It’s cool that this stage idicates the adult male is changing into an adult female, its final step in development. TIL
This is not as absurd as it seems: Sequential hermaphroditism is the term
NO! WAIT! PLEASE!
Why do he beak like that though?
Probably mites.
I was gonna say I don’t think this is a normal part of the molting process…
Don’t know why the beak be like that.
I have yet to see missing feathers like that myself and I have a BUNCH of cardinals and blue jays. I do see the young “punk rocker” cardinals.
But the Internet says molting feathers is true!
The only dark horror I witnessed was when a murder of crows came into the neighborhood and used my bird bath for their dark rituals for 2 weeks.
Maybe I didn’t see this kind of cardinal because they didn’t complete the rites to summon it?
Tap for spoiler
*Edited for being a moron and not reading OP
But the Internet says it’s true, this is molting not mites.
The person you responded to was referring to why his beak looked weird, not to the lack of feathers on his head. But I didn’t see anything in the article you posted about beaks.
Oops, I wasn’t sure if the missing feathers were real and also thought that’s gotta be mites causing it to lose feathers.
So I just learned that myself and was like “oh wow” and didn’t think too much.
The head is normal molting. The beak damage can be from mite.
Rethinking all those plans to befriend all the crows in the neighborhood
Banging his face repeatedly on windows, car mirrors, and anything else remotely shiny at 6 am while I’m trying to sleep, maybe?
Botox, some cardinals just want that plump beak look.
Watched with older sidter when I was 7 those things gave me so many nightmares
Damn, what was that called again?
Skeksis, from the dark crystal.
Oh, I thought it was a lord of change from total war warhammer 3
“Look at me! I told you I was a dinosaur!”
Ngl, the first time my hen molted, I was verklempt. She didn’t get that bad, as she tends to st it in waves rather than all at once, but I was anxious as fuck all wondering if it was molting or some kind of disease
It’s been a while since I’ve seen the dark crystal
Juvenile skeksis!
