Yellow cardinal
A yellow cardinals is a rare color variation of a common cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis), two examples of which have been observed in the Birmingham area since 2018.
Mr Yellow
Mr Yellow, as he was called, was first spotted in Charlie Stephenson's back yard in Alabaster in January 2018. Photographer Jeremy Black, a friend of Stephenson's, captured images of the bird, alone and alongside normal red cardinals.
Biologist Geoffrey Hill, an international expert on bird coloration who teaches at Auburn University, happened to be on a sabbatical in Australia when Mr Yellow was observed. He explained that the bird has a mutation that prevents it from converting the yellow carotene in its diet into red. He estimated the rarity of Mr Yellow's mutation as "one in a million".
In early June Stephenson and Black, who continued to observe Mr Yellow at Stephenson's back yard feeder, reported that he had been keeping company with a female cardinal and was protecting a nest with two hatchlings.
Maize
In 2024 a resident of Helena contacted Black because a similar yellow cardinal had been frequenting her yard. He was able to photograph it extensively. The resident and her husband named it Maize, and observed it tending to a nest, but could not observe whether the nestlings had the same yellow coloration. Contacted again for comment, biologist Geoffrey Hill explained that the yellow color was likely the result of two recessive genes.
References
- Pillion, Dennis (February 26, 2018) "'One in a million' yellow cardinal spotted in Alabama." The Birmingham News
- Pillion, Dennis (June 2, 2018) "Rare yellow cardinal appears to be a father." The Birmingham News
- Pillion, Dennis (June 11, 2018) "Yellow cardinal's babies have left the nest." The Birmingham News
- Pillion, Dennis (May 15, 2024) "Yellow cardinal spotted in Alabama: Could it be related to bird seen in 2018?" AL.com