Sick Bird: Deformed or sick male Northern Cardinal
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This unfortunate male Northern Cardinal stopped by our deck feeder today during a small snowstorm. His eyes appear to be popping out of his head. He is missing a lot of plumage as well. I thought he may have been a victim of an attack by either the stray cats that come by occasionally or any number of hawks we have seen in the area lately. The other possibility is that he could be sick or have a deformity.
Categories: Eye problems
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11 comments on “Sick Bird: Deformed or sick male Northern Cardinal”
I have a similar looking cardinal in my backyard here in Amherstburg, Ontario! I first saw him in the fall when he had no crest and black all around his eyes (more extensive than normal.) Now he’s back and has extensive white all around his eyes. He looks terrible but seems to behave normally. What is wrong with them?
Hi Lori, If you notice a bald-headed bird of a species other than Blue Jays (in which baldness is a little more common), it could be the result of an abnormal molt. (Staggered feather replacement is the normal pattern for most birds.) However, baldness also may result from feather mites, lice, or an environmental or nutritional factor. Often in these cases, there is evidence of growths or a scabby coating on the skin. For example, Northern Cardinals have black skin, and a different color skin on the head of a bald-headed cardinal would indicate an ailment, like the bird pictured above. You can learn more about baldness in birds here.
the Cardinal bird is not sick… I have seen many birds like this one as I am a regular bird feeder and watcher. Cardinals, bluejays and even some chickadees tend to mold their feathers around the neck and had, especially when they feed their young ones. It could be a coincidence, or it could be some mites infestation or just they are missing some nutrients because they are sharing their food with their babies….but I watch them growing beautiful feathers pretty soon after they resume to their normal feeding.
Another Bald-headed Northern Cardinal. I have attached a couple of pictures of a Northern Cardinal which has been frequenting out bird feeder. We have had what I assumed to be a couple of pairs. Its behavior seems to be normal. Checking with this website seems to show that this is not unknown those that observe birds on a regular basis. As I am an ornithologist educated at Cornell and I had an office in the Stuart K. Lyman Laboratory of Ornithology back in the late 1960s. Finally I have known Jim Fitzpatrick for a good number of years as we were heavily involved with The Raptor Research Foundation, Inc. Finally not knowing the email address I cannot attach these pics but is someone will send me an email address I will be happy to submit them.
Hi Richard, Please feel free to send your photos to FeederWatch@cornell.edu if you wish.
Thanks Holly,
Will do. (see attached separately)
Cheers,
Dick Clark
I have a cardinal that seems to have a growth on its head that is white. Could this be a mite? He does shake his head every now and then.
We have cardinals that nest in the same bush every year. This winter, we noticed that the male seems to have one eye that is bulging, while the other eye seems normal, which we notice when he sits on a window feeder. He also doesn’t seem to notice us if the bulging eye is facing the window, but he does notice us and often flies away when the normal appearing eye is facing the window. I have photos. May I please send them for ideas or guidance?
I have a red cardinal that has looked like its seen better days. Its reappeared now with missing feathers on the back of its head/neck. Which now seems to be black…
Is he sick? Mites?
We had a bald northern cardinal coming to our feeders for a few weeks. He seemed healthy other than his lack of head feathers. We recently found him dead, laying on a tree branch near our feeders. About a week later we found another one with the same bald issue, dead in our tree. We just saw another bald cardinal hopping around and are worried that he will also die. We have a good variety of healthy birds including healthy cardinals. We’re not sure what to do. We clean the feeders regularly.
Hello Doreen, though it is impossible to tell without an assessment from a licensed vet or wildlife rehabber what led to the death of one of your cardinals, it is common to see birds like Northern Cardinals bald or without feathers in certain spots, as they tend to molt at this time of year (which is natural and healthy).
In 4 days I have had 3 Cardinal bird strikes on my patio door. My patio door has the stickers to prevent this from happening. It’s weird but I did notice the cardinals molting. I am curious if Cornell which we live about 45 minutes from the ornithology school, is aware of a virus? I have fed Cardinal Blend food for the past 10 years. Could I have gotten a bad bag? Is there a virus? We have taken down the bird feeders and I am going to try switching bird seed. I get a lot of chickadee’s, nuthatches, sparrows, blue jays too but only the cardinals are affected. Anyone have any thoughts?
I just finished sending in a question regarding the shocking condition of a cardinal that matches many of your observations. I know what molting looks like and this was not molting. At first I thought he had lost his entire scalp to a severe freeze we’d had (-30F), but I can now see that the black skin around his eyes has gone from half white to all white in a week. The crown area, which used to be smooth white like bone, is looking more plaque-like. It’s “just mites” doesn’t seem right. I’m surprised someone hasn’t taken a more scientific interest in this. If he doesn’t survive and I find his body, I will certainly send it to a pathologist.
I’ve been bird watching/feeding for 30 years and in the past few days noticed a completely bald cardinal at the feeder with what also appears to be a slightly deformed beak. The top part of the beak looks just a little longer than it should be. This doesn’t impair his ability to eat seed and he acts normal. I’m concerned it’s something that could spread to other birds?
Hello Teresa, thank you for reaching out. It’s likely that this cardinal is molting, and he may also have a bill deformity. You might be interested in checking out our Unusual Birds page and bald birds section here. If he is acting normally, it is probably nothing to worry about. However, if you do think a sick bird is at your feeders: Whenever a sick bird comes to your feeder, we recommend that you remove the feeders the sick bird is using for a couple of weeks to ensure that disease is not being spread at your feeders and to give birds a chance to disperse. While the feeders are down clean your feeders and feeder area thoroughly.
Molting head and bloated body
Only one male cardinal has it for a couple months.
He can hardly hold himself upright under the weight of enlarged body.
What should I do?
Is it bloat?
We had goldfinches with this disease in another area of Missouri 8 years ago.
Hello Sally, There’s no way to know the cause of disease in wild birds without testing. Only veterinarians or federally licensed wildlife rehabilitators can legally treat wild birds. Therefore, if you find signs of a disease outbreak, it is best to report it to your state or local wildlife agency.
Whenever a sick bird comes to your feeder, we recommend that you remove the feeders the sick bird is using for a couple of weeks to ensure that disease is not being spread at your feeders. While the feeders are down, clean them thoroughly with a diluted bleach solution or very hot water, scrubbing away all debris. Rinse them, and let them dry completely. Once you put the feeders back up, be sure to clean them every week or two. If sick birds return, avoid using feeders with ports that birds put their heads into and clean your feeders at least weekly. Find information about how to clean your feeders on our website.