Kojak Cardinal
Originally uploaded by Rachel Pennington.
I don't know what's wrong with this cardinal but he has no head feathers. I feel so sorry for him.
We are getting a little bit of Tropical Storm Arlene. We are having nice, cool winds. It was nice being able to turn the air-conditioning off for a while. The humidty is horrible already this year. :(
Side note: A friend on flickr let me know that this is caused by mites and with the bird's next molt he should be fine. His head is the only place that he can't preen, which is why it's the only place that has no feathers.
5 comments:
Katherine,
There is a cardinal like this at my feeder and it has come back for several years, so I don't think whatever it is is terminal. I can't tell if it has a mate, but the others don't seem to shun it. I live on Lookout too, but if you are down toward Lafayette I don't think this could be the same bird. My sister is an ornithologist, I'll send her the picture and see if she has a clue.
Ellen (vanillaextract.blogspot.com)
Err...I'm sorry, not Katherine, Rachel. I used to know a Katherine Pennington, sorry.
Ellen
That's ok. My great-grandmother was named Katherine so you were close. ;)
I found out that mites cause the birds to lose their feathers like that. The bird can't preen its head which is why it's usually the only bald spot on them, but they should be ok w/the next few molts.
What part of Lookout are you from? I am from New Salem. :)
Rachel,
Interesting (and very wierd-looking. Bird heads are small enough with feathers!) Poor guy.
I live in Fairyland very close to the TN line.
Ellen
I grew up on the other side--near Cloudland Canyon. I'm pretty familiar with Fairyland - my father was the art director at Rock City for about 18 years I believe. I spent a lot of my childhood out that way.
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