Male Cardinal in Winter
Can anything beat the sight of a bright red Cardinal against a backdrop of white snow? In my northeastern backyard, the Northern Cardinal is a faithful visitor to bird feeders and can be one of the easiest species to attract. It is such a popular and widespread species throughout the east. It is the state bird for seven states and the mascot for professional baseball and football teams.
The Cardinal’s heavy triangular beak is red, contrasted by a black throat on the male. Their name comes from the red robes worn by Roman Catholic cardinals. The female is brownish overall with reddish highlights on the wings and tail.
In the summer, dark beaked juvenile birds come in a variety of “half-baked” plumages, with a mixing and mottling of red and brown. The crested head is another good field mark for adults and may be missing or shaggy on the juveniles.
Female Cardinal
Spring through fall their clear slurred, slurred and whistly song “Cheer, Cheer, Cheer!” rings throughout the landscape, with females joining the singing too Year round, listen for their incessant, short metallic calls and occasional bursts of song.
Cardinals live in a wide variety of habitats including woodland edges, thickets, forests, swamps, urban areas and gardens. They are typically seen alone or in small groups. To encourage nesting, plant viney, fruit-bearing shrubbery. During the courtship process, the male will feed seeds to the female.
Their diet consists primarily of seeds and berries supplemented by insects, especially during the breeding season. Preferred seeds include sunflower, safflower and peanut parts which are not-coincidentally the ingredients of our Cardinal Blend.
Platform feeders attract a variety of birds
Cardinals prefer feeding on or near the ground and are often the first to arrive at feeders in the morning and the last to leave at the end of the day. Since they are larger birds, they prefer hanging tray feeders or platform feeders because of their large flat perching area. A large variety of birds will literally flock to these types of feeders because of the easy accessibility to the seed, their unobstructed views, and comfortable feeding area. Best bet – Ground tray feeders or hanging platform feeders near the ground. To make cleaning easier, our Large Hanging Platform feeder features a removable metal bottom.
Hopper feeders with a large perching area work great too. Songbird Essentials has a terrific line of hopper feeders including the Vista, a suet/hopper feeder combo, and a Green Hopper Bird Feeder made from recycled materials.
New Cardinal hatchling
The short perches on tube feeders are unattractive to Cardinals, but tube feeders can be made Cardinal friendly with the addition of a bottom attaching seed tray. The Droll Yankee Cardinal Ring attaches to the perches.
The Cardinal is a member of the Grosbeaks and Buntings family that includes other species like the Rose-breasted and Blue Grosbeaks, Indigo Bunting and the Dickcissel. These species are present spring through fall, so the Cardinal is the only year round resident of this group.
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