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Cardinal Juvenile (male)

Cardinalis cardinalis

Photo by HeatherMiller
Published on Project Noah
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33.8092, -84.2805

Field Notes

Description:

it has a pointy feather on the top of the head that is confusing me. I'm not sure if there is a red or brown chevron on the chest. I only saw this bird for a few seconds.

Notes:

I added the 2nd picture, again. It didn't add both pics the first time.

Thanks Emma and Gail for all the ID help.
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/northern_cardinal/id
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Cardinal

Reference Links:

Northern Cardinal

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (16)
HeatherMiller
Ah...first we went around on what the bird was or wasn't, then we ID's that it is actually a juvenile cardinal, then we get to actually a male juvenile cardinal. Awesome community! Thanks for all the ID help folks. Keep it up!
HemaShah
@ Heather, We have a male here!
Malcolm Wilton-Jones
I think the reddish brown patch on the throat suggests a young male as the female is more yellowish.
HeatherMiller
Gale, Emma and me all thought it was a Cardinal, but the beak was throwing us all for a tiny loop.
HemaShah
They have a life span of 15 years. Yes 1 yr old cardinal does seem right.
HeatherMiller
Emma, I found one drawing of a female juvenile in one of my books and it does have a black bill. Do you think it is likely a 1 year old Cardinal? I have seen a pair of Cardinals nearby, but did not think they had babies that large at this time of the year.
HemaShah
Heather, I feel very strongly that this is a juvenile cardinal. A juvenile has a black beak and also that tuft on his head.
HeatherMiller
Phainopepla does not have a range in my area (Atlanta, Georgia, USA). It's a West coast bird and south of the border.
HemaShah
"Phainopepla" is similar to female cardinal or immature juvenile cardinal. Check it out!
HeatherMiller
Galewhale, it's not a female cardinal because the beak is black. Thanks for the compliment Emma. I looked through the entire book I had and don't see a match that I can tell.
HemaShah
Heather , i like your spottings. The most fun is trying to identify the least amount of clues. @galewhile, The female cardinal usually has an orange beak. This one has a black beak. After you added the second pic,it is not a quail for sure.
galewhale..Gale
Check out a female cardinal.. if you scroll down it shows the plummage of males and females http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/northern_cardinal/id
HeatherMiller
Emma, I don't normally add unfocused pictures, but this bird looked so different, I thought I would see if I could get an ID. I only got 2 shots. Does that help? THe first time, it only uploaded one for some reason.
HemaShah
Heather,can't see the bird at all. Do you have quails in Atlanta? They sport a curved feather on the head!

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PublishedJune 25, 2011

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