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Cardinalis

Northern Cardinal by Hari Krishnan, CC BY-SA 4.0

Etymology: Bishop

First Described By: Bonaparte, 1838

Classification: Dinosauromorpha, Dinosauriformes, Dracohors, Dinosauria, Saurischia, Eusaurischia, Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Averostra, Tetanurae, Orionides, Avetheropoda, Coelurosauria, Tyrannoraptora, Maniraptoromorpha, Maniraptoriformes, Maniraptora, Pennaraptora, Paraves, Eumaniraptora, Averaptora, Avialae, Euavialae, Avebrevicauda, Pygostaylia, Ornithothoraces, Euornithes, Ornithuromorpha, Ornithurae, Neornithes, Neognathae, Neoaves, Inopinaves, Telluraves, Australaves, Eufalconimorphae, Psittacopasserae, Passeriformes, Eupasseres, Passeri, Euoscines, Passerides, Core Passerides, Passerida, Passerid Clade, Cardinalidae

Referred Species: C. cardinalis (Northern Cardinal), C. sinuatus (Desert Cardinal, the Pyrrhuloxia), C. phoeniceus (Vermilion Cardinal)

Status: Extant, Least Concern

Time and Place: Within the last 10,000 years; in the Holocene of the Quaternary

The Cardinals are known mainly from most of North America, as well as isolated spots along the northern coast of South America

Physical Description: The Cardinals are a trio of extremely well known, red-colored songibrds, sporting distinctive pointy crests and short, squat beaks. They have medium-length, skinny tails and usually a black patch around the eyes. The males are the bright red sex in all species, ranging from completely red all over to having red patches around the eyes, on the crest, wings, and on the belly. The females are always much more dull, with brown coloration and some red patches - especially on the crest and wings. They range in size from 19 to 23 centimeters, making them fairly middle of the road in terms of overall body size among songbirds. The juveniles are similar to the females in appearance, and only differentiate to bright red or not upon reaching sexual maturity. Each species has a noticeable pointy crest, which varies in height, angle, and sharpness depending on species and sex. In short, spotting a species of Cardinal is quiet easy, as they are all extremely distinctive in appearance.

Diet: The cardinals are classic omnivores, though they seem to prefer plant material such as leaves, fruits, and seeds to animal remains; though they are known to feed on insects and larvae. They do visit bird feeders.

Pyrrhuloxia by Langhorne Copernicus Clemens, CC BY-SA 3.0

Behavior: Cardinals will forage, primarily alone, in a variety of open and forest habitats; they do form loose flocks when it is not the breeding season, but during breeding time they will only associate with their mate to feed. While they will move about based on food and water availability, as well as availability of nesting habitat, these birds do not migrate extensively.

The Northern Cardinal is known to mate for life, and stay with their mate year-round. It is presumed that similar behaviors are observed by the other two species of cardinal, however it has not been studied extensively in either case. The nests are made out of cups of vegetation and twigs, which are usually placed in brush and bushes rather than in trees, fairly close to the ground and concealed by foliage. The clutch can range in size from one to five eggs, but usually there are two to three eggs. The young are brooded mostly by the female, while the male brings her food for about two weeks. Both parents then guard and care for the young for the next two days until they fledge.

Vermillion Cardinal by Mathdesm, in the Public Domain

These birds make very distinct calls and songs, and both sexes will sing in these species. The Northern Cardinal will even sing together as mated pairs. They make wheet-wheet-wit-wit-wit-wit calls, or other series of whistles, and the species that overlap in range with one another will even start trying to sing over each other with their varying calls. These songs are pleasant to listen to, as they are very melodic and sweet. They sing throughout the year and throughout the day, though females sing slightly less often than males - mainly, females sing while nesting, leading to the male coming back to the nest with food. They will also call in alarm, with very short, sharp chips to warn of the approach of predators.

These birds do not migrate during winter and fluff up their down feathers in order to trap warm air and keep themselves comfortable during snowy times, and even have hair-like feathers underneath the downy layer to aid in keeping warm. Their feet are very scaly and small and thus vulnerable to cold temperatures, so they’ll tuck their feet up into their down one at a time to keep them warm.

Northern Cardinal by Ken Thomas, in the Public Domain

These birds are not particularly shy or afraid of humans and are oftentimes easily spotted - between their commonness and coloration - by birders. They do approach human dwellings and feeders and will only fly away upon too close of an approach by the human in question.

While the ranges of the Pyrrhuloxia and the Northern Cardinal do overlap extensively, they do not appear to come into conflict with one another.

Ecosystem: These birds live in semi-open habitats, preferring to roost in brushes, shrubs, and small trees. They have been found in abandoned farmland and extensively in suburbs. They also are found often in arid brushland and along rivers, but they can get water from their food sources as well and do not need to rely on the rivers to drink. The Northern Cardinal is the victim of brood parasitism - where other kinds of birds will lay their eggs in the nests of the Cardinal - mainly by the Brown-Headed Cowbird. The Pyrrhuloxia is also parasitized by the Brown-Headed Cowbird, but in addition it can be the victim of parasitism by the Bronzed Cowbird. Northern Cardinals are preyed upon by a variety of birds including falcons, hawks, shrikes, eagles, and owls; the bright red color does not make it easy for them to hide. Their eggs can be fed upon by snakes, jays, squirrels, chipmunks, and of course, the evil domestic cat.

Pyrrhuloxia by Liftarn, CC BY-SA 4.0

Other: Cardinals are protected under the Migratory Species Act and, though they used to be kept as pet, are now illegal to be kept in such a way.

Species Differences: The Northern Cardinal lives in the most northward habitats and are the most common of the three species, with distinctively bright red males and still reddish females. The Pyrrhuloxia is more associated with southern and desert habitats in North America, and the males are not fully red like the Northern Cardinal. The Vermillion Cardinal is easily told apart from the other two, even though it looks very similar to the Northern Cardinal, because its range is extremely far away - it is only found in patches along the northern coast of South America, a good distance away from the other cardinals.

~ By Meig Dickson

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