This is, after all, one of the reasons we find them so fascinating. For those birds whose colors differ depending on gender, it is usually the male whose plumage is the most flamboyant. But there are exceptions. Female painted snipes and phalaropes, for example, exhibit quite loud colors. Birds such as these often assume reverse sex roles during breeding season.
Age also plays a role in plumage color.
Large birds normally take some years to exhibit mature feather colors. For many small birds, the color difference among juveniles of both sexes is often indistinguishable. Some birds, like honey buzzards, exhibit an extremely wide range of colors across the full spectrum. Shearwaters and pomarine jaegers are among birds of this type, all of which can be recognized individually by their distinct colors and patterns. The causes for these color variants can be due to mutation, unbalanced diets or disease.