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Project Noah Nature School
Cardinalis cardinalis
Male bright red with crest.
Woodland edges, thickets, brush swamps, gardens. Winters in northern region. (ref Audubon Society Field Guid to North American Birds Eastern Region
Range: from the Dakotas, southern Ontario, Nova Scotia south to the Gulf Coast, and from southern Texas, Arizona, and southern California, southward into Mexico. Named after the red robes work by Roman Catholics cardinals.
Interesting! Seems it's very rare, and potentially an escapee/stow-away! I'd love it if we did have some cardinals here, would make me feel more at home :)
sounds right - natural down coats...
seems cardinals are in the uk birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=19036
try sunflower seeds in the birdfeeder...that's how they came here.
Yup, the puffed out feathers trap a layer of air against the bird's skin, and the body heat warms up the air and gives it some nice insulation! What a cute picture, when I lived in Canada we had a lot of these! Don't get these lovely birds in the UK
That is always what I have understood, somehow they trap in more heat between the feathers.
indeed. during the winter sometimes they look so fat, and other times, thin. I wonder if it is different birds or just that they change their shape for some reason.
Spotted on Apr 7, 2011
Submitted on May 18, 2011
