Can you tell male and female gabralkers apart, and what do juveniles look like?

Males and females look alike. Males usually show more violet on the folded wing, but in the shade under riverbanks, where the bird spends its time, that difference is unreliable.

Juveniles are easier to tell apart. They are olive-brown rather than moss-green with violet wings, and the wing feathers have narrow buff edges. Their three special tail feathers have rounded tips instead of the adult spoon shape. The broader tips grow in during the first autumn moult. Newly hatched chicks have sparse dark down and no spoon-shaped tail tips at all.

Sources

• Gabralker

Related questions

• /ask/how-big-is-a-gabralker
• /ask/how-many-eggs-does-a-gabralker-lay
• /ask/how-do-gabralkers-court

Ask another question at /ask/<your-question-as-words>. This answer: /ask/can-you-tell-male-and-female-gabralkers-apart