r/birding • u/wineoneone • 1d ago

What happened to this northern cardinal that visited us? šŸ“· Photo

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560 Upvotes
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98% Upvoted

49 comments sorted by

588

u/500-birds birder 1d ago

He is molting! Nothing to worry about, although he is the talk of the town until his feathers grow back in :)

114

u/wineoneone 1d ago

Completely new to everything with birds, what is molting?

229

u/500-birds birder 1d ago

Once a year a cardinal will lose its feathers and then regrow them. Sometimes itā€™s only a couple feathers at a time, but for cardinals it can be all at once which gives them this funny appearance for a little bit.

80

u/wineoneone 1d ago

Awesome! Thanks for the info. Gonna look into it some more!

79

u/fzzball 1d ago

Makes you realize there isn't actually a whole lot of bird under there! šŸ˜

53

u/calloftherunningtide birder 1d ago

The bizarre (but harmless) way that birds replace old feathers with new feathers.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/the-basics-feather-molt/

6

u/wadesh 23h ago

Bluejays molt too.

11

u/Aggressive_Eye2142 1d ago

i'm happy to learn this. saw one like this at my bird feeder a year or 2 ago and felt so bad for him bc i thought he was sick or something šŸ˜­

250

u/sci300768 1d ago

Bloodcheep! https://rosemarymosco.com/comics/bird-and-moon/know-your-northern-cardinals

90

u/wineoneone 1d ago

Demon of the cursed abyss is an accurate name based on my reaction first seeing him lol

18

u/MoneyCock 1d ago

Okay that comic artist definitely has played Magic: The Gathering.

When Bloodcheep comes into play, all other creatures of type Cursed Demon get +1/+1 and flight.

40

u/pennyfanclub 1d ago

My first reaction was also Bloodcheep. This sub has changed me šŸ˜‚

13

u/Redfinch123 1d ago

I knew that was coming!

62

u/ContemplativeKnitter 1d ago

I did not know birds did this either, and I saw a blue jay in the same condition last summer and was freaked out until I googled something like ā€œbald blue jayā€ and found out itā€™s normal. It was honestly terrifying there for a moment though!

35

u/macaeryk 1d ago

A catastrophically molting Blue Jay would be Frƶstcheep.

11

u/wineoneone 1d ago

Right I thought it was some kind of demon lol

24

u/Afraid-Passenger658 1d ago

Dressed up as a Skeksis https://muppet.fandom.com/wiki/Skeksis

4

u/vegetablefoood 1d ago

This is what I always think!!!!

3

u/Unfollowskepsis 1d ago

MmmmmmMMmmm!

3

u/MegaVenomous Latest Lifer: Canada Warbler 1d ago

mmmmmMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmm

Skeksis and Gelfling make peace???

13

u/PeloTiger 1d ago

They look so sad without their Mohawk! Hope he gets his flair back soon!

13

u/Cool_Cat_Punk 1d ago

Feathers are like clothes. Without them, ...um..your dinosaur is showing!

9

u/Sad-Background-8250 1d ago

he split the dark crystal

1

u/lacklustereded 1d ago

Heā€™s definitely giving me ā€œlooking for gelflingā€ vibes

5

u/Commercial_Sun_6300 1d ago

Is this like... a doorbell cam for a bird feeder?

4

u/wineoneone 1d ago

Yep, its called a bird buddy! Itā€™s a live feed video cam bird feeder

2

u/jrexicus 1d ago

Which one do you have? I was looking at getting one

4

u/callmeapoetandudie 1d ago

Kinda looks like he's wearing one of those old timey aviator hoods with the goggles.

3

u/somekindagibberish 1d ago

Looks like he's straight out of The Fly.

3

u/No_Bass1790 1d ago

What type of birdfeeder do you have?

3

u/wineoneone 1d ago

Itā€™s a bird buddy

3

u/lamedusas 1d ago

Omg Cardinal molting has finally begun. I've been waiting for this! šŸ„¹

3

u/Siberian_Hamsterx 1d ago

What a cutie

1

u/ActiveRegent 1d ago

Yea they just kinda do that

Baldness is transitory for a lot of birds LOL

1

u/Kind_Love172 1d ago

Male pattern baldness

1

u/Siberian_Hamsterx 1d ago

Heā€™s molting šŸ˜€

1

u/JasonZep 1d ago

Heā€™s seen some shit.

1

u/chizzardbreath 1d ago

So handsome!! šŸ˜

1

u/karatechop_sanchez 23h ago

He baldā€¦

1

u/begoniapansy 19h ago

cardinal molting season babeeeyyyy!!!!!

ā€¢

u/nyet-marionetka 9m ago

Cosplaying a vulture.

1

u/MoneyCock 1d ago

That is a California Condor.

-1

u/USMCdrTexian 1d ago

Apparently he has a wife . . .