Expert: Julia Booth - 9/14/2008

Question
We have a birdfeeder on our back deck and I have sunflower seeds in that are already shelled. I have noticed both a female and male cardinal getting seeds and then putting them into the mouths of other cardinals. These cardinals are not much smaller and can fly (they are colored like females). They flutter their wings as they are fed. Are these fledgings that are being fed by their parents (we live in SC)? Why are they still being fed? They are big, they can fly and the seeds are even shelled? We thought maybe they couldn't land on the bird feeder, but now they are standing right next to the food as their parents feed them! This has been going on for weeks and we are puzzled by these parents who are still taking care of their babies!

Answer
There are two possibilities:

1. Cardinals have as many as 4 broods in one season, one on top of the other. They will literally begin incubating eggs while there are still fledglings in the nest. Typically, the father continues to feed the newly fledged young, while the mother starts hatching the next brood. Cardinals have been known to continue this, even after they have left the nest. For how long, I don't know. Robins are another species that I have seen do this.

2. This is less likely, being that it's not the right time of year. But many birds feed one another as a part of their mating ritual. Some actually continue engaging in these behaviors, even when they've already copulated and the female is incubating the eggs. The wing fluttering is generally part of this display.

We had a pair of House Finches nest in our eaves this year and for weeks before the eggs hatched, the male would flap his wings and put food into the female's mouth.

Hope this helps,

Julia