Cardinal Molt

There is a point in the late spring when the Cardinals shed.  And it is the stuff of weirdness.  The birds lose feathers in huge patches and their blue-black skin is exposed.  Friends who have seen this panic: are they diseased, they ask?  Not at all.  The spring nesting season takes its toll on the birds and a new suite of feathers comes up to complete the summer.  This episode never lasts long, but it does make for some very different imagry!