The Half-Sider Cardinal
Photo credit: Live Science
In 2019, Shirley Caldwell from Pennsylvania photographed a cardinal. Although males are red, the females have tan bodies. This one was split down the middle: The right side was red, and the left was tan. The bird was half male, half female.
Experts call such animals bilateral gynandromorphs (aka “half-siders”). These two-toned wonders also show up in butterfly and crustacean species. This cardinal probably split due to a chromosomal mix-up early in its development.
It is believed that half-siders are formed when an egg cell contains two nuclei instead of one. Each develops as a different gender and results in a perfectly halved chick.The cardinal probably cannot sing, which is something only the males can do. However, it might raise a family as a female. As its left side is female, fertile eggs could happen. This is because only the left ovary in birds actually works. Indeed, the photographer noticed that a male cardinal courted the half-sider as if it were fully female.
I never heard of this before, and I found it very interesting. Nature sure knows how to blow our collective minds from time to time, I'd say.
Coffee out on the patio where it's already feeling like Summer.
