Why Doesn’t The Female Painted Bunting Get Any Respect?

In our image, “Painted Bunting Pair,” the female is on the right. Actually, juveniles (including males) in their first year look similar to adult females. It is rare to see males and females together as they are in this image. And it is just as well because everybody focuses on the male and doesn’t give the female a second glance. THAT IS JUST NOT FAIR. No, this rant isn’t about beauty being more than skin deep, although that’s true. It’s just that the green and yellow combination isn’t all that shabby. Serious birders have what they call LBJs, which stands for Little Brown Jobs. The term is often used to describe things like sparrows, especially the females, which are nondescript and hard to tell apart even by avid birders. Compared to an LBJ, the female Painted Bunting is gorgeous. Even the females of the other bunting species are envious. As far as I can tell, the female Painted Bunting’s only mistake is hanging out with him (on the left). Is there a life lesson here?