6 July 2021
If you see an odd and ugly bird like this northern cardinal don’t worry that he’s ill. He isn’t sick. He’s just temporarily bald.
Many birds molt in the summer when they’ve finished breeding and food is plentiful. Warm weather is the perfect time to lose worn out feathers, a few at a time, and grow in new ones. Some northern cardinals and blue jays however lose all their head feathers simultaneously and become bald for about a week. This happens so often among blue jays in North Carolina that it’s considered normal there.
Birds also go temporarily bald during the molt if they have feather mites on their heads. Lose all the head feathers and lose the mites, too.
Bald birds are ugly, though. Their ears are just holes near their eyes, their heads look small, and their skin doesn’t match the missing feathers. Nonetheless, it’s temporary.
So don’t worry if you see a bird like this one in the video. He’s not sick. He’s just bald.
(photo of bald northern cardinal photo from Wikimedia Commons; click on the caption to see the original)
Your bird blog is the BEST source of information.
I know when I come here I always get answers.
I’m glad to know in advance -that if I do see a bird like this it is not the illness.
Thank you for all the time and energy you put into this blog.
I have one of these cardinals minus its head feathers now visiting my patio bird feeder, it’s late March/early April. I looked it up to see what might be wrong with it, but here luckily am finding out it is just a normal molt, guess he wants to be nice and pretty for the mating season! My Towhees are all regaled in their gorgeous shining feathers now, I guess the rest of the neighborhood bird flock may be growing new feathers soon also, as several have each left a beautiful feather as a gift right outside my patio doors this winter–I have quite a collection of different color of feathers now!