Cardinal feeding Goldfish (1 Viewer)

Several years ago I found this photograph of a Cardinal feeding a Goldfish in a German bird magazine (I think it was Ornithologische Mitteilungen).

The person who had sent in the photo stated that it had been published in the Shelby Daily Star USA.

Has anyone ever heard of this, is it real or has the photo been tampered with?

Wierd!!

No, not heard of this before. But if it is in a reputable journal like Ornithologische Mitteilungen, probably correct, as they would check the details carefully before publishing

Peter

I had hoped someone on this forum could vow for the authenticity of this picture or say it's a fraud.

A possible reason that was given for the Cardinal feeding the Goldfish was that the Cardinal had lost it's own brood but still had the urge to feed.

Could be, but how would the Goldfish know it was offered food? Can Goldfish be handfed?

Ronald Zee said:

Can Goldfish be handfed?

Click to expand...

Yes they can.

Definitely...especially if you are offering earthworms to large fish !

The Cardinal and the Goldfish

It's now some time after Ron's post...but I stumbled upon it as I, too, was searching on the in/net for more information about this oddity. I can somewhat validate the image - but only due to a faded photocopy of the article my 90 year old mother has been holding in her possession for some time. An avid bird-lover, my mom and dad had a very active backyard in Westwood, Mass USA and a home library full of bird books. I grew up knowing more about the names and sounds of birds than any other 'normal' child and still enjoy it to this day.

Anyway, to get back to the question at hand. The photocopy my mom has is of a black and white picture just like Ron provided - but it is also has the following description:

COME AND GET IT! Hungry goldfish crowd the edge of a backyard pool in North Carolina as a cardinal passes out tidbits of food. For days the bird followed this strange routine. Alighting on the pool fence, he chirped. As the seven goldfish gathered, he fluttered down and began to feed them. In their eagerness they almost leaped from the water. Food gone, the bird flew off for more. Perhaps this foster parent had lost his own brood.

I say the picture is legit.

Enjoy.



undefined

Ronald Zee said:

Several years ago I found this photograph of a Cardinal feeding a Goldfish in a German bird magazine (I think it was Ornithologische Mitteilungen).

The person who had sent in the photo stated that it had been published in the Shelby Daily Star USA.

Has anyone ever heard of this, is it real or has the photo been tampered with?

Click to expand...

Hi Beantowngal and a warm welcome to you from those of us on staff here at BirdForum :t:

I'm sure glad you found this cause I missed it the first go around. Hmmm.. will have to check my local birding listserv to see if any of the oldtimers recall this article. Really quite interesting.

Cardinal Feeding Goldfish

I know this thread is pretty old but I just ran across it. I can verify this picture is real. It was taken by my grandfather, Paul Lemmons, many years ago in Shelby, NC. He was a professional photographer at the time.

Amazing and amusing! That would have been great to witness.

Steve

AQA (one of the companies that produce public examinations in the UK) used a copy of the photo in an A level Biology exam about 10 years ago.

I saw this photo in a the Life nature Library volume on Animal Behaviour published in 1970. The explanation given in the caption was that given above; the bird had lost its brood. Other pictures on the same page included a cat looking after ducklings, as I recall. If you had asked me a month ago, i could have given mroe details, but I got rid of the books.

While this doesn't prove it was gen, it at least makes it more likely.