The avian breeding season is pretty much finished for this year, and many of this years fledglings look like the adult birds. The young eastern cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) mature a little more slowly than their smaller counterparts like the chickadees and titmice. But except for a few individuals from the last clutch of the season, most of them look almost grown, too. The females still look just a little scruffy as they complete their last bit of molting, but the males are in the process of loosing the last of their brown feathers. Because of the color differences, the males look just a little more scruffy, but it’s now easy to see how gorgeously colorful they will soon be. This fellow is a prime example of many of the males that are currently hanging around. He is acting like a typical young male, chasing and being chased by his counterparts, but he is still definitely submissive to the full adult males. Watching these guys grow up, both physically and behaviorally, is always an interesting experience. It’s good to see that so many of them have survived to this age. By spring, many of them will have moved on to find their own mates and territories, but for now, it’s good to watch them as they finish growing up.