Molting is a natural biological process where birds, including cardinals, regularly shed old feathers to grow new ones. This cyclical replacement is fundamental for a bird’s health and survival, ensuring their plumage remains in optimal condition.
The Essential Purpose of Molting
Feathers are important structures for birds, enabling flight, providing insulation, and offering protection from the elements. Once fully grown, these feathers are not living tissues; they cannot repair themselves. Daily activities, exposure to weather, and parasites cause wear and tear, necessitating their replacement.
Molting maintains a bird’s ability to fly efficiently, as worn or broken feathers impair aerodynamics. A fresh set of feathers ensures effective insulation against cold and heat, helping birds regulate body temperature. Feathers also provide waterproofing, which helps keep a bird’s skin dry. New plumage can also play a role in communication, such as displaying vibrant colors for courtship or providing camouflage.
The Cardinal’s Molting Cycle and Appearance
Cardinals undergo a complete molt once a year, in late summer or early fall, after their breeding season. This timing allows them to replace feathers when food is abundant and energy demands of raising young have lessened. The feather replacement process is gradual, ensuring the bird retains its ability to fly and forage throughout the molt.
During this period, a molting cardinal might appear disheveled, with patchy or scruffy plumage. It is common for cardinals, along with blue jays, to lose most or all of their head feathers simultaneously, which can result in a bald appearance. This temporary baldness is a normal part of their molting pattern. Newly grown feathers on males may initially have grayish tips that gradually wear off, revealing their characteristic bright red coloration by midwinter.
Observing Molting Cardinals
Encountering a cardinal with a bald head or sparse feathers can be concerning for observers, but it is a normal and temporary phase of their life cycle. The feathers usually regrow within a few weeks to a couple of months. A molting cardinal is not sick or in distress due to this natural process.
Intervention is unnecessary, as birds manage their molting process well. However, observers can provide support. Since molting requires significant energy, ensuring backyard feeders are well-stocked with high-protein food is beneficial. Offering fresh, clean water in bird baths also helps birds bathe and keep their skin and new feathers clean and moisturized.