Meet The Real-Life Red Angry Bird That Is Half Male And Half Female
Angry Birds may be a cartoon, but this northern cardinal looks like it flew straight out of the game. Its bright red coloring already makes the comparison easy, and this real-life bird takes it even further with a rare split down the middle.
The bird is a bilateral gynandromorph, which means one side is male and the other is female. That unusual mix gives it a striking red-and-white look, and it has made the bird a standout example of just how strange nature can get.
Now the photos are doing the rounds for a very good reason.
This northern cardinal has a rare genetic abnormality that makes it half male and female.
It has female plumage on one side of its face and body, while the other side features male plumage. The bird was tagged and captured in Texas.
When you look at the cardinal from the side, you see a male red northern cardinal, and if you check the other side, you see a white cardinal, indicating that it is female.
It was caught and released by the USA's Inland Bird Banding Association.
Its genetic abnormality is known as bilateral gynandromorphism. This means that its special and unique appearance also allows it to possess both male and female genitalia.
The bird was first banded back in 2014, and it regularly returns to its place of capture. It comes back to the feeders every year, and sometimes, people are lucky enough to marvel at its peculiar appearance.
When the first photos of it were uploaded online, the bird became a celebrity. It gathered almost 7,000 comments, and the original post has been shared over 58,000 times already.
“Interesting, nature is always experimenting; we just don’t always get to see the results. He/She does not appear to be too pleased with the current situation. That’s one grumpy face,” one person said.
This bird is getting attention for looking like a real-life version of Angry Birds' Red, and the split coloring makes the comparison hard to miss.
And if you love real-life “split personality” birds, the masked cardinal with a black-and-white coat and a red head delivers a totally different kind of contrast.
Here's another example of bilateral gynandromorphism in another creature.
Seeing it on its red side really makes it look like the iconic Red in Angry Birds (and the males really do), and when you look at it from the other side, it has this regal white plumage that truly contrasts the brooding aura of its opposing side. This may be a rare phenomenon with birds, but you would be surprised to learn that it actually occurs in insects much more commonly.
Comment with your thoughts, or share this peculiar bird with all your family and friends to see!
Even some chickens have it, too!
Nature really went all in on this one.
After this half-male, half-female cardinal, check out the exceptionally rare yellow cardinal that sparked a social media frenzy in Alabama.
Share this article:
