NORTHERN CARDINAL

The 'Northern Cardinal' (''Cardinalis cardinalis'') is a member of the cardinal family of birds in North America. The bird's name comes from the red-robed Roman Catholic Cardinals. Its crested head is also said to resemble a bishop's mitre. Cardinals have been also referred to as '"Redbirds"' and '"Virginia nightingales"'. Cardinals were once popular cage birds for their bright color and rich, varied songs.

Contents

Physical description

Distribution

Behavior and ecology

Reproduction

Symbols and mascots

Photo gallery

Further reading

Book

Thesis

Articles

References

External links

Physical description

The Northern Cardinal is a mid-sized songbird with a body length of 8.3 to 9 inches (21-23 cm) and a wingspan of 10-12 in (25-31 cm). It weighs about 1.6 ounces (45 g). Males are slightly larger than females.^[1]
The male is a brilliant crimson red with a black face mask over the eyes and extending to the upper chest. Females are a fawn color, with mostly grayish-brown tones and a slight reddish tint in the wings and tail feathers. The face mask of the female is gray to black, and is less defined than that of the male. Both sexes possess prominent raised crests and strong bright coral-colored beaks. Young birds, both male and female, show the coloring of the adult female until the fall, when they will molt and grow their adult feathers.^[2]

Distribution

Cardinals are abundant across the eastern United States from Maine to Texas and in Canada in the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia. Their range extends west to the U.S.-Mexico border and south through Mexico to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, northern Guatemala, and northern Belize. They were introduced to Bermuda in 1700. They have also been introduced in Hawaii, and Southern California. Their natural habitats are woodlands, suburbs, gardens, swamps and thickets.
These birds are permanent residents throughout their range, although they may relocate to avoid extreme weather or if food is scarce.

Behavior and ecology

Cardinals are a territorial song bird. The male sings in a loud, clear whistle from a tree top or other high location to defend his territory. He will chase off other males entering his territory.
Cardinals learn their songs, and as a result the songs vary regionally. Cardinals are able to easily distinguish the gender of a singing cardinal by its song alone. Interestingly, however, male cardinals can learn songs from female cardinals, and vice versa, suggesting that differences in song between the sexes may be due to hormonal differences.
Cardinals have a distinctive alarm call, a short metallic 'chip' sound. In some cases they will also utter a series of chipping notes. It is often easy to locate Cardinals by their alarm call, since they will make it readily when humans walk nearby.
Northern Cardinals' diet consists mainly (up to 90 percent) of weed seeds, grains, and fruits. During the summer months, they show preference for seeds that are easily husked, but are less selective during winter, when food is scarce. Northern Cardinals also will consume insects, and feed their young almost exclusively on insects.^[3]

Reproduction

Mated pairs sometimes sing together before nesting. During courtship they may also participate in a bonding behavior where the male collects food and brings it to the female, feeding her beak-to-beak. If the mating is successful, this mate-feeding may continue throughout the period of incubation.
The female builds a cup nest in a well-concealed spot in dense shrub or a low tree. Both feed the young. Young fledged cardinals resemble adult females in coloring. The male will grow in bright red feathers as he matures and is eventually chased away by his sire.

Symbols and mascots

In the US, the Northern Cardinal is the state bird of North Carolina, West Virginia, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Virginia. It is the state bird of more states than any other species. Nationwide, this species receives special legal protections under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, which also banned their sale as cage birds. In America, the bird is often associated with the Christmas season, appearing on many cards and decorations, due to it being one of the few brightly colored birds seen in the winter months.
The St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball have a mascot, Fredbird, who is an anthropomorphized Northern Cardinal. The major-league team directly lends its name to three of its minor league affiliates—the Springfield Cardinals, Palm Beach Cardinals, and Johnson City Cardinals. A fourth affiliate, the Memphis Redbirds, takes its name from a decades-old alternate nickname for the major-league team. The major-league team had yet another "Cardinals" affiliate, the New Jersey Cardinals, but this team changed its nickname when it moved to State College, Pennsylvania after the 2005 season.
The bird is also the namesake of the Arizona Cardinals of the NFL.
Several colleges, mostly in the Midwest, have sports teams named for the cardinal:

★ The University of Louisville

★ The State University of New York at Plattsburgh refers to all their sports teams as Cardinals, the school mascot is a giant cardinal named Burghy.

★ Ball State University ("Charlie Cardinal" is the name of their mascot)

★ Illinois State University (nickname is "Redbirds"; mascot is a cardinal)

★ The Iowa State University Cyclones also use a cardinal as their mascot—a reference to their cardinal-red uniforms. Their mascot is named "Cy", a reference to '''cy'''clone.

★ The Catholic University of America also uses a cardinal as its mascot; here, a reference to the Cardinals of the Catholic Church. See Cardinal (Catholicism)

★ Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut.
Stanford University's nickname, the (singular) Cardinal, is a reference to the color, not the bird.
Many of the representations of the bird in logos and cartoons incorrectly depict it with a yellow beak. While the closely related Pyrrhuloxia does indeed have a yellow beak, the beaks of both male and female cardinals are red.

Photo gallery

Further reading

Book

★ Halkin, S. L., and S. U. Linville. 1999. ''Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)''. In ''The Birds of North America'', No. 440 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.

Thesis

★ Burger MF. Ph.D. (1998). ''Geographic variation in the ecological energetics and physiology of the northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) in winter''. University of Michigan, United States -- Michigan.

★ Gottfried BM. Ph.D. (1976). ''INTRAPOPULATIONAL VARIATION IN THE TERRITORY SIZE OF CARDINALS (CARDINALIS CARDINALIS)''. Miami University, United States -- Ohio.

★ Jarosch CH. M.Sc. (1976). ''The early plumages and molts of the cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis''. The University of Western Ontario (Canada), Canada.

★ Jawor JM. Ph.D. (2002). ''Multiple ornaments and sexual selection in a socially monogamous passerine, the northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)''. The University of Dayton, United States -- Ohio.

★ Linville SU. Ph.D. (1997). ''Sexual selection and plumage ornamentation in a socially monogamous passerine, the northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)''. The University of Dayton, United States -- Ohio.

★ Marshall JS. Ph.D. (2006). ''West Nile virus in northern cardinals: Antibody patterns and fitness consequences''. The Ohio State University, United States -- Ohio.

★ Merritt RE. Ph.D. (1975). ''THE SPATIAL RELATIONS WITHIN A SELECTED POPULATION OF THE CARDINAL (CARDINALIS CARDINALIS)''. The University of Tennessee, United States -- Tennessee.

★ Mobley JE, Jr. Ph.D. (1994). ''A general model for iteroparity: Development of the model and investigation of phylogenetic patterns with specific reference to the northern cardinal''. University of Arkansas, United States -- Arkansas.

★ Vondrasek JR. Ph.D. (2003). ''The evolution of communication and territoriality in the northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)''. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, United States -- North Carolina.

★ Wolfenbarger LL. Ph.D. (1996). ''Fitness effects associated with red coloration of male northern cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis)''. Cornell University, United States -- New York.

Articles

★ Anderson ME & Conner RN. (1985). ''Northern Cardinal Song in Three Forest Habitats in Eastern Texas USA''. Wilson Bulletin. vol '97', no 4. p. 436-449.

★ Baker DG, Speer CA, Yamaguchi A, Griffey SM & Dubey JP. (1996). ''An unusual coccidian parasite causing pneumonia in a northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)''. Journal of Wildlife Diseases. vol '32', no 1. p. 130-132.

★ Bass RA. (1979). ''Chromosomal Polymorphism in Cardinals Cardinalis-Cardinalis''. Canadian Journal of Genetics & Cytology. vol '21', no 4. p. 549-553.

★ Breitwisch R, Schilling AJ & Banks JB. (1999). ''Parental behavior of a bigamous male Northern Cardinal''. Wilson Bulletin. vol '111', no 2. p. 283-286.

★ Browning NG, Dayton AD & Robel RJ. (1981). ''Comparative Preferences of Field Sparrows and Spizella-Pusilla and Cardinals Cardinalis-Cardinalis among 4 Propagated Seeds''. Journal of Wildlife Management. vol '45', no 2. p. 528-533.

★ Browning NG & Robel RJ. (1981). ''Metabolizable Energy in 4 Seeds Fed to Cardinals Cardinalis-Cardinalis''. Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science. vol '84', no 2. p. 115-118.

★ Carpenter TW & Carpenter AL. (1987). ''Northern Cardinal Head Attached to the Toe of a Sharp-Shinned Hawk''. Journal of Raptor Research. vol '21', no 4.

★ Conner RN, Anderson ME & Dickson JG. (1986). ''Relationships among Territory Size Habitat Song and Nesting Success of Northern Cardinals Cardinalis-Cardinalis''. Auk. vol '103', no 1. p. 23-31.

★ Eckerle KP & Breitwisch R. (1997). ''Reproductive success of the northern cardinal, a large host of brown-headed cowbirds''. Condor. vol '99', no 1. p. 169-178.

★ Ehrhart RL & Conner RN. (1986). ''Habitat Selection by the Northern Cardinal in Three Eastern Texas USA Forest Stands''. Southwestern Naturalist. vol '31', no 2. p. 191-200.

★ Filliater TS & Breitwisch R. (1997). ''Nestling provisioning by the extremely dichromatic northern cardinal''. Wilson Bulletin. vol '109', no 1. p. 145-153.

★ Filliater TS, Breitwisch R & Nealen PM. (1994). ''Predation on Northern Cardinal nests: Does choice of nest site matter?''. Condor. vol '96', no 3. p. 761-768.

★ Gottfried BM & Gottfried AH. (1978). ''Preliminary Studies of the Vocal Responses of Territorial Cardinals Cardinalis-Cardinalis to Songs of a Strange Male''. Ohio Journal of Science. vol '78', no 2. p. 85-87.

★ Grubb TC, Jr., Waite TA & Wiseman AJ. (1991). ''Ptilochronology: Induced Feather Growth in Northern Cardinals Varies with Age, Sex, Ambient Temperature, and Day Length''. The Wilson Bulletin. vol '103', no 3. p. 435.

★ Halkin SL. (1997). ''Nest-vicinity song exchanges may coordinate biparental care of northern cardinals''. Animal Behaviour. vol '54', p. 189.

★ Ingold JJ & Ingold DA. (1987). ''Loggerhead Shrike Kills and Transports a Northern Cardinal''. Journal of Field Ornithology. vol '58', no 1. p. 66-68.

★ Ivey NT. (1999). ''American Robins hatch from Northern Cardinal nest''. Oriole. vol '64', no 3-4. p. 56-57.

★ Jawor JM. (2007). ''Testosterone in Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis): Possible influence of prolonged territorial behavior''. Auk. vol '124', no 1. p. 331-338.

★ Jawor JM & Breitwisch R. (2004). ''Multiple ornaments in male northern cardinals, Cardinalis cardinalis, as indicators of condition''. Ethology. vol '110', no 2. p. 113-126.

★ Jawor JM & Breitwisch R. (2006). ''Is mate provisioning predicted by ornamentation? A test with northern cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis)''. Ethology. vol '112', no 9. p. 888-895.

★ Jawor JM & Gray N. (2003). ''Use of Northern Cardinal nest by fledgling Carolina Wrens''. Wilson Bulletin. vol '115', no 1. p. 95-96.

★ Jawor JM, Gray N, Beall SM & Breitwisch R. (2004). ''Multiple ornaments correlate with aspects of condition and behaviour in female northern cardinals, Cardinalis cardinalis''. Animal Behaviour. vol '67', no Part 5. p. 875-882.

★ Jawor JM, Linville SU, Beall SM & Breitwisch R. (2003). ''Assortative mating by multiple ornaments in northern cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis)''. Behavioral Ecology. vol '4', no 14. p. 515-520.

★ Jodie MJ & Randall B. (2003). ''A Unique Ornament Display in Female Northern Cardinals''. The Wilson Bulletin. vol '115', no 4. p. 464.

★ Kloek G. (1970). ''The Migratory Status of the Cardinal Richmondena-Cardinalis-Cardinalis in the Vicinity of Carbondale Illinois''. Transactions of the Illinois State Academy of Science. vol '63', no 2. p. 160-166.

★ Lading ND. (2003). ''Interactions between the Northern Cardinal and the brood parasitic Brown-headed Cowbird''. Transactions of the Illinois State Academy of Science. vol '96', no Supplement.

★ Lemon RE. (1975). ''Repetitions and Pattern Switches in Songs of Cardinals Cardinalis-Cardinalis''. Zeitschrift fuer Tierpsychologie. vol '38', no 3. p. 294-303.

★ Linville SU, Breitwisch R & Schilling AJ. (1998). ''Plumage brightness as an indicator of parental care in northern cardinals''. Animal Behaviour. vol '55', p. 119.

★ Maul JD & Farris JL. (2005). ''Monitoring exposure of northern cardinals, Cardinalis cardinalis, to cholinesterase-inhibiting pesticides: Enzyme activity, reactivations, and indicators of environmental stress''. Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry. vol '24', no 7. p. 1721-1730.

★ McElroy DB & Ritchison G. (1996). ''Effect of mate removal on singing behavior and movement patterns of female northern cardinals''. The Wilson Bulletin. vol '108', no 3. p. 550.

★ McGraw KJ & Hill GE. (2001). ''Carotenoid access and intraspecific variation in plumage pigmentation in male American Goldfinches (Carduelis tristis) and Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis)''. Functional Ecology. vol '15', no 6. p. 732-739.

★ McGraw KJ, Hill GE, Stradi R & Parker RS. (2001). ''The influence of carotenoid acquisition and utilization on the maintenance of species-typical plumage pigmentation in male American goldfinches (Carduelis tristis) and northern cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis)''. Physiological & Biochemical Zoology. vol '74', no 6. p. 843-852.

★ Nealen PM & Breitwisch R. (1997). ''Northern cardinal sexes defend nests equally''. Wilson Bulletin. vol '109', no 2. p. 269-278.

★ Ritchison G. (1986). ''The Singing Behavior of Female Northern Cardinals Cardinalis-Cardinalis''. Condor. vol '88', no 2. p. 156-159.

★ Ritchison G, Klatt PH & Westneat DF. (1994). ''Mate guarding and extra-pair paternity in northern cardinals''. The Condor. vol '96', no 4. p. 1055.

★ Ritchison G & Omer MK. (1990). ''Winter Behavior of Northern Cardinals Cardinalis-Cardinalis''. Transactions of the Kentucky Academy of Science. vol '51', no 3-4. p. 145-158.

★ Scott DM & Lemon RE. (1996). ''Differential reproductive success of Brown-headed Cowbirds with Northern Cardinals and three other hosts''. The Condor. vol '98', no 2. p. 259.

★ Short LL. (1969). ''A New Species of Blackbird Agelaius from Peru Agelaius-Xanthopthalmus New Species Cardinalis-Cardinalis Agelaius-Cyanopus Agelaius-Thilius''. Occasional Papers of the Museum of Zoology Louisiana State University. vol '36', p. 1-8.

★ Speer CA, Baker DG, Yamaguchi A & Dubey JP. (1997). ''Ultrastructural characteristics of a Lankesterella-like coccidian causing pneumonia in a Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)''. Acta Protozoologica. vol '36', no 1. p. 39-47.

★ Susan UL & Randall B. (1997). ''Carotenoid availability and plumage coloration in a wild population of Northern Cardinals''. The Auk. vol '114', no 4. p. 796.

★ Vondrasek JR. (2006). ''Social factors affect the singing rates of female northern cardinals Cardinalis cardinalis''. Journal of Avian Biology. vol '37', no 1. p. 52-57.

★ William JD & Peter AB. (2006). ''Singing in the shade: song and song posts of northern cardinals near nesting Cooper's hawks''. Canadian Journal of Zoology. vol '84', no 6. p. 916.

★ Winter KC. (1981). ''Interactions between Nesting Cardinals Cardinalis-Cardinalis and American Robins Turdus-Migratorius''. Inland Bird Banding. vol '53', no 3. p. 56-57.

★ Wolf W. (1972). ''Report on a Cross Breeding of Cardinalis-Cardinalis and Paroaria-Coronata''. Gefiederte Welt. vol '96', no 11. p. 204-205.

★ Wolfenbarger LL. (1999). ''Female mate choice in Northern Cardinals: Is there a preference for redder males?''. The Wilson Bulletin. vol '111', no 1. p. 76.

★ Wolfenbarger LL. (1999). ''Is red coloration of male Northern Cardinals beneficial during the nonbreeding season?: A test of status signaling''. The Condor. vol '101', no 3. p. 655.

★ Wolfenbarger LL. (1999). ''Red coloration of male northern cardinals correlates with mate quality and territory quality''. Behavioral Ecology. vol '10', no 1. p. 80.

★ Yamaguchi A. (1998). ''A sexually dimorphic learned birdsong in the Northern Cardinal''. Condor. vol '100', no 3. p. 504-511.

References

★ Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
1. ''Cardinalis cardinalis''
2. ''Cardinalis cardinalis''
3. Cardinalis cardinalis: Information Animal Diversity

External links

★ birding.com article on the Northern Cardinal

★ Article on Cardinal's Songs

★ Northern Cardinal videos on the Internet Bird Collection

★ Stamps

★ Northern Cardinal Information and Photos - South Dakota Birds and Birding

★ Northern Cardinal Species Account - Cornell Lab of Ornithology

★ Northern Cardinal - ''Cardinalis cardinalis'' - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter

★ Northern Cardinal photo gallery VIREO