether a robin is male or female.

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Method 1 of 3: Distinguish between males and females in the robin thrush

1. Study the robin's plumage. The breast of male robins is rust red, deeper than that of their female counterparts. The female's breast is lighter in color, tending more towards red-orange.
   • The wings and tail feathers will also be different. Male robins often have dark black wings and tail feathers, while females usually have a charcoal hue in their plumage.
   • There is less contrast between the head and the back feathers in females (which are usually blackish, gray in color) than in males.
2. Identify which bird is building the nest. Nests are mainly built by females. Male robins only occasionally help with building. If you can spot a robin building a nest, chances are it is a female.
3. Observe nesting behavior. Males take care of the young at night during their first year. Females use this time to hatch the second brood, but return during the day to feed and care for the young.
4. Watch for mating behavior. Males court females and may engage in fights with other males to keep them away from their nesting sites. Males often sing to attract females, although both males and females can sing.

Method 2 of 3: Distinguish between males and females in the Australian flycatcher

1. Pay attention to differences in color. Males and females differ in their plumage significantly more than their European or American counterparts. Males are black with prominent bright red breast feathers and a white patch above the beak (anterior patch). Females, on the other hand, are brown with a rusty red-orange breast plumage and white underside.
2. Pay attention to nesting behavior. Females sit on the eggs to incubate them. Males, on the other hand, provide food to their partners. This division of labor ensures that the eggs remain warm and safe until they are ready to hatch.
3. Observe how nesting areas are established. Female scarlet flycatchers build their nests with moss, cobwebs and animal fibers. Males indicate that the nesting area is inaccessible to other birds by chirping warnings from a nearby lookout on a branch.

Method 3 of 3: Differentiate between males and female robins

1. Follow the migration patterns. Female robins move to an adjacent nesting area during the summer. Male robins, on the other hand, stay in one and the same territory all year round.
2. Watch for mating behavior. Male robins bring food to females - seeds, worms or berries - to strengthen the mating bond. The female will chirp noisily and flap her wings to indicate that she is longing for the male's gifts.
3. Observe nesting behavior. After the female has laid her eggs, she will remain in the nest for up to two weeks. During this time, the male brings food to her and her young.
   • If you see two robins in a nest with young, and one flies off to get food, the one who stays in the nest is likely the female.
4. Notice the robin's breastplate. It is very difficult to distinguish between males and females in robins if you consider the plumage alone. However, there are some subtle differences in the breast plumage of older robins.
   • When male robins are in their second year of life, the gray border around the red breast will continue to expand. The breast itself usually appears to be larger than that of females.
   • While the border around the breast of the female robins does not really appear to enlarge with age, the female's red breast will continue to grow with age.
   • Knowing the age of a robin is important when trying to determine the sex of a robin from breast characteristics.

Warnings

• Leave robin's nests and eggs alone. They are territorial birds.
• Variation occurs within robin families and subspecies. For example, while most of the steps on the scarlet flycatcher mentioned above generally apply to all so-called "red robins" in Australia, there are 45 unique robins spread across the continent. Before trying to determine the gender of an individual bird, make sure you can identify the species you are studying.

Necessities

• Binoculars