This bird has been coming to one of my feeders for the last several days, but I can’t seem to find it in my bird book. It is even more skittish than the cardinals that visit regularly; I had a difficult time getting this photo through my window. – G.A. Gallop, Quispamsis Believe it or not, it’s an adult female cardinal, but one involved with a heavy molt. It’s so heavy, in fact, that its head appears to be mostly naked. Most songbirds undergo an overall feather molt during late summer or early fall, but normally it’s spread out over time to ensure the bird is still able to fly and keep reasonably warm at night. But the degree of temporary feather loss on this bird would appear to be greater than usual, perhaps making it abnormally skittish. No wonder you had a difficult time trying to figure out its identity. The all-red heavy beak is an important clue however – mature cardinals are about the only bird in this part of the world sporting a heavy red bill. Young cardinals hatched this summer would have dark beaks. – Jim Wilson