Bald Male Northern Cardinal

[jordan.birder]

A male Northern Cardinal frequents my feeder. His head is bald with no red plumage or crest, so it looks like he has a black head. I have looked this up and it seems to be either a mites, lice, or irregular molting. I hope it’s just irregular molting. Has anyone else seen something like this?

[m_whitson]

I’ve seen them do this when molting.

It’s a common enough thing that there’s even been a Bird and Moon comic about it. See: https://rosemarymosco.com/comics/bird-and-moon/know-your-northern-cardinals

[fluffyinca]

I saw a towhee like this several times. Someone suggested it might be mites, but who knows.

[oksanaetal]

I’ve seen this in cardinals and blue jays. Common phenomenon when molting.

[jordan.birder]

Thanks for the link! Funny comic.