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Northern Cardinal and offspring

Cardinalis cardinalis

Published on Project Noah
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27.0998, -82.4543

Field Notes

Description:

The Red bird (A Cardinal) and this very dark bird came together to my garden. Has anyone seen a young Cardinal this dark? To me he almost looks like a Blue Jay, but I must be wrong unless there has been an unusual adoption. Red was in charge of the dark bird.

Habitat:

Woodlands and gardens.

Notes:

I want some input on the dark bird before I put more ID up. Thanks.

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (13)
HemaShah
@ Malcolm, So the spotting which I just sent is a male rather than a female?
Malcolm Wilton-Jones
That other one appears to have a reddish throat which would suggest a male, not a female, but this one has a faint yellowish tinge which would suggest a female. But then, I am no expert on American birds, I'm just looking at my book!
HemaShah
A juvenile cardinal has a black beak
HemaShah
@ Malcolm i do agree with Juvenile Cardinal We identified a similar bird as a juvenile cardinal in this spotting http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/6585548
Malcolm Wilton-Jones
Catbird has a thin bill so not that. It does appear to have crest but almost flat and the darkish plumage could be caused by poor lighting in the shadows of the bush. Female Cardinal has a red bill so it could be a juvenile which does have a dark bill. Since most guides accentuate the colours what there is of those could be lost in the shadows. I would go with juvenile cardinal unless or until it can be proved otherwise.
KarenL
Definitely not a jay - the beak is too short. It's body shape & tail look similar to the cardinal but it doesn't seem to have a crest. Perhaps it is an unusually dark juvenile cardinal!
ScottRasmussen
That could be a Brown-headed Cowbird chick. Cowbirds are definitely brood parasites on cardinals. http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/brown-headed_cowbird.htm
HemaShah
getting even more interesting.
Photographed
PublishedAugust 24, 2011

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