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Cardinalis cardinalis
The Northern Cardinal is a mid-sized songbird with a body length of 21 centimeters (8.3 inches). It has a distinctive crest on the head and a mask on the face which is black in the male and gray in the female. The male is a vibrant red, while the female is a dull red-brown shade. The Northern Cardinal is mainly granivorous, but also feeds on insects and fruit. The male behaves territorially, marking out his territory with song. During courtship, the male feeds seed to the female beak-to-beak. A clutch of three to four eggs is laid, and two to four clutches are produced each year. It was once prized as a pet, but its sale as cage birds is now banned in the United States by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.
The Northern Cardinal is found in residential areas throughout its range. Their nesting choices are low lying bushes and dense vines. Backyard birders attract it using feeders containing seeds, particularly sunflower seeds and safflower seeds. Although some controversy surrounds bird feeding (see bird feeder for details), an increase in backyard feeding by humans has generally been beneficial to this species.
Found above my bird feeder. They watch me and even remind me to seed the feeder. Sometimes late in the afternoon they will find a way to show themselves through a window to say, "Feed me again.". (This was taken out of the camera earlier this month but I'm sure that this was taken in January 2012 in my yard)
Spotted on Aug 1, 2012
Submitted on Aug 9, 2012
8 Comments
You're welcome, Emma. It can be the black sunflower seeds or the striped ones. As for the hummingbirds chasing each other away, I just learned from my hummingbird posting that it is actually a mating ritual, which is why at times it seems like a constant fight and at other times they will share the feeders.
Unsalted,unpeeled sunflower seeds ,sounds like a good idea. Thanks for the tip.
The hummingbirds at our feeder are always chasing each other away. They seem like Brats when they are fighting!
@ Emma, yes, we have an abundance of Cardinals. We get to watch the juveniles being brought to the feeders too and then later the parents trying to chase them away. They are at their prettiest durring the winter months though. At any given time, you can see up to 4 males and 4 females near the feeders at once. They aren't as territorial as the books mention and they do like to nest in low lying brush or vines, if you ever want to try to encourage them in. Their favorite seed are the Sunflower seeds and fresh water in a bowl or anything helps to bring any birds in.
Thank you Ava T-B. I do wish all of my pictures could be this clear though.
Do you have lots of cardinals? It must be quite a treat to see them sitting on the tree, The closest we have got to red is the House Finches.
nexttogone, I really appreciate how much effort you put into your notes as well as the quality of your pictures.
Hi shaquana! ") Thanks for commenting. I like them a lot too. I've been working hard to keep them around the past two years during our drought through bird feeders, berry producing plants and building my own water features. So far it's been working.
like birds a lots