This afternoon as I drove in my back yard in Burlington a flurry of 
birds in the lilac bush caught my eye; I stayed in the car for 15 
minutes watching 6 cardinals not 5 feet away in one tall lilac. Two 
adult males and 4 VERY young juveniles(young not too coordinated as they 
kept slipping off the branches in the light drizzle) There were no adult 
females in view. I was surprised the males weren't chasing each other 
off their territory and instead all 6 were very intent on feeding 
together. All birds, adults and juveniles stayed on the same lilac. Were 
the males demonstrating for the youngsters? When they finally moved off, 
it was as a group, and the adult females still weren't in evidence. One 
juvenile seemed younger than the others: bill almost black, no red 
coloring yet and not much of a crest. And that was the one who slipped 
off the branch. It was a fascinating look at the young and will send me 
to my bird behavior books tonight. Nancy Goodrich, Burlington