An extremely rare bird – a cardinal that appears to be “half male and half female” has been spotted in Pennsylvania, USA.
The bird has been photographed in Pennsylvania by a retired ornithologist – Jamie Hill.
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Mixed sex birds are rare.
Male cardinals are bright red but females are pale brown, suggesting this specimen may be a mix of the two sexes.
“I had an once-in-a-lifetime, one in a million bird encounter!” said Jamie Hill.
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“Typically, male cardinals have bright red plumage, while females are buffy brownish,” Jamie Hill said.
This bird was half and half.
“I have been birding for 48 years and yesterday (20 February 2021) I had an once-in-a-lifetime, one in a million bird encounter! I was able to photograph, this extremely rare, bilateral gynandromorph Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis),” Hill said.
“After I captured the images, my heart was pounding for the next five hours until I could get home and process the digital images to see what I actually had,” Hill narrated.