The northern cardinal is one of the most recognizable and beloved backyard birds in North America. With its bright red plumage, vocal talents, and perky crest, the northern cardinal brings color and melody to backyards across much of the eastern United States.
Overview and Identification
The northern cardinal is a mid-sized songbird measuring 8-9 inches in length with a wingspan around 10 inches. The male northern cardinal is unmistakable thanks to his bright red feathers covering his entire body except for a black mask around his face and throat. The female northern cardinal is also crested but her plumage is more subdued with a reddish-brown body, wings, and tail with soft red accents on her crest, wings, and tail feathers. Both sexes have a thick orange-red bill perfect for cracking seeds and fruit.
Northern cardinals do not migrate and live year-round across much of eastern North America. Their range stretches west to the Great Plains and as far north as southern Canada. They thrive in forests, suburban yards, parks, and brushy wetlands. Northern cardinals are non-migratory but may relocate within their range in winter to find food.
Identifying the northern cardinal is straightforward thanks to the male’s unmistakable bright red plumage. The only similar looking bird in its range is the very closely related vermilion flycatcher of the southwestern US which has a slimmer build and black plumage. Females may be confused with house finches but lack streaking on the underparts and have a conspicuous crest.
Diet and Feeding Behavior
Northern cardinals are omnivorous and opportunistic feeders, consuming a wide variety of seeds, fruit, insects, grains, and sometimes small vertebrates like lizards or young mice.
Seeds and Nuts
Seeds and nuts make up 50% or more of a northern cardinal’s diet. They use their strong bills to crack open all kinds of seeds and nuts like sunflower, millet, thistle, hazelnuts, acorns, pumpkin seeds, buckwheat, and more. At feeders, northern cardinals relish black oil sunflower seeds. They also forage in grasses and weeds for variety of naturally growing seeds.
Fruit
Northern cardinals eat a wide range of fruits including wild berries and fruits from shrubs and trees like dogwood, grape, blackberry, strawberry, cherry, and elderberry as well as the fruits and berries from ornamental plantings. They sometimes nest near fruit trees to make use of the bounty.
Insects and Other Prey
Northern cardinals supplement their diet with protein-rich insects and other small prey. They often forage on the ground or in low bushes seeking insects like beetles, crickets, caterpillars, ants, grasshoppers, flies, and others. They may also prey on small lizards, frogs, snails or even baby mice and eggs or hatchlings from other bird nests.
Feeders and Water
Northern cardinals regularly visit bird feeders with black oil sunflower seed or mixes with sunflower seeds throughout the year. Platform feeders or hopper feeders allow easy access to the seed. Ground feeding is also common. Offering fruit like raisins, currants, apple slices or even slices of orange can also attract northern cardinals. Water for bathing and drinking is also appreciated.
Foraging Behavior
Northern cardinals predominantly forage on the ground or in low bushes and dense tangles searching through grasses and leaves for food. They also glean seeds, nuts, and fruit from shrubs and trees. Less often, they sally from perches to catch insects in mid-air. Males and females often forage together with the female leading as the dominant partner. Northern cardinals usually forage actively in the early morning and again in late afternoon but may visit feeders at any time of day.
Vocalizations and Sounds
The rich vocalizations of the northern cardinal are among its most distinctive traits. Males sing loudly and clearly to mark territory and attract mates with a wide repertoire of whistles, slurs, and chirps. Females also sing but less frequently and tend to stay quiet while nesting. Northern cardinals produce at least two dozen distinct songs as well as calls and chips.
Songs
The most familiar songs are loud, ringing whistles with intervals and repetitions like “what cheer, what cheer” or “birdy, birdy, birdy.” Songs can be strung together into long melodious sequences performed from high exposed perches. Songs are used primarily in spring and early summer by unmated males seeking a mate.
Calls
Both sexes use a variety of chirping and chip notes for communication. Harsher calls like “tut, tut, tut” are given as alarms or scolds. Softer chips and chirps are contact calls between mates and fledglings or communication between parents at the nest. Begging nestlings make high squeaky “tseee” calls.
Wing Sounds
The swooshing and snapping wing sounds made during flight are quite loud and unique to northern cardinals due to stiffened feather shafts. These flight sounds help identify an unseen cardinal flying by.
No Song Variation
Interestingly, northern cardinals do not have distinct regional dialects. A northern cardinal song sounds the same whether heard in Massachusetts, Kansas, or South Carolina. Without song variation, all northern cardinals can readily understand each other.
Dawn Song and Dusk Song
Northern cardinals are most vocal at dawn when males sing enthusiastically from high perches to mark territory and attract mates. Soft pre-dawn song includes gentle murmurs, whistles, and calls. At dusk, northern cardinals also sing with sweet, subdued notes differing from the lively dawn chorus.
The wide repertoire of whistles, chips, and songs make the northern cardinal a delight to listen to and makes it easier to identify by ear. Their loud, melodious songs bring cheer throughout the seasons from backyard woods to city parks.
Habitat and Territory
The northern cardinal is well adapted to a range of habitats thanks to its versatility and adaptability. They do best in habitats with dense tangles, shrubs, and mid-level tree cover interspersed with open ground for foraging. Ideal cardinal habitat includes:
- Wood Edge Habitats – Forest edges, hedgerows, thickets, overgrown fields
- Residential Areas – Backyards, parks, gardens with shrubs and trees
- Wetlands – Bushes and small trees around marshes, swamps, streams
- Open Woodlands – Open stands of trees, sparse understory with grassy areas
Northern cardinals are non-migratory and remain in their breeding territory year-round. The size of the territory depends on quality of habitat and density of cardinals, ranging from 2-20 acres on average. Males defend the territory using vocalizations and chase away intruders. Females are dominant over males within their pair and exert most control over the territory.
Unique Traits and Adaptations
Northern cardinals exhibit some interesting traits and adaptations enabling them to thrive:
Bright Plumage
- The male’s bright red plumage advertises his fitness and helps him stand out in dense habitats when seeking a mate. His red color comes from carotenoid pigments in his diet.
Crest
- Both sexes sport a short crest which they can raise and lower at will to express aggression or signal alarm.
Song Repertoire
- Northern cardinals have over two dozen unique songs and calls used to mark territory, signal mate quality, communicate between pairs, and more.
Strong Bill
- Thick conical bills allow them to crack hard seeds and nuts. Males have larger bills than females.
UV Vision
- Northern cardinals can see ultraviolet light, helping them spot food and detect colorful plumage during mate choice.
Aggression
- Northern cardinals are very territorial and aggressively defend their range from other cardinals and potential nest predators.
Intelligence
- Northern cardinals have relatively large brains for their size allowing complex behavior and communication.
Dietary Adaptability
- As omnivores, northern cardinals can exploit many food sources from seeds and fruit to insects, adapting as needed.
Sedentary Lifestyle
- They do not migrate, allowing year-round defense of territory and food sources. Pairs often stay together for many seasons.
The northern cardinal’s adaptations enable it to thrive across a variety of habitats and changing conditions throughout its range. Their bright colors, melodious songs, intelligence, and pugnacious attitudes endear them to many backyard birders.
Courtship and Mating
Northern cardinals form monogamous pairs that can last for many seasons, often for life. Courtship starts in late winter leading into a lengthy breeding season from spring through late summer. Here is an overview of northern cardinal courtship and mating behaviors:
Courtship Feeding
- The male woos prospective mates by bringing them food offerings, showing his ability to provide.
Song Duels
- Males sing back and forth with neighbors to repel rivals and impress females. Songs increase before breeding season.
Nest Shows
- The male may bring the female to potential nest sites to showcase his nest-building skills.
Courtship Displays
- Males woo females by puffing up feathers, spreading tail, wing flicking, and dance-like moves.
Pair Bonding
- Once paired, the bond strengthens as the mates preen each other, perch close, and share feeding duties.
Copulation
- Actual mating is brief – just 1-5 seconds – with the female crouching low and flickering her wings.
Courtship starts in late winter and can involve one or more females. Once paired, the bond between northern cardinals strengthens over successive seasons as they work together to raise multiple broods. The female leads the pair and exerts dominance over the male.
Nesting and Parenting
Female northern cardinals take the lead in selecting nest sites and building the nests with males assisting in gathering material. The extended breeding season means northern cardinals can raise 2-5 broods per year.
Nest Location
Nests are well hidden in dense shrubs or small trees usually 3-10 feet off the ground, often located near a habitat edge. Evergreens like hollies, cedars, and pines offer ideal cover. Backyard cardinal nests are commonly built in dense hedges and shrubs.
Nest Construction
The female builds the nest over 3-9 days using dead grasses, strips of bark, twigs, vines, and leaves, weaving and packing the materials into a sturdy cup-shaped container. Males help gather material and offer some construction help. Cardinals often build a new nest for each brood.
Eggs
Clutches contain 2-5 pale bluish or greenish eggs speckled with brown measuring about 1 inch long. The female lays one egg per day. She incubates the eggs alone for 12-13 days.
Hatchlings
Both parents feed the blind, featherless hatchlings regurgitated insects and seeds. Nestlings fledge at 9-11 days but are fed and protected by parents for 2-3 weeks as they learn to forage.
Broods
In warmer climates, northern cardinals can raise up to 5 broods per season from March through September. Northern ranges see 2-3 broods. New nests are typically built for each brood.
Diligent parenting and multiple broods give northern cardinals higher reproductive success than many other backyard birds, helping explain their abundance even with high nest predation rates.
Predators, Threats, and Conservation
The northern cardinal is widely distributed and abundant, leading to a conservation status of Least Concern. However, habitat loss and threats like window collisions take a toll on local populations:
Nest Predators
Common nest predators include snakes, raccoons, squirrels, blue jays, crows, and domestic cats. Less than 30% of nests successfully fledge young. Cardinals aggressively defend against nest predators.
Window Collisions
Northern cardinals frequently die from window strikes as they aggressively defend territories. Up to 100 million birds die annually in the US from building collisions.
Habitat Loss
Logging, urbanization, and industrial agriculture reduce shrubby habitat and forest edges preferred by northern cardinals. Fragmentation limits dispersal.
Climate Change
Increasing droughts, severe weather, and warmer winters may stress northern cardinals in southern parts of range. Expanding northward is limited by dense forest.
Conservation Solutions
Protecting brushy habitats and shade trees in suburbs and parks provides habitat corridors. Reducing collisions through bird-friendly architecture also helps conserve local populations. Leaving fallen leaves and native plants that provide natural food and cover will benefit northern cardinals. Avoiding pesticide use reduces prey and water contamination. Providing bird feeders, nest boxes, and clean water supplements natural food supplies.
While still thriving overall, focused conservation practices can help northern cardinals persist in suburban and fragmented habitats. Their bright beauty lights up yards and parks, providing an important connection to nature for many people. Maintaining healthy cardinal populations requires protecting the habitats and resources they depend on.
Common Questions
Here are answers to some frequently asked questions about the northern cardinal:
Why are male cardinals bright red?
The bright red plumage of male northern cardinals is thought to serve multiple purposes. The bright color advertises the male’s fitness and health when seeking mates and warns rival males to stay away. It also provides camouflage when viewed from below against a red sky or foliage. Red color comes from carotenoids in food.
Do cardinals mate for life?
Northern cardinals are predominantly monogamous. Mated pairs often remain together over successive breeding seasons and share parenting duties. However, “divorces” do occur and new mates accepted. Single parenting and promiscuity may also occur. Lifelong pair bonds are the norm but not absolute.
How long do cardinals live?
In the wild, northern cardinals typically live 1-2 years on average with a maximum lifespan around 15 years. Most mortality occurs in the first year. Cardinals in protected habitats like parks and yards have higher average lifespans of 3-5 years. The oldest banded cardinal in the wild reached 15 years and 9 months.
Why are cardinals territorial?
Northern cardinals are highly territorial because they do not migrate so must defend their range year-round. Abundant food from backyard feeders and bird-friendly gardens allows higher densities and more intense competition. Males sing and attack intruders while females lead defense within the territory. Juveniles wander more widely.
What do baby cardinals eat?
For their first 2-3 weeks, nestling cardinals are fed mostly insects for protein and soft berries by regurgitation from the parents. Both the male and female deliver food to nestlings. As they grow, grain and seeds are added. Fledglings follow parents closely and beg for food. They are weaned fully by around 35 days old.
The northern cardinal is one of the most popular and easily recognized yard birds across the eastern US. These striking songbirds pair impressive adaptations like bright plumage, intelligence, diverse vocalizations, and parenting teamwork with incredible resilience. Backyard birders who provide the right mix of food, water and shelter will be rewarded with regular visits from these red feathered gems. A pair of nesting cardinals raising a brood offers an up-close view into remarkable nature unfolding just outside your window.
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