Rare yellow cardinal spotted in Florida

Via Facebook/Tracy Workman

A very rare yellow cardinal was photographed in Port St. Lucie, Florida over the weekend.

Florida woman Tracy Workman posted on Facebook about the bird, which she nicknamed Sunny. Workman told USA Today she had actually first seen the bird on Oct. 3 but did not take a picture in time.

According to Geoffrey Hill, a professor and bird curator at the University of Auburn, the cardinal is yellow because of a genetic mutation. Hill says the bird is “one in a million” and only two other yellow cardinals have been spotted this year.

“This phenomenon has been around forever, but now everybody is looking for them,” Hill told USA Today. “This is good for habitat preservation. People are excited about birds for a minute.”