A rare half-male, half-female cardinal was spotted in Erie, Pa., according to National Geographic.
The bird showed up 10 yards from the home of Jeffrey and Shirley Caldwell, who regularly feed birds.
They were able to take a few snapshots of the bird, which had half of its body in the red typical of male cardinals, while the other half was a taupe colour unique to female cardinals, split right down the middle.
Get breaking National news
The bird is in fact both genders, the magazine reported, due to a phenomenon known as bilateral gynandromorph, which can occur in all species of birds.
WATCH: Calgary Zoo penguins waddle their way through first weekend walk of the year
- Coastal B.C. First Nation leaders go to Calgary to dissuade pipeline investors
- Many Albertans welcome daylight time but expert warns of serious health impacts
- N.W.T to follow Alberta in ditching clock changes, will adopt permanent daylight time
- Canada’s emissions reductions slowed in 2024, federal data shows
Female birds typically have a Z and a W sex chromosome, while males have two Z chromosomes.
Gynandromorphy happens when a female egg is split into two nuclei, one with a Z chromosome and another with a W, which are then double-fertilized with two Z-carrying sperm.
The bird then grows half of its body with ZW chromosomes and the other half with ZZ chromosomes.
This process can happen with insects and crustaceans, in addition to birds.
Comments
Want to discuss? Please read our Commenting Policy first.