Alabama Resident Spots Rare Yellow Cardinal Bird

Dec 28, 2019 by apost team

A photo captured by the owner of a backyard bird feeder has gained national attention for being such a rare bird sighting. The resident knew the bird was rare, but didn't quite realize just how rare it was, described to be a one in a million sighting.

Cardinals are known for their bright red plumage, but a rare genetic mutation can cause some cardinals to have bright yellow plumage, reports Audubon.

The yellow cardinal is so rare that a photo capturing its existence went viral on the internet and was even shared in the news. Amateur bird watchers and professional ornithologists from all over the country were joined in their interest by the general public, the majority of which didn't even know this was a possibility. Now people from all over the country are traveling to this one region in Alabama in order to get a glimpse of the bird for themselves.

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Alabaster, Alabama resident, Charlie Stephenson, told Shelby County Reporter that the cardinal visits her bird feeder at least once a day, and she watches for it to appear because she is never certain if it will be back or not. The bird is an adult male, just as distinct as the adult males of the species that appear red in color. After sharing a photo of her sighting, professional photographer, Jeremy Black, caught a photo of the magnificent bird and shared that photo. It is his photo that went viral and led to even more people traveling to see the bird.

While red cardinals are pretty common across much of the United States, barely anyone you ask has seen or even knew that this variation could occur in the species, reports AL News. The bird has been chosen as the state bird of seven states, and every state has chosen to depict the red variation in their illustrations of the bird. This rare yellow version of the bird is not likely to gain as much recognition as the more common red variety, but this specific bird is more popular than its fellow birds found at the feeder.

Did you know that the yellow cardinal variety was possible? Which variation of the bird do you prefer?