A different looking male cardinal - Update

We have at least four pair of cardinals that frequent our feeders. There is one male cardinal that looks different from the others. I can always pick him out because he is more red than the others. The feathers around his face & neck are fuller and he is not as plump as the others. I thought he might be a juvenile but he does not look like the photos I have seen of juveniles. Any thoughts?


Different looking male cardinal ( photo / image / picture from gfreiherr's Garden )

One of my thoughts is that I am spending too much time watching out the window.

 

Maybe he's eaten too much carotenoid pigment? He really is brilliant sitting there. I hope he's well.

 

He is pretty aggressive and fearless around the other birds and appears healthy (and eats a lot). The first thing I noticed about him was his eyes seem larger.

 

They are both so cute.
It doesnt have the black the whole way aroung the eye part either.

Sure is bright. Maybe just a freak one.
It does have the Orange beak that cardinals wear.

Keep showing.

 

Very interesting. A mystery to be solved. He surely does look very different.

 

Great idea Toni... I just sent them an email. :-D

 

I heard back from the Cornell website and she said to send my photos and she would take a look. He was back on the ledge this morning and is missing more feathers around his eye, that's why it looks so distinctive. Here is today's photo.


update on cardinal ( photo / image / picture from gfreiherr's Garden )

Will let you know when I hear back. Appreciate everyone's responses.

 

I have a friend who is an avid bird watcher/photographer and this Cardinal reminded me of some photos he took last year (2009) The Cardinals had this same appearance, like they were shedding or losing feathers. Some of them were completely bald! After consulting with one of our local bird guys, they thought it might be some kind of mite. We haven't seen any like this since. He sure is a beautiful red though.

 

He isn't looking so good. Gail, I hope you hear back from Cornell soon.

 

I think he look sick in that last photo.I sure hope not.He is so pretty.

 

I am following your posts with interest. I wonder what it could be. Mites was the first thing that I thought of too, Kay...but when I saw how th feathers were standing-out, I wondered if there might not be a tumor or a cyst or some type of swelling under the skin pushing the feathers up and outwards.
It's so unfortunate that this lovely bird has this problem, but I am quite interested to discover the condition's cause.

 

I have been doing some research on line and suspect you are right about the mites. When I cropped the last photo of him there was an alarming difference in one week. He is a very active bird and comes to the ledge & feeders on a regular basis. Still waiting to hear back from Cornell. Here is an interesting article I found on cardinals & mites.
http://www.hiltonpond.org/ThisWeek030701.html