Aug 17 2009
Molting
Our robins and cardinals are looking pretty ragged lately. The adults are molting.
Their feathers wear out so birds molt to replace them. Robins and cardinals do it once a year. Long distance migrants molt twice. American goldfinches molt twice a year but their closest finch relatives don’t. Who knows why.
Birds replace their feathers in a pattern across their bodies. Most replace their center two tail feathers, then the two tail feathers next to those and so on until their entire tail has new feathers. Their wings molt the same one feather at the same time on both wings. This prevents flight impairment because their wings are still the same on both sides. Heavy birds, like ducks and geese, molt all at once and are flightless for a short time each year.
I suppose August is as a good time as any to replace their feathers. April won’t do because they have to look beautiful and sleek during courtship. Rule out May through July because breeding season is too intense to be hampered by missing feathers. Winter is too cold which eliminates November through February. In the other months they’re migrating. So August it is.
I’ll be glad when they look normal again.
(photo of a wet northern cardinal by Chuck Tague)
p.s. Have your goldfinches started to turn dull yellow again? Mine have.
My birdfeeders were covered with bright yellow goldfinches the past few days. I guess I’ll savor the view while it lasts….
My finches are sad & grey almost. The cardinals are all raggedy. Feel sorry for them but I told them I loved them anyway. One cardinal looked like he got a mohawk haircut. faith Cornell
I planted a bunch of sunflowers and have quite a bit of goldfinch activity going on around them. They love the seeds. I have not noticed any molting yet.
Hi Kate,
The male cardinal who nests in my tree out back was at my feeder out front the other day when I saw him. My first thought was “who is that cardinal?” and then I realized he is molting.
I have 2 finch feeders because I had so many goldfinches at the end of last year. The females were scarce for the last few weeks and have just started coming around again. So…I’m waiting to see their babies. They and the males still have their usual summer color.
In my yard 5 mi south of the Golden Triangle, the goldfinches are still golden.
Cardinals are a puzzlement. I have one bald one – has been like that for many weeks. But I also have a bunch that have looked “sooty” all summer – very gray females, males that look like they’ve been dipped in a gray wash over the red. I am trying to get decent pictures.