Northern Cardinal

Cardinalis cardinalisOrder: PASSERIFORMESFamily: Cardinals and Grosbeaks (Cardinalidae)

General

Northern Cardinal: Large, crested finch with vivid red body. Black mask and chin contrast with heavy, red bill. Female is duller, washed with gray, and has smaller crest. Juvenile resembles female but is browner and has dark bill.

Range and Habitat

Northern Cardinal: Resident in eastern U.S. and much of Mexico. Preferred habitats include forest edges, lowlands, and suburban areas.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"whoit cheer, whoit cheer, cheer-cheer-cheer; cheer, whoit-whoit-whoit-whoit; wheat-wheat-wheat-wheat", "bir-dy,bir-dy,bir-dy,bir-dy"

Interesting Facts

The Northern Cardinal can live up to 15 years in the wild.

Males that have a brighter red color appear to feed at higher rates and have greater reproductive success than males that are duller in color.

It is the state bird of seven states-Illinois, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. No other bird holds this distinction.

A group of cardinals has many collective nouns, including a "college", "conclave", "deck", "radiance", and "Vatican" of cardinals.

Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Northern Cardinal

Northern Cardinal: Large, crested finch with vivid red body. Black mask and chin contrast with heavy, red bill. Forages on ground and in trees and bushes. Feeds on seeds, grains, fruits, insects and snails. Hops instead of walks on ground. Alternates rapid wing beats with wings pulled to sides.

● Song: "whoit cheer, whoit cheer, cheer-cheer-cheer; cheer, whoit-whoit-whoit-whoit; wheat-wheat-wheat-wheat", "bir-dy,bir-dy,bir-dy,bir-dy"

● Foraging & Feeding: Northern Cardinal: Eats seeds, insects, fruits, and snails; forages in trees, bushes, and on the ground.

● Breeding & nesting: Northern Cardinal: Three to four pale green, blue, or gray eggs with gray, purple, and brown marks are laid in a nest made of twigs, weeds, grass, bark strips, and leaves. Nest is lined with hair and grass, and built in a low tree or bush, or set in tangled twigs or vines, usually less than 5 feet above the ground. Incubation ranges from 12 to 13 days and in carried out mostly by the female.

● Similar species: Northern Cardinal: Pyrrhuloxia has a stubby, sharply curved yellow bill, red eye-ring, gray upperparts, and red wash on throat and underparts.

Flight Pattern

Alternates several rapid wing beats with wings pulled to sides., Short flight just above vegetation or below canopy.

Northern Cardinal Breeding Male Body Illustration

● Range & Habitat: Northern Cardinal: Resident in eastern U.S. and much of Mexico. Preferred habitats include forest edges, lowlands, and suburban areas.

^BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester

^PopulationAbundant

^MigrationNonmigratory

^Weight1.6 Ounces

Field Guide to Birds of North America