A bird watcher from Pennsylvania spotted an incredibly rare half-male half-female cardinal recently.
According to media reports, the rare Northern cardinal had bright red feathers on one side, while the other side of the body came covered with brownish-toned feathers. According to science experts, the sighting is incredibly rare and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Moreover, they referred to it as a bilateral gynandromorph that contains traits belonging to the male as well as the female gender. Usually, male cardinals have bright red hues while the female ones exhibit a more dull-like appearance.
According to the birth watcher from Pennsylvania, it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for him too as he had never come across such a species in his life. He explained how he suddenly saw the bird perched up in a tree. And that’s when he realized that it had both male and female characteristics.
Local news outlets identified the bird watcher as James R. Hill III who is renowned for his countless sightings of all sorts of feathered animals. But this one really took the ball out of the park for many. James added how his recent discovery is probably one of his greatest highlights of 48 years.
James went on describing the bird in great detail. “It was a rare sighting where the bird came divided right down in the center.” The fact that it was half male and half female stood out as very unusual and that’s when he opted to snap it in all its glory.
Experts mentioned how the striking appearance has plenty to do with the concept of double fertilization. Here, the female egg cell that develops with two nuclei is actually fertilized by two sperm. And in the end, this is what you end up with.
Some call the bird a creature that looks like a male and female stitched together as one.