“Since we don’t often see actively molting birds, we perceive the condition as rare, although it’s probably just rarely seen.”Ĭompletely naked heads, on the other hand, “are not normal,” he says. “Most birds become secretive and less active while molting, so we don’t see them very often in this condition,” he said. When cardinals just lose their crest or their heads appear scruffy, he explained, that’s probably the result of molt. Explanationįinally, Chris Thompson, an ornithologist with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, has been studying molt for years. 440), suggested in print that unusual feather loss may be due to a response to a traumatic injury.
Sylvia Halkin, an ornithologist at Central Connecticut University and co-author of the cardinal account in The Birds of North America (1999, No. “Rodger has convinced me that an irregular molt is the better answer,” Bird says. David Bird, an ornithologist at McGill University in Quebec and author of The Bird Almanac (1999, Firefly Books), like me, always assumed this was a parasite problem, but a colleague, Rodger Titman (I’m not making these names up), argues strongly for the unusual molt explanation. He attributes the phenomenon to an unusual molt pattern. None of those had severe mite or lice problems.” Gary Ritchison, an ornithologist at Eastern Kentucky University and author of Wild Bird Guides: Northern Cardinal (1997, Stackpole) told me he has, ” … handled thousands of cardinals while mist-netting and banding over the years and only a few have had naked heads. One of the purposes of feathers, after all, is to protect the body from the elements.Įven ornithologists familiar with the problem cannot agree on an explanation.
#Greys disease bulging eyeballs skin
The skin could get sunburned by day, torn up by thorns and tree branches, or badly chilled at night or during rain storms. Unhealthyįor all the head feathers to fall out at once would certainly be unusual and hardly beneficial. Normally song birds molt, or replace their body feathers, just a few at a time, so it’s hard for even a keen observer to notice. But I’ve also read reports blaming the condition on an unusual molt. Since the head is the one part of the body that’s difficult for a bird to reach with its bill to preen, it seems logical that a severe case of lice or mites could the problem.
I’ve always attributed the condition to a bad case of ectoparasites - mites and/or bird lice that actually eat feathers. Of course, everyone asks what’s wrong with these birds. The descriptions range from birds with merely “unkempt or scruffy looking heads” to “miniature vultures.” Based on my experience, the mini-vulture description is spot on. But every summer I get reports of “bald” cardinals (and sometimes other birds, too). Cardinals are normally robust and commanding in their brilliant crimson plumage. I’ve seen this a few times myself, and it’s one of the more pathetic sights to greet a backyard birder. Can you explain our bald cardinal?” Common My question is, why does he have no feathers on his head and neck - just black skin? He has lost these feathers each of the last two summers, and they seem to grow back by winter. “This male cardinal watches for us and flies to our deck railing for peanuts and almonds. He and his mate have raised many young during this time, and we have enjoyed watching them grow and visit our feeders. writes, “My husband and I feed birds and squirrels in our backyard, and we have a special male cardinal we have fed for the last two years.
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