Bright red cardinals are commonly part of Christmas cards, holiday decor and the general spirit of wintertime. This bird, called the Northern Cardinal, is North Carolina’s state bird (six other ...

This bird, called the Northern Cardinal, is North Carolina’s state bird (six other states also claim the Northern Cardinal). The News & Observer dug in to see why this bird has become so ...

In late November 2023, an image went viral on Facebook, allegedly showing a rare, red-and-white cardinal. "Santa Cardinal is Comin’ to Town," one user captioned it: ...

In December 2023, we investigated a similar photograph, allegedly showing a rare, red and white "Santa cardinal" bird. Unfortunately, that photograph also turned out to be AI-generated.

And yes, he verified he was seeing it too,” Arlene McDaniel said. Scientists estimate the male northern cardinal’s genetic mutation that makes it yellow also makes it a 1-in-10 million bird.

Reverse image search was no help, but when I looked closer, the answer was obvious. The bird appeared to have three feet, and the end of its tail was somehow covered in snow. This wasn’t a real ...