Darwin's Peacock Question and the Cardinal

"How do bright red male cardinals survive? New feathers on male Northern Cardinals are edged with brown, and the tips wear away to reveal the brightest red at the end of winter/early spring. ..."
~ acorn-online com/.../index.php?...male-cardinals...

...and a peacock tail being a liabilty?

Maybe... the point is to guarantee that certain males should NOT survive.
Weeding out the weakest males who are slower and easy prey, and the strongest survive to mate another season.

Now that's "natural selection".

This juvenile male is marked by its dark beak and brown feathers. The feathers will turn bright red as it matures. The adult is marked by its bright orange beak.