4:44 AM – I don’t know if it’s due to the arrival of Spring (and maybe the mating season), but I’m seeing some color change in the Cardinals. Also in a Yellow-rumped Warbler. The first video shows a male Cardinal with a patch of yellow on his breast. This could be emphasized by the direct late-afternoon sun, but you can see it faintly when he’s in shadow (his back turned to the light). In the next video the female Cardinal has a much brighter red area on the wings and crest.

The female Cardinal:

This Yellow-rumped Warbler’s head and shoulders are mottled, not the usual solid yellow (ish) color. He looks like he’s been decorated by an abstract expressionist painter.