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This male Northern Cardinal is molting. Northern Cardinals molt their feathers and grow new ones in late summer and early fall, after breeding season is over and at a time when food is abundant. The white, fluffy feathers on this Northern Cardinal are down feathers. Birds have two types of feathers: contour feathers and down feathers. The contour feathers are the outer layer feathers and give the bird their color and protect it from the environment. The down feathers are underneath the contour feathers next to the birds skin and are good thermal insulators and padding. When the Northern Cardinal molts you may see these white, fluffy down feathers,. such as in the photo.