Do Northern cardinal fledglings really look like this?
I would have known this was a fledgling even without the parents nearby. It's persistent peepish rattling was of the cannot-be-ignored variety. But if I had seen him alone, I never would have guessed this was a juvenile
cardinal. Wouldn't you expect olive or brownish feathers? [Don't miss the last paragraph of this post. It explains this unexpected occurrence!]
Me too. But I took a jog around the internet (where else?) and found some images that looked just like this one. Some of the juveniles had rust feathers but there were also these gray little guys. (The above images were taken through the window.)
And here's proud papa. He was singing in these first two images but I was a second or two too late to capture it. He's perched in the spot where many birds pause to look around before advancing to feed.
Both he and the
female have been coming to the plate for
suet and sunflower seeds and today I happened to hear the juvenile and looked out to see him sitting under the plate being fed.
The plate is pictured here with a blue jay patron.
And below papa is back to hunting up meals for that fledgling.
Busy time of year!
Note:
Jeff Gordon to the rescue again. Jeff is a very experienced bird field guide expert and presenter from Delaware. This is not the first time Jeff's seen something amiss in the bird ID department on my blog. I'm grateful he noticed this one and straightened out who this strange looking fledgling actually belongs to. Read Jeff's note in the comment section. The fledgling pictured above is not a cardinal at all, but a very hungry
cowbird fledgling, a species that parasitizes other bird's nests, that is, removes the other bird's egg and lays their own in its place. Sigh. Thanks Jeff...
Take in some interesting field experiences, fun humor and beautiful images at
Jeffery A Gordon's blog.
Linked to
Bird Photography Weekly #38 and
Birdfreak. com to promote the conservation of our world's birds.
Northern cardinals are one of 44 species in our area that are known to be predated by cowbirds. In the cardinal's case, a conservative estimate is 10 percent of the time. This frequency is increasing as habitat is more and more broken by development. All the more reason why I was happy to notice this for real cardinal juvenile being fed by papa on a limb near the feeder. 
After observing the titmouse family, I'm finding the cardinals so much more cautious and timid, though they enjoy suet and seeds no less. On this particular day, the juvenile accompanied his Dad and eagerly but silently, waited to be fed. 
And speaking of titmice, the juvenile cardinal landed on a limb in the hemlock that is frequented by the foraging titmice family. When he did, three of the titmice juveniles surrounded him, making their squealing juvenile calls. Looking a bit overwhelmed, the cardinal ruffled his feathers, made himself look bigger, and gave a big leap. The titmous juveniles scattered.
Now, don't we look innocent.
