What is a cardinal thinking?
Dressed for something considerably more formal than this.
The red is not made by the bird. It comes from carotenoid pigments in the fruit and seeds it eats, which means the colour is a readout of how well it has been feeding — a brighter male has simply had a better year, and the females can tell.
Which is also why cardinals turn up so reliably at feeders. Sunflower seed is a good enough source that a garden with a full feeder can be the reason a particular bird looks like that.
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