The adult male is red in color with a black mask over its eyes that extends to the upper chest.
There are many names for this common bird that is native to North America. The most common name is northern cardinal, while it is also known as the redbird, common cardinal, red cardinal, or simply cardinal. It is in the genus Cardinalis and has the scientific name Cardinalis cardinalis. It is named after the cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church, who wear distinctive red robes and caps. You’ll typically find this bird in habitat that includes woodlands, gardens, shrublands, and wetlands. Let’s learn more about this spectacular bird.
When identifying northern cardinals, there is a strong distinction between the male and female. This distinction between the two sexes is known as sexual dimorphism. The adult male is red in color with a black mask over its eyes that extends to the upper chest. The adult female has a gray to black mask that is less distinct. The female is grayish-brown with a slight red tint on the wings, crest, and tail feathers. Both males and females have a bright-colored, cone-shaped beak. They each have a raised crest on their heads and dark pink-brown legs and feet.
Female Northern Cardinal
One interesting behavior of cardinals is how they stay warm in the winter. They fluff up the down feathers in order to retain warm air next to their bodies. Down features are located at the base of each flight feather, and they are small and hair-like. When the weather is particularly cold, they will shiver and tense their muscles to generate heat. As a last resort, they can drop their body temperatures by up to 6 degrees, if necessary, in order to survive the coldest temperatures.
Cardinals have a varied omnivorous diet. They eat their food by hopping around on the ground. Cardinals get most of their calories (about 90%) from seeds, grains, and fruits. They will also eat snails, beetles, cicadas, and grasshoppers. They are known to drink maple sap from holes made by sapsuckers.
Northern cardinals are territorial
Northern Cardinal reading a sign
Did you know?
- Northern cardinals are territorial, and males will chase off other males that enter their territory.
- The females build most of the nest by bending and weaving twigs, grasses, and bark strips into a cup shape.
- The oldest known wild cardinal lived to be 15 years and 9 months. They can live to be over 28 years old in captivity.
- They lay 1 to 5 eggs at a time with 3 or 4 being most common. The eggs are white with brown blotches.
0 Comments