Northern cardinal
The northern cardinal is a well-recognized songbird found across North and Central America, notable for the male's striking bright-red plumage, reminiscent of the robes worn by cardinals in the Roman Catholic Church. Females, in contrast, exhibit a more subdued yellowish-brown coloration, accented by red on their crests, tails, and wings. Typically measuring between eight to nine inches in length, these birds boast a stout, cone-shaped beak ideal for cracking seeds, making them omnivorous as they consume a varied diet of insects, fruits, and grains.
Northern cardinals are largely non-migratory, establishing and defending territories, particularly during the breeding season from March to September. Males are known for their distinctive "cheer, cheer, cheer" song and sometimes display territorial aggression towards their reflections. The female builds a nest using twigs and foliage, laying one to five eggs that she incubates for about two weeks. After hatching, males assist in feeding the chicks, and families may raise multiple broods in a single season. With a lifespan of up to 15 years, northern cardinals are not considered threatened and hold the designation of state bird in several U.S. states, including Illinois and North Carolina.
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Northern cardinal
One of the more familiar garden birds and songbirds of North and Central America is the cardinal. Its name comes from the males' bright-red plumage which is similar to the red robes worn by cardinals in the Roman Catholic Church. The female cardinals have yellowish-brown plumage with red on their crests, tails, and wings. The cardinal is the state bird of seven states in the United States.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Cardinalidae
Genus: Cardinalis
Species: Cardinalis
A familiar sight in the yards, gardens, parks, and various other wooded habitats of North and Central America is the bright-red plumage, or feathering, of the northern cardinal. The males are perhaps more familiar than the females and easier to see since they stand out against the background more than the more dully colored females. Males have fiery red plumage over their entire bodies except for the black fringes around their eyes, beaks, and throats. Females have yellowish-brown plumage with red patches on their tails, wings, and crests, or the tops of their heads. Both males and females are eight to nine inches (21 to 23 1/2 centimeters) long and weigh up to two ounces (65 grams). From wing tip to wing tip they measure 10 to 12 inches (25 to 31 centimeters).
During the summer cardinals eat caterpillars, termites, dragonflies, ants, crickets, and beetles. They may eat up to 50 different kinds of insects, as well as occasional slugs, spiders, and snails. The birds prefer to use their short, strong, stout, and cone-shaped beaks for crushing seeds. They also eat berries, buds, grains, and flowers during this time of year. This diet makes the northern cardinal an omnivore, or plant- and meat-eating species, although they prefer seeds, grains, and fruits.
In general, cardinals do not migrate but stay in their territories throughout the year. A male cardinal may be very territorial over his little area surrounding his nest and often sings "cheer, cheer, cheer" loudly to warn other intruding birds. Males have been known to attack their reflections in windows or other shiny surfaces and to injure or even kill themselves, thinking they were attacking enemies. If the winter is very harsh up to 60 cardinals may flock together in the same area.
Shortly before the breeding season, a female moves into the territory of a male, and the male courts her with soft singing. After courting and mating, the female builds her nest with twigs, leaves, bark fibers, and grass and lays one to five eggs in the cup-shaped nest. Nests rest most often in a dense thicket, mass of foliage, shrub, or tree where they are hidden from predators. For just under two weeks, she incubates the eggs, or sits on the eggs to keep them warm. After this time, the chicks hatch from their brown-speckled, white, or green eggs. The male continues to bring food to the female and the young, as he brought food to the female while she incubated the eggs. When their wings have developed for seven to 13 days the young are ready to step from the edge of the nest and fly for the first time. This is called fledging. The male takes responsibility now for raising the young while the female begins incubating a second batch of eggs. A pair of cardinals may have two broods, or groups, of young in one mating season, which lasts from March to September.
Snakes, other birds, and small mammals may prey on the northern cardinal. Northern cardinals live up to 15 years. They are not a threatened species.
The northern cardinal is the state bird of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Bibliography
“Northern Cardinal - Facts, Diet, Habitat, & Pictures on Animalia.bio.” Animalia, 2024, animalia.bio/northern-cardinal. Accessed 2 May 2024.
Polan, Jason. “Northern Cardinal - Audubon Field Guide.” National Audubon Society, 2024, www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/northern-cardinal. Accessed 2 May 2024.