There’s still time to sign up for the current FeederWatch season, which runs through the end of April. Sign up today!
Find out what Project FeederWatch is, its history, and more
Find out how you FeederWatch, when you can FeederWatch, and what you'll need to do to get started
Review these instructions carefully before you count and enter data
Find out about types of feeders and types of foods, and where to place your feeder
Feeding Birds FAQs
Explore the winter distribution, food, and feeder preferences of common feeder birds.
Find out about color and plumage variations, bald heads, and deformed bills
Unusual Birds Gallery
Find out about bird disease and identifying the signs of bird disease
Sick Birds Gallery
Find out how to identify birds and download identification tools
Learn how to help birds as they seek out food sources, nesting habitat, protection, and more
Find educational resources for teachers, group leaders, and families
Find an article archive packed with lots of great bird study information
Learn about house finch eye disease
Review content from current and past BirdSpotter photo contests
Keep up to date with the latest FeederWatch happenings
These are exemplary FeederWatchers!
Send us your photos! Show us your count site, your birds, or you watching your site with loved ones!
Visit our live FeederWatch feedercams!
Cornell Lab of Ornithology feeders
Ontario (winter only)
See what birds occur the most by region
Explore species by state/province
See where FeederWatchers are
Graphs of regional population trends and distributions
Explore papers that have used FeederWatch data
Lab scientists analyze the data submitted by FeederWatch participants.
See birds well outside their winter range submitted to Project FeederWatch.
Start here for data entry and personal data review and exploration
Keep live track of your counts using the FeederWatch mobile app
Suzanne Felton
Gainesville, VA, United States
My sons (ages 6 and 8) first noticed this unusual male northern cardinal at one of our feeders back in February. At that time, the cardinal still had most of his head feathers, and the most striking characteristic was the pronounced white ring around his black eye. It was especially striking in contrast to other cardinals, whose black eyes blend in perfectly with their black face masks. My sons affectionately nicknamed this bird “Crazy Eye.” We have been seeing him at our feeders several times a week, but it has been very hard for me to get a picture of him until today, as he is extremely skittish (more so than the other cardinals at the feeders). I lucked out today and was able to get few pictures through the window. As is visible in the pictures, this bird has lost most of his head feathers over the last two months. He does not act injured or ill; the only behavioral difference I can see from other cardinals is its skittishness.
"Crazy Eye" cardinal on the ground under our feeders
Hey Suzanne, this is actually quite common in Cardinals and Blue Jays. Sometimes when molting, they will lose all of their head feathers for a while. The feathers will return soon and it does not affect their health. Thanks for sharing Crazy Eye with us! Ava
Sorry, I forgot to mention this in my first comment. Sometimes it is caused by mites, but most of the time it is completely normal.
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *
Comment *
Name *
Email *
Website
Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.