Gray Cardinal?

[question everything]

We have several feeders and both male and female cardinals are regular residents of our back yard (along with many other birds and ducks..)

Earlier this afternoon I saw a bird at the back porch, close to the door where I shook several bread crumbs earlier. It looked exactly like a cardinal, with the crest and the long tail but not a single speck of red, not the red beak characteristic of the female.

At a stretch it could look like a titmouse or a phainopepla (was looking at the bird book) but Central Minnesota is way out of their habitats.

Can there be a cardinal without any red?

[XemaSab]

1. A juvie?

[question everything]

2. Oh yes. Thank you

Is it a young Cardinal? A relative?

[XemaSab]

3. It's a young cardinal.

You're welcome. :)

[semillama]

4. meanwhile, here's a cardinal that's all red

although you can see some hints of grayish blue along his flank and upper coverts...

I took this one yesterday. Cardinals may be common, but sometimes they make you stop and appreciate how pretty they are.