The Northern Cardinal
Learn about the Northern Cardinal.
Welcome back to The Birder's Way! I'm your host Caleb Shingleton. Before reading the rest of this post I would highly recommend subscribing to my Substack, that way you never miss a new post.
Let's learn 5 facts about the Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis).
The Northern Cardinal is an official state bird to 7 states in the United States.
Only male Northern Cardinals are bright red.
The female Northern Cardinal are a shady brown with a hint of red. Males and females are easy to distinguish.
The Northern Cardinal is actually named after Catholic cardinals who wear red robes.
Both male and female Northern Cardinals sing, though males tend to sing more than females. Their song is so peaceful.
The Northern Cardinal is such a beautiful bird. I've always loved their beautiful songs they sing right as the sun rises in the morning.
For those that may not know what the majestic Northern Cardinal looks like:
Male Northern Cardinal:
Photo taken by joy4birds on iNaturalist.
Female Northern Cardinal:
Photo taken by joy4birds on iNaturalist.
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Until next time, happy birding!
Written by, Caleb Shingleton.
Awesome photographs. This is the bird that people don’t forget and always know the name of—at least that’s highly expected—especially for someone who’s lived in the United States for the entirety of their life… like my neighbor—he forgets what they’re called and just calls them “red birds.” 💀
I asked him what his favorite bird was and he simply responded with, “oh, I love those ‘red birds,” and I said, “oh, you mean the northern cardinal?” And he was like, “y-yeaaaahhhh cardinal…” I guess you can’t ask much from a former marine and retired cop. 😂