He’s one in a million
Rare yellow cardinal has taken a liking to backyard bird feeders in Rushville, Illinois
By Nara Schoenberg
Chelsea Curry is a second-generation bird-watcher, so she knew she was seeing something special in February 2020, when a handsome lemon-yellow songbird made his first appearance at her bird feeders.
“That’s a cardinal,” said her husband, Richard.
“No it’s not. There’s no such thing as a yellow cardinal,” Chelsea replied. And yet, there was no denying the bird’s jaunty head feathers and his distinctive jet-black markings.
“I’m tellin’ you,” Richard said. “That’s a cardinal.”
As it turns out, a one-in-a-million yellow cardinal had decided to make himself at home at the Currys’ bird feeders in rural Rushville, a quiet farm community 200 miles southwest of Chicago. Yellow cardinals have been spotted in Alabama, Arkansas, Ohio and Florida in recent years. And now, according to Auburn University biological sciences professor Geoffrey Hill, who reviewed photos of the Currys’ cardinal at the request of the Tribune, Illinois has a yellow cardinal of its own.
“That is a legit yellow cardinal,” Hill declared.
Of the 12 million (mostly fiery or red-tinged) cardinals in North America, there are about 12 yellow cardinals, according to Hill, who said the eyepopping coloration is due to a genetic mutation that prevents the birds from converting yellow pigment in their food into red pigment for their feathers. The pigment stays yellow, and so do the cardinals.
All of the yellow cardinals sighted to date are male, with the more intense coloration of their sex, Hill said. Female cardinals are light brown with red highlights.
The genetic mutation that produces yellow cardinals isn’t new, but interest exploded in 2018, when a professional photographer snapped photos of a bird in Alabama. The striking photos helped the bird, dubbed Mr. Yellow, become international news.
Hill, who was in Australia at the time, recalls being bombarded with yellow cardinal questions by college students — in a country with no cardinals, yellow or otherwise.
“All of a sudden, the yellow cardinal was the talk of the world,” he said.
The Rushville cardinal first appeared among the browns and grays of February
This rare yellow cardinal has been frequenting bird feeders.
2020, shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic closed schools and workplaces throughout Illinois. After that, the bird became a regular guest at the Currys’ backyard bird feeders, visiting daily, for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
At some point, he started showing up with a mate, a female cardinal with the usual light brown coloration marked with red highlights. And in spring, the cardinal couple started bringing a young bird with them that was brown with a touch of red.
Female cardinals are attracted to brightred males, so it’s interesting that the Rushville cardinal attracted a mate and may have reproduced, Hill said.
But other factors also come into play when cardinals mate, such as a male’s ability to hold a territory, which could trump plumage. Yellow coloration could theoretically be passed on to offspring, but in practice, no one has documented that, Hill said.
The Rushville cardinal’s visits to the Currys’ bird feeders continued until August, and then stopped, according to Chelsea, 37, a school paraprofessional. “Is he gone forever?” she wondered. But when the weather got cold, the yellow cardinal returned.
Chelsea’s 14-year-old son and 20-yearold daughter would roll their eyes as their mom ran for her camera, eager to take yet another photo of their unusual feathered guest. But for Chelsea, the thrill never got old.
In the early days, the cardinal would initially flee as soon as he heard the back door start to open, she said. But now she can step outside and stand maybe 20 yards away from the bird feeders. Sometimes she feels as if he’s watching her while she snaps photos, or even posing.
When this reporter noted that the one-in-a-million cardinal has the right to preen a bit, Chelsea agreed.
“I wish I could tell him how special he is,” she said.