Having never seen a mustard-hued cardinal before, she took a video and posted it to Facebook.
Quickly, she realized that her discovery was something special.
And the sighting wasn’t just a one-off.
So what’s the cause behind this rare pigmentation?
We’ve looked atleucismbefore, and albinism can be ruled out due to the bird’s coloration.
There are several theories that could explain the yellow northern cardinal.
Songbirds like cardinals almost never consume red pigments; rather they consume abundant yellow pigments, Hillexplainsto AL.com.
So, to be red, cardinals have to biochemically convert yellow pigments to red.
