“We couldn’t believe that we now had two!”
Last July, staff at Raven Ridge Wildlife Center received an unexpected call from a woman named Brenda. She had discovered a tiny white bird underneath a car, where it appeared to be trying to find water near the vehicle’s suspension.
Pennsylvania was experiencing a major heat wave at the time, so the wildlife team was especially concerned that the bird could be dehydrated. They asked Brenda to bring the little animal to the center as quickly as possible.
She carefully placed the bird in a box and drove to Raven Ridge.
Once the staff got a closer look, they immediately realized there was something very unusual about their new patient. This wasn’t simply a young bird with pale feathers. It was an extremely rare albino cardinal.
Facebook/Raven Ridge
The discovery surprised the entire team. Although the center had treated countless birds over the years, seeing a true albino cardinal in person was an extraordinary experience.
The staff decided to name the fledgling Frosty.
Facebook/Raven Ridge
According to Raven Ridge, cardinals displaying white feathers are already extremely uncommon, with estimates placing the odds at roughly one in 30,000. A completely albino cardinal, which lacks pigmentation throughout its body, is even rarer.
Frosty’s unusual appearance made him impossible to miss. His feathers were almost entirely bright white, while his eyes had the reddish appearance associated with albinism.
You can watch footage of Frosty here:
As beautiful as Frosty looked, his coloring would make life in the wild especially dangerous. Without the natural pigmentation that helps birds blend into their surroundings, he would have a much harder time hiding from predators.
Fortunately, Brenda had found him in time.
At Raven Ridge, Frosty was given food, shelter and the care he needed to continue developing. The team eventually determined that releasing him back into the wild would be too risky, so he would need to remain in captivity.