The male northern cardinal is a brilliantly red colored bird that has a head crest and a face wrapped in black. Where the male’s body is colored red, the female’s is tan. Where they range, they are drawn to bird feeders where they are most commonly observed at sunrise and sunset. Ralph LaPlant Photo.

The northern cardinal is indeed a stately bird as it is the state bird of Illinois, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia and is the namesake of many professional, amateur, college and local sports teams. Easily recognized because of its red color (the female’s is tan), a crest to the back of the head, a heavy cone-shaped bill and a face surrounded in black, this bird is about nine inches tall, has a wing-span of about a foot and weighs up to 1 3/4pounds. Then northern cardinal is a thing of beauty.
    The cardinal ranges throughout the eastern two thirds of the US except for northern Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and northern Maine. It also ranges in very southeastern Canada with its range is expanding due in part to habitat changes made by humans, as this bird likes bird feeders and parks. They have been introduced in Hawaii, Southern California and Bermuda. In their range they are permanent residents, tending to stay put unless the weather is very harsh or food supplies becomes scarce.
After males establish territories of between three to ten acres, courtships start in late winter and go through early summer. With both sexes singing equally well the birds sing to one another. This singing can continue throughout most of the day. Mate feeding, often seen at bird feeders, is very common with the male picking up food and giving it to the female with this behavior peaking to up to four times a minute. Another courtship behavior, although infrequently seen, is where both birds tilt their body to one side and then the other. There can be some defenses used when other cardinals try to move in on another’s mate. Males will chase away males and females will chase away females. Males have been seen attacking their reflections at bird feeders and windows.
After building nests about four to five feet above the ground in a dense part of thickets and shrubs out of strips of paper, leaves, bark, grass, vines, twigs and weeds, two to five grayish or bluish white eggs are laid one egg a day and are incubated by the female for 12 to 13 days. The young stay in the nest for about ten days and are nurtured for close to a month. Both parents nurture the young.  When the young learn to fly the families often disperse.  There can be up to four broods per year with the males tending to the broods while the female starts the next.
Cardinals eat leaf buds, seeds, fruits berries and flowers. This accounts for most of the winter diet. About one third of its summer diet can be insects.
Cardinals can be gregarious and can be seen in groups of up to around 70 birds in areas where they are commonly observed. I observed one tree, in southeastern Minnesota, which hosted over fifty cardinals. This was a sight to see.
Much sought-after in the 1800s for their songs and color, cardinals were captured and caged with many being sent to Europe. Thanks to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act Of 1918 this was made illegal. As you may have guessed, the cardinal is given its name due to the Catholic Cardinals’ robes. Some have said the head crest resembles a Bishop’s mitre (headdress). This bird normally lives to about six years but banding studies reveal some live to age 15.