This year’s bunch of young cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) haven’t left yet despite Poppa’s efforts to get them to go. I have a harder and harder time telling them from Momma and Poppa as each day passes. Right now about the only way I can tell is that the baby’s crests are a bit smaller and sometimes by their body language. They aren’t quite as confident as Momma and Poppa, but that’s changing daily, too. I believe that this is the female from the first clutch (Duchess, as I call her). She was quietly preening after eating when she suddenly went into full alert. I have no idea what she saw or heard, but she sat in that position for about a minute, and then went right back to preening. Her expression looked like that of a teenaged girl whose friend just told her something crazy.