The male Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinals) is the last but more easily recognized bird of the Cardinalidae family found here at Flower Hill Farm.
My Bestiary continues with the namesake of this family. Cardinals, long after most birds have migrated, contently rest upon naked branches outside our heated homes and visit bird feeders, especially those filled with sunflower seeds. Bird feeders may have helped widen their range into Canada.
Remaining true to their color year round, the males of this popular songbird species add a brushstroke of bright red to the quiet winter landscape. I find the cardinals to be very shy and must take photos of them through panes of glass or they fly off when I try to open the door. The male is a vivid red bird with a bit of black bordering his red beak, whereas his mate is duller and has less of a beard look to the black around her bill.
Alerted to my presence the cardinal’s red crest rises up in alarm. The male and female will sing to one another sending messages from and to the nest and during the non-breeding months perhaps just to be sure the other is OK. The songs of clear whistles sounding like cheer, cheer, cheer can be heard year round.
Often seen at bird feeders cardinals are one of the most recognized and revered of birds. Seven states have chosen them to be their state birds. I have no bird feeders but I do feed the birds though my plantings. Rose hips are one of their favorite snacks and perhaps help make the males redder. It is believed by some that the more rose hips a male eats the redder his plumage becomes. Females will pick males for their bright red plumage. I often see the two together and have noted the male feeding the female on several occasions. This consideration may also come into play for the female’s final choice.
Notorious for fighting their images in windows and mirrors the male cardinal is aggressive towards other males and he can get really mad and pull out all the stops when confronting a real male. I was lucky but a bit too far away to see this male in full combat gear or more like the robes of a cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. I have seen both male and the duller female coming to a window and pecking at their image. This would go on long after the breeding season.
After they have carefully chosen their nest site together, the male cardinal will bring nesting material to the female who will take it and use her body to help mold their nest. They will raise one to two broods each year in the crotch of a branch about five to fifteen feet up in a dense shrub or small tree. They will feed their nestlings insects but the adults prefer seeds, fruit, and berries.
A group of cardinals may be known as a ‘college of cardinals.’
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