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Cardinalis cardinalis is one of the most conspicuous members of the Cardinal family in North America. Named for its brilliant plumage, which resembles the crimson robes of Roman Catholic cardinals, and known for its sometimes aggressive territoriality, the northern cardinal also is referred to as a ‘redbird’ and Virginia nightingale. Cardinals of both genders are known for their intricate, sweet songs, and were at one time much prized as cage birds.

The species’ range extends abundantly across the eastern United States, from Maine to Texas. In recent years their range also has reached into southern Canada, into the provinces of Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec. Northern cardinals can be found as far west as the Mexican border, south to Guatemala and northern Belize. They have been introduced to other semi-tropical regions, including Hawaii and southern California, where, however, disturbances to their habitat are beginning to squeeze them out. This species prefers to nest and live in riparian areas, swamps, woodlands and suburban thickets.

Courtesy of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Eastern Shore of Virginia & Fisherman Island National Wildlife Refuges

Life Cycle

• Both sexes at maturity reach about 8 to 9 inches in length.
• Males are bright red with black faces; females are brownish-gray underneath, gray above with some tinges of red on the crest. Their red beaks are sharp and conical.
• Both have sharp crests (said to resemble a bishop’s mitre) and long tails.
• Females sometimes may be mistaken for other species, including Pyrrhuloxia, the gray cardinal, but C. cardinalis’s bill is red, not yellow.

Cardinals are monogamous, producing between two and four broods a season with three to four subtly colored 1-inch eggs—gray-blue, greenish-white, sometimes marked with purple or brown. Before nesting the male establishes his territory, and the female begins to sing, and the male and female may share song phrases; however, the female’s song may be more sustained and complex than the male’s. The female incubates secondary and tertiary clutches while the male continues to monitor and feed the preceding broods until they fledge.

• Females construct cup-shaped nests made of twigs, bark, grass, leaves, paper and hair.
• The male assists the female with incubation over a period of 12 to 13 days.
• During this time the male will guard the nest with much belligerence, chasing off other males and sending out loud whistles to identify his territory. If he mistakes his reflection in a pane of glass for a competitor, he may spar for hours trying to force the imaginary rival off his ground.
• Young are altricial—they hatch in an extremely vulnerable, immature condition, eyes closed, having no down and unable to move—and require intense care from both male and female until they leave the nest in about 10 days.
• Juvenile northern cardinals resemble the female, but as young males develop their brilliant, mature coloration, they are usually sent from the nest by the male.

Adults and juveniles consume seeds, fruit and occasionally insects. In this country the northern cardinal is the representative bird of several states, including Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky.

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Last modified: 02/04/2005