Cardinals raise and lower their crests when they feel like it. I just found these two photos in sequence from December 28, 2013 where a female cardinal had her crest up and then quickly lowered it. I think she was eating berries at the time. The crest isn't quite flat here but it shows how it can go down so it's not really noticeable. Claire

No. Not a deformed beak I don't think. We have tons of California Thrashers here (the bane of my fruit and fig trees!), and this didn't look like a Thrasher. Head was blackish, beak was much thicker and black, not brown. I have never seen this bird before, so I'm thinking it's a visitor, flying through. The bill looks like a Magpie's bill - thick, black, longer, and a curved slightly downward. But thank you all for trying. Anyone else care to venture a guess? Patty S. This post was edited by hoosierquilt on Fri, Feb 6, 15 at 13:45

Carthamus tinctorius (Safflower)?

We have a large creek meandering through our large property. I saw a couple wood ducks one year, but I'm not sure a stream is that attractive to them. I thought of putting up a couple nesting boxes on top of the bank........but don't you think they would need something more stable....like a pond/lake? This creek floods badly a couple times a year. It would never get as high as a nest box, but still........ What do you think?