Who doesn't love a beautiful red cardinal, especially against the white snowy backdrop?

This handsome fella hangs around in our backyard a lot, and I spotted him out my kitchen window this frigid week, inching toward the small open spot in the fishpond to get a sip of water.

He sipped, and then to my great surprise (considering the extreme temperature)...

...he dipped.  On purpose!!!

Mr. Redbird splashed around in the icy water for a few seconds...

...before scrambling out.

Maybe, I thought, he didn't intend to get into the water...surely not.

And then, after fluffing his feathers a little, he jumped right back in!

Even the sparrows thought he was crazy!  "What are you doin', man???!!!"

Crazy Cardinal did this several times before finally flying away to a nearby pine tree.

There are people who do such things too, to raise money or just for the "thrill" of it.  Some things I guess I'll just never understand.  I used to say they were just plain crazy!

But after I've seen this polar-plunging cardinal, they may have (temporariy, anyway), just like this silly bird, a bad case of...

...birdbrain.