Birthday Tradition

Art and I both have summer birthdays. We go to Starbucks once a week when we go to the mall with friends for our weekly walk and refresher drink. I therefore have enough stars (200) in my account to get a free drink.

So we did it again. We've been doing it since 2017 when the barista told me about it in Washington, D.C. He told me I could have any flavor, any size. I actually wrote a blog post about how I got the Midnight Mint Mocha Frappuccino. I loved it... but I haven't seen that flavor offered since.

Ah well... I ordered my usual birthday Mocha Frappuccino and got Art a free Matcha Frappuccino. And yes, I got the ventis. 

And then we went to our favorite spot under beautiful shower trees and savored the treat.

I happened to look out the window and saw this bird pecking away at the fallen shower tree flower petals.

I've seen them a lot and figured they must be in the cardinal family just from the head shape with the red feathers. But there was a cardinal with a brown head too. I told Art it was probably a female. He felt it must be a juvenile.

Soooo... I asked ChatGPT what kind of birds they were and if the brown headed bird was a female.

This is what I got:

These are Red-crested Cardinals (Paroaria coronata), a species native to South America that has become well established in Hawaii, especially on Oahu and the Big Island.

The difference in head color is most likely due to age, not sex.

• The bird on the left has a vivid, bright scarlet-red head and crest. This is an adult, whose red feathers have fully developed.
• The bird on the right has a duller, brownish-red head. This is most likely a juvenile (young bird) that hasn’t yet molted into its bright adult plumage.

Male and female Red-crested Cardinals look very similar, so the intensity of the red isn’t a reliable way to tell males from females. Instead:

• Adults of both sexes have brilliant red heads, white cheeks and throat, gray backs, and pale underparts.
• Juveniles have browner or orangish-red heads and generally look less sharply colored until they mature.

From your photo, the left bird appears to be carrying a small flower petal or leaf in its beak, which they sometimes pick up while foraging. They mainly eat seeds, fruits, and insects.

It’s a nice capture showing what is probably an adult and a young Red-crested Cardinal together, which is common during the breeding season.

It was nice of ChatGPT to give me a compliment about taking a nice photo. 

And sitting next to me in the car, I looked up at Art who was looking quite proud of himself. 😎