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Janet Johnson
Brenham, TX, United States
I believe this bird is a Cardinal/Pyrrhuloxia hybrid. He is a beautiful, clear gray color like the Pyrrhuloxia with red on his tail, wings, and crest, but with a black mask like the Northern Cardinal. His bill is more like the Cardinal, being more orange than yellow. He also has red mottling down his breast like the Pyrrhuloxia.
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Photo taken Dec. 2, 2013 near Brenham, TX.
Are the hybrids sterile?
I’ve been misidentifying the Phrrhuloxia as the female Cardinal. Clearly, this first cousin of the Csrdinal is beautiful and it’s call is different from the Cardinal. I live in Austin TX.
Pretty sure we’re looking at a female Northern Cardinal here. The giveaway is the shape and coloration of her beak.
I beieve it is the hybrid. We’ve had a family frequenting our feeder in W. North Carolina for the past two years. One male has a blue-gray head and mottled coloring, and the beak resembles that of a pyrrholoxia. We’ve been surprised by its appearance so far from its usual range! Our photos, sadly, aren’t clear but we’ve seen them very frequently.
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