Day 66: We do not have Cardinals in Washington. That said, I love them and my friends know it, so many years ago, one of them sent me an adult male. Or so I thought. Female Cardinals are brownish. In fact, a novice birder might mistake a female for a Cedar Waxwing. However, I was in for a surprise. After several years of caring for the adult "male," I entered the nest box one Christmas and was startled to discover a fully-feathered fledgling (also male). I named the youngster "Pik-pik" and took to referring to the adult as "Mom" despite physical evidence to the contrary. Pik-pik and Mom have returned every subsequent Christmas and roost among the holly on my mantel.
Now either I need to go back to school for a biology refresher or the field guides need to revise their descriptions because last night, another fledgling appeared in my little family of "males." Clearly, something is going on here which I do not understand, but I most certainly welcome it. You can never have enough Cardinals.
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