WildWatch Weekly

The Great Feather Makeover: Why Birds Look So Rough in August

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Why Birds Look So Rough in August

Have you looked at the birds around your feeders lately and wondered what happened to them?

A Northern Cardinal that looked brilliant red a few weeks ago may suddenly have a nearly bald, dark head. Blue Jays can appear ragged and unkempt. Chickadees and other songbirds may look fluffy, uneven, or just a little worn around the edges. Some birds become so disheveled that people wonder if they’re sick.

In many cases, there’s nothing wrong with them at all. They’re simply going through one of the most important, and least appreciated, events in a bird’s annual life cycle: the molt.

Late summer is makeover season in the bird world. After months of courtship, nesting, raising young, defending territories, and exposing their feathers to sun, rain, branches, and countless hours of flight, it’s time to replace the old wardrobe with a brand-new one.

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Feathers Don’t Last Forever

Feathers are remarkable structures. They’re lightweight enough for flight, yet strong enough to withstand thousands of wingbeats. They provide insulation, protect a bird from the weather, help shed water, provide camouflage, and create the beautiful colors and patterns we use to identify different species.

But feathers are dead structures, somewhat like our hair and fingernails. Once a feather has finished growing, a bird can’t repair it. Sunlight, dirt, parasites, vegetation, weather, and normal wear gradually damage feathers throughout the year.

Eventually, replacement is the only option. During a molt, an old feather is shed and a new one grows from the same follicle. By replacing worn feathers on a regular schedule, birds maintain the remarkably efficient covering they need to survive.

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Why August Is Makeover Season

Timing a molt is extremely important. Growing an entirely new set of feathers requires a tremendous amount of energy, so birds generally avoid combining it with other energy-intensive activities.

For many backyard birds, late summer provides an ideal window. The frantic nesting season is winding down. Young birds are becoming independent. Territorial battles and constant singing have diminished. Yet the demanding fall migration and cold winter months are still ahead.

That creates a brief opportunity to invest energy in feathers. For many species, the goal is simple: replace the worn feathers of summer before the next major challenge begins.

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Why Does That Cardinal Look Bald?

One of the most dramatic late-summer sights is a Northern Cardinal with a completely bald-looking head. Instead of the familiar bright red crest, you may see a dark gray or black head with exposed skin. It can look so strange that people sometimes assume the bird has a disease.

Cardinals normally replace their feathers gradually, but occasionally many head feathers are lost at approximately the same time. Because birds can’t easily preen the feathers on their own heads, head feather loss can sometimes be particularly noticeable.

The transformation can be dramatic. A bird that looked perfectly normal one week can resemble a tiny feathered dinosaur the next. Fortunately, new feathers usually begin appearing soon, and before long the cardinal once again has its familiar crest.

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Blue Jays Can Look Pretty Rough Too

Northern Cardinals aren’t alone. Blue Jays are another bird that can look especially disheveled during late summer.

A normally sleek Blue Jay may temporarily have a patchy head, uneven crest, or generally scruffy appearance. When feathers are being replaced at different stages, the bird can look surprisingly different from the handsome blue-and-white visitor we’re accustomed to seeing.

Watch closely and you may notice similar changes in chickadees, titmice, woodpeckers, sparrows, and many other familiar backyard species. Some molts are dramatic, while others are so gradual that we barely notice them.

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Birds Can’t Just Drop All Their Feathers at Once

For most songbirds, losing every flight feather simultaneously would be disastrous. They still need to fly to find food and escape predators.

Instead, wing and tail feathers are generally replaced in an organized sequence. One feather falls out, another begins growing, and the process gradually moves across the wing. This allows the bird to remain capable of flight throughout most of the molt.

There are some interesting exceptions. Ducks, geese, and other waterfowl can replace their major flight feathers much more rapidly and may become temporarily flightless. During this vulnerable period, they often remain close to water and protective vegetation until their new flight feathers grow.

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Growing Feathers Is Expensive

A feather may look simple, but producing thousands of them requires considerable protein and energy. During molt, a bird’s nutritional requirements can increase as its body manufactures keratin, the primary structural protein in feathers.

This is one reason late summer’s abundance of natural foods is so valuable. Insects, berries, fruits, seeds, and other foods provide birds with the resources they need to build their new plumage.

It’s also another reason native plants are so valuable around our homes. A backyard filled with native vegetation can provide insects, berries, seeds, shelter, and other resources at exactly the time birds need them.

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Those Strange Little Spikes Are New Feathers

If you’ve ever gotten a close look at a molting bird, you may notice what appear to be tiny spikes or tubes sticking from its head or body. These are often called pin feathers.

A developing feather initially grows inside a protective keratin sheath. As the feather matures, that sheath breaks apart and the feather unfolds. Birds spend considerable time preening to remove these sheaths and properly arrange their new feathers.

It’s an amazing process to watch. What begins as a tiny spike eventually unfolds into an intricate structure containing a central shaft with hundreds of barbs that interlock to create the feather’s surface.

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Molting Can Even Change a Bird’s Color

One of the most fascinating things about molt is that it can completely change a bird’s appearance.

The brilliant colors we associate with breeding season aren’t necessarily permanent. Depending on the species, new feathers may produce a noticeably different fall and winter appearance. Male American Goldfinches are a familiar example. Their brilliant yellow breeding plumage eventually gives way to much duller olive-brown winter colors.

This is one reason fall bird identification can be challenging. Juveniles are gaining new feathers, adults may be entering nonbreeding plumage, and migrants passing through can look quite different from the birds we remember seeing during spring.

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A Fresh Set of Feathers for Migration

For migratory birds, the condition of their feathers can be a matter of life and death.

Imagine flying hundreds, or even thousands, of miles with badly worn wings. Damaged feathers reduce aerodynamic efficiency, while fresh flight feathers provide the strong, smooth surfaces needed for sustained flight.

Many species therefore coordinate at least part of their molt around migration. The exact strategy varies enormously among species. Some complete most of their molt before heading south, while others migrate first and replace certain feathers later. Still others interrupt migration to molt at particular locations.

Migration and molt are two enormous biological investments, and birds have evolved remarkably precise schedules for fitting both into the year.

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Why Your Backyard Seems Quieter Right Now

Molting may also help explain why your backyard suddenly seems quieter than it did in May or June.

Spring was filled with singing males defending territories and attracting mates. Parents were constantly traveling back and forth carrying insects to hungry nestlings. Once nesting ends, much of that activity disappears.

At the same time, molting birds may behave more secretively. With missing or growing flight feathers, they can be slightly less maneuverable and more vulnerable to predators. Some spend additional time concealed in dense vegetation.

The birds haven’t necessarily disappeared. They may simply be keeping a lower profile while they grow their new feathers.

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You Can Help Birds Through Their Makeover

Late summer is an excellent time to make your yard especially bird-friendly. Keep birdbaths filled with clean water, maintain feeders if you normally feed birds, and allow native flowers and plants to produce seeds and berries.

Dense shrubs and vegetation are particularly valuable because they give molting birds places to hide while they’re vulnerable. Avoid unnecessary trimming of thick vegetation during this period when possible, and consider leaving some of your garden a little less “tidy.”

What looks messy to us can be exactly what a bird needs.

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Take a Closer Look at Those Scruffy Birds

The next time a strange-looking cardinal, ragged Blue Jay, or unusually fluffy chickadee appears outside your window, don’t dismiss it as an unhealthy bird. Take a closer look.

You may be witnessing one of the most remarkable transformations in the avian world.

Within weeks, many of those ragged summer birds will emerge wearing a fresh set of feathers—better insulated, better protected, and, for migrants, equipped for journeys that may carry them hundreds or thousands of miles.

So if your backyard birds aren’t looking their best this August, give them a little credit.

They’re not having a bad feather day.

They’re getting an entirely new wardrobe.