Northern Cardinal
Cardinalis cardinalis
Compiled by Niyati Acharya

In adult male Northern Cardinals, the upperparts are bright red with darker wings and tail. The head is crested. The area around the bill is black, and the large conical bill is red. The underparts are bright red. Females are buffy tan below and grayish brown above. Otherwise, they are similar to males, with reddish tinges in wings, tail, and crest.

“Redbirds” can be found in nearly every hedge, thicket, or berry patch during the summer, whether in rural areas, towns, or suburbs. Sometimes people see bald-headed cardinals — cardinals without feathers on their heads. This condition is usually reported in summer and fall, when cardinals are molting, and new feathers usually grow in soon after.

The Northern Cardinal averages about seven and one-half to nine inches in length. The immature cardinal has a black bill but otherwise is colored like the female. Like Steller’s and Blue Jays, the Northern Cardinal seems to thrive in human-altered habitats. Although widespread, it is still vulnerable to many of the same factors threatening less adaptable species, particularly predation by cats, collisions, and pesticide poisoning.

Outdoor domestic cats are the leading human-caused driver of bird population declines, responsible for the deaths of an estimated 2.4 billion birds every year.

American Bird Conservancy works with partners at the state and federal levels in the U.S. to call for the regulation or cancellation of the pesticides and toxins most harmful to birds. They develop innovative programs, such as working directly with farmers to use neonicotinoid coating-free seeds, advancing research into the toll of pesticides on birds, and encouraging millions to avoid safer alternatives to harmful pesticides.

The Northern Cardinal lives in woodlands, thickets, brushy and weedy areas, residential areas, and parks. It also uses open ?elds in winter. This bird eats insects, grains, fruits and weed seeds that it ?nds on or near the ground.

Northern Cardinal, the state bird of 7 states, is a familiar sight at bird feeders throughout the eastern United States. The activities of humans, from forest clearing to bird-feeding, have enabled this adaptable bird to expand its range northward from the mid-Atlantic states to New York, New England, and southern Canada. Similar northward expansions have occurred in other parts of the United States.

Sources include: Missouri Dept of Conservation, American Bird Conservancy, Illinois Dept of Natural Resources, Texas A&M Agrilife Research Photo Credit: Jim Hudgins/USFWS, Ernesto Gomez, Moreno, Jesus/USFWS, Bolser, Jessica/USFWS