Cardinalis cardinalis
Copyright, Jim Roetzel
Northern Cardinals are
probably the most easily recognized bird in our area, with
the possible exception of the American Crow. Male and female cardinals
are eight to nine inches long. Males are usually bright red
with a black face. Females are tan with some red on the
head, wings, and tail. Both sexes have a crest (pointy
feathers on top of the head). Immature (young)
cardinals look more like females than males. Northern Cardinals live
at the edges of woods, thickets,
fields, marshes, parks, and gardens. This bird can be seen
year-round, since it does not migrate. Northern Cardinals begin
their breeding
season in early Spring. Males are very territiorial
and defend their territories aggressively. They often attack
their own reflections, mistaking them for other
males. Northern Cardinals build
a cup-shaped nest in dense
shrubs.
They use twigs,
leaves, grass, bark strips, roots, weed
stems, paper, and
hair to build nests. They even use threads from Poison Ivy
stems! Copyright, Jim
Roetzel Copyright, Fred
Fallon Copyright,
Gregory Gough Northern Cardinals lay
three or four pale green eggs, with brown spots. The female
does most of the incubating
(sitting on the eggs), but the male helps when he isn't
looking for food. Eggs hatch in about 12 days. Once the young cardinals
have hatched, the male tends to them while the female begins
building a new nest. Northern Cardinals usually have two
broods
(sets of young) each year. Copyright, Peter
LaTourrette, http://birdphotography.com
Copyright, R. W. Scott, Birds in Flight
Very often, another bird,
the Brown-headed Cowbird, will lay an egg in a cardinal
nest. The cardinals, without knowing it, raise the cowbird
as their own. This makes the cowbird a parasite,
since it takes food and energy away from the young
cardinals. Northern Cardinals eat
mostly fruits
and seeds throughout the year, but will rely somewhat on
insects during the summer. They also sometimes eat flowers
and buds.
Young cardinals are fed mostly insects by their
parents. Predators
of Northern Cardinals include owls, hawks, snakes, Raccoon,
and Red Fox.
Huntley Meadows Park
Copyright, Dr. Lloyd Glenn Ingles, California Academy of Sciences