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Q. I have been seeing a cardinal with no feathers on his head. Is he going to be ok?

The short answer is yes. While experts aren't exactly sure why this happens, they do believe it is rarely harmful. Most believe that it is a part of the natural molting process that for some reason in a few individuals goes a little wrong and they lose all their head feathers at once instead of the typical "few at a time" pattern. Because it occurs in late summer and early fall, weather is not a factor. In some cases, the feather loss can be caused by a lice or mite infestation. In both cases, feather growth is seen rather quickly and the birds seem to do just fine.

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