 The cardinals have it rough when they molt because they lose all of their head feathers in one big chunk, and they look sad. And that's the way it naturally happens. They don't have an illness. They don't have mites. It's not anything but nature. They have rough hair days this time of year. I've seen them like that and wondered what was going on. I thought something had gotten to them and they were dying out and the whole bunch. No, that's part of their annual molt.