Q Lately I've seen a mangy-looking female cardinal at my Roseville feeder. She's missing neck feathers and has a scraggly crest. She's sometimes accompanied by a male without any feathers on its head. What's going on with these birds?
A Every fall, there are reports of "bald" cardinals. Some experts think the feather loss is caused by feather mites. Their theory is that birds use their beaks to control the mites on their torsos, but because they can't reach their heads with their beaks, the mites take over, causing feather loss.
Others say this kind of feather loss can happen during the bird's fall molt, but instead of losing a few feathers at a time, as most birds do, some birds lose all their head feathers at once.
Whichever is the cause, your cardinals almost surely will produce new head feathers soon.
No-mess seed Q I'm just about ready to quit feeding birds altogether. The shells pile up under the feeders, kill the grass and make a big mess. I enjoy the birds, but don't know how to cope with this.
A You can have both grass and birds by making one simple change: Feed with shelled sunflower seeds.
The shells of black-oil sunflower seeds contain a mild toxin that kills grass. But if you use shelled sunflower seeds, there's no toxin and no mess under the feeders.
Shelled seeds, either whole or in pieces, are more expensive, but they're worth it because you won't need to replace the dead grass or regularly move your feeders.
