Some people claim that the camera adds ten pounds, and that seems to be the case with this female Northern Cardinal. Maybe it’s just the angle or she had fluffed up her feathers for better insulation, but it sure looks to me like she has been fattening herself up for the winter. In fact, you probably noticed that I caught her in mid-bite. I’m not sure what she is eating, but there are lots of colorful berries in the background from which to choose.
Some people claim that they eat like a bird—I hope they don’t mean they eat like this particular bird.
Cardinal in mid-bite
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
awww, she’s precious. I lived in Louisville, KY for a while and one of the few things I miss are the beautiful cardinals.
Thanks. I didn’t realize we had lots of cardinals here in Northern Virginia, but I have been seeing them a lot the last few weeks
I burst out laughing when I read your last phrase about eating like a bird…cos it’s one I like to use for myself…..guess it can’t be this type of bird I should be referring to.
Glad I could make you laugh, Stephanie. Every now and then I take a photo and when I look at it, I realize I can’t do a serious post about it. Most of my friends tell me I have a quirky sense of humor, so I never know if others will find the same things funny as I do.
Funny. It sounds like you’re trying to politely respond to a comment from the bird, “This photo makes me look fat!”
I think it was more like, “Do these feathers make me look fat?” Married guys know that there is never a good answer to that kind of a question.
beautiful! i’m so glad she’s chubby for when the food is scarce
That’s kind of what I figure, but I don’t know enough about bird metabolism to know if that works.
Birds will sometimes “puff up” when scared (so they look bigger) or cold ( something abut the body heat exerted when puffed) Or at least all my parrots used to do that.
I bet she’d blame it on the camera lens, maybe the wind. The red berries are dogwood. Do you know the blue ones in the background?
Haha! Thanks for the laugh 🙂 Great picture, I like this little chubby bird!
It’s a whole lot better than an angry bird…..