When the weather is frigid I always admire how the birds are able to survive. Just last night before it got too dark the only bird visible in our yard (aka, the Callaway Nature Preserve) was a female Northern Cardinal. I know the males get most of the attention with their flashiness of red. But there is that subtle beauty of the females that always brings me joy, especially in winter.
We have a particular female Cardinal that had a problem with the feathers on her head, lending her to the nickname of “Crestless”. Her somewhat unattractive appearance was no hinderence to her ability to mate and she raised at least 4 young. Her feathers grew back and I would like to believe that she was the same bird eating seeds as the sun faded away.
“Crestless”, the ragged looking female Northern Cardinal (part of the Free to Use Bird Photos on Flickr)
This picture was taken back in late summer of 2005.
