The Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)

Cardinals are beautiful birds and the first time you see one, the memory of the sighting will stay with you forever whether or not you take up bird watching as a hobby.

The colour of the male cardinal is a brilliant fire engine red.  His lady is quieter in colour.  She has some red on her wings and crest and bill but mostly she is brownish-green.  Nature provides many female birds with camouflage so that they are practically invisible on the nest.  Camouflage is Nature’s cloak of invisibility.   These beautiful birds also have amazing headdress, called crests which adds to their air of enchantment and magic.

Cardinals are song bird and though every  bird guide describes the Cardinal’s  whistle differently perhaps the easiest  imitation to remember is: “What cheer, what cheer, sweet, sweet, sweet”.  Another call sounds something like “Whoit, whoit, whoit, whoit”.   If the bird watcher can learn to imitate that call, cardinals will come close.

Cardinals mate for life and often have three broods in a season.   A brood is a nest of eggs which the mother bird keeps warm by plumping up her downy feathers and covering them until they hatch.  She does not leave the nest for about two weeks and so the male brings her food.   Nestlings are ready to fly in nine or ten days and they will return to the same area to raise their nestlings.

Cardinals are seed eating birds and have stout bills which helps them to crack many tough seed husks.  They especially like the seeds in pine cones.  They will also forage for berries and occasionally eat insects.   Cardinals will come to bird feeders for sunflowers seeds.

The Latin Name for the Northern Cardinal is Cardinalis cardinalis.