Cardinal Question

[kccardinal]

We put out suet & seeds which attract quite a few cardinals and recently observed several cardinals take seeds from the feeder and feed them to another cardianl sitting close by. Has anyone ever seen this before? The bird being fed is a female and appears to be 'fatter' than the others and we wonder if she might be pregnant. I never heard of this happening and actually did not believe my wife unitl I saw it myself.

Thanks!

[PeterD]

We put out suet & seeds which attract quite a few cardinals and recently observed several cardinals take seeds from the feeder and feed them to another cardianl sitting close by. Has anyone ever seen this before? The bird being fed is a female and appears to be 'fatter' than the others and we wonder if she might be pregnant. I never heard of this happening and actually did not believe my wife unitl I saw it myself.

Thanks!

I see this is your first post so let me start by saying welcome.

Not sure of what you describe as 'Cardinals'. In a more general sense there are still quite a few fledglings about and, when compared to the adults that are feeding them, they seem bigger. When you think of all the energy expended feeding first the hatchlings and then the fledglings, its no wonder that the adults are slim at this time.
Do you have a camera so that your sightings can be seen?

Best wishes

Peter

[AndyB]

Hi and welcome to the forum. I'd agree with Peter that behaviour seems consistent with a young bird being fed by a parent

[kccardinal]

Thanks all for the welcome and for your thoughts on this subject. They could be young fledglings but look almost full size. I do have video of the feedings but will try to get a still photo. I am in the northeast US (Massachusetts) and am speaking of your typical Cardinal.

Thanks!

[MichaelF]

Not sure of what you describe as 'Cardinals'.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Cardinal
They could be young fledglings but look almost full size.
Young birds generally reach full size before they even leave the nest. They do often have more fluffed out feathers than the adults, so can look fatter. With Cardinals, the young also look very similar to adult females, just slightly duller and browner.

[PeterD]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Cardinal

Young birds generally reach full size before they even leave the nest. They do often have more fluffed out feathers than the adults, so can look fatter. With Cardinals, the young also look very similar to adult females, just slightly duller and browner.

Thanks for the link above Michael. Fascinating read to match a fascinating bird.

I agree with you that fledglings often look bigger than the adults. I also note that the pre breeding behaviour includes the male feeding the female.

Peter