01/17/2023
This is Clifford. Clifford is a male Northern Cardinal that lives around my home. I’ve known him and his mate for about 2 years. Clifford looks a little rough here, and it’s not because of the rain. Every summer, he loses all the feathers on his head and goes bald. This picture shows him at the beginning of this odd molting process. It happens mostly to Northern Cardinals and Bluejays, and the reason is unknown. It doesn’t seem to adversely affect them, however, and Clifford more than makes up for his lack of lovely red head feathers with his VERY loud (but beautiful!) singing voice. I can’t wait to wake up to his song again this spring. ❤️🎶