Claudette Cardinal looks so discouraged!
I even feared she might be ill, with her discolored beak and blotchy plumage. The Cornell bird site set me right however. She’s trembling on the brink of womanhood!
Right now, Mother Nature is still protecting her with colors so close to the pine needles beneath her, even a hungry hawk might miss her. And soon…
In a matter of weeks that smeary-colored beak will be bright orange, and her uncertain feathers will focus into the peachy plumage that make male Cardinals moonstruck!
So don’t you be blue, little girl Cardinal. You’re about to become the belle of the garden!
Double-tap the photos below to enlarge them:
Claudette’s colors right now match the pine needles below her, but soon she’ll have the peachy plumage that makes male Cardinals gaga.
