This Male Cardinal stands out in the yard, not only for his bright color,
but also for his missing crest.
Some birds molt in late summer or early fall and loose their head feathers.
When they do, they become secretive and less active,
so I have been surprised to see this little guy every day, bouncing about on the deck rail.
It is also a little odd to see this now during early summer.
I did a little research and it could also be mites or lice.
Poor little guy!
24 comments:
He looks a little strange without his crest, doesn't he, though of course he truly is the prettiest colour.
I would like to know what this little bird is thinking about everyday.
He doesn't look very happy. Hope he keeps his tiny passengers to himself! Interesting!
i didn't even notice at first - he is such a beauty otherwise!!
Hello, cute photos of the Cardinal. Sometimes they can have an embarrassed look on their faces, like they do not want their photo taken. Let me fix my hair first, lol. Happy Monday, enjoy your day and week ahead.
It is possible but doubtful that feather mites would concentrate so densely on the crest only as to totally destroy it. The remaining feather tracts look pretty healthy, to the extent that can be determined from a photograph. I suspect that the reason for the loss of the crest is something more prosaic and it will grow back in due course.
It looks sad to me and hope it grows back.
Bless it! He looks so forlorn without his crest!
He's beautiful though! :)
xoxo
I see birds take dirt baths in the dust at times, I think this is good if they have lice or mites. We have water features so they bath in them also. I am not sure if that would help them. Kind of sad. I love seeing cardinals , they are here year round. Blessings, xoxo, Susie
The poor little critter without crest!...
Poor guy! I've never seen one with so much of the crest gone. If he had human emotions it would be a bit embarrassing. LOL
aw, the poor little fellow. He looks like our chooks when they moult. All will be well... eventually :D) xx
All he needs is a toupee,I think that's the right spelling.
It almost looks like it has been cut off doesn't it, I haven't seen ours do that, I have seen some of their side feathers come off, hopefully it isn't mites :(
These are stunning photos of this little guy! Sad that his hair is missing. I hope he doesn’t have the lice or mites. Blessings and hugs!
I haven't seen one like that. Poor thing.
Mother was generous when she gifted us such creatures.
Awww, sweet little thing. I remember once seeing a cardinal with no feathers. It was the first time I had ever come across molting. Always love your photos Debbie. Happy weekend!
Poor little guy he is still handsome. Hug B
Poor mister! He does look quite forlorn without his crest … I have never seen or heard this before. As they say, you learn something new every day! By the way, I may not be commenting as often for the next few weeks since I will have my in-laws visiting from the UK. We are going to have a great time!
Oh no, I hope he is OK! I wouldn’t have known anything was wrong because I still am not all that familiar with cardinals.
I've never seen anything like this! I hope he gets back to normal soon, he must be sad missing part of his "showiness". I think our cardinal couple is awful busy nesting and/or tending to youngsters, they are not out as much now.
… he still looks very nice though, such a wonderful colour.
All the best Jan
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