Northern cardinal

Northern cardinal
Male
Female
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Cardinalidae
Genus:	Cardinalis
Species:	C. cardinalis
Binomial name
Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758)

Song of the Northern cardinal.

The northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) is a North American songbird in the genus Cardinalis. It is also known as the redbird, common cardinal, red cardinal, or just cardinal. The northern cardinal is one of the most common birds in North America.

Description

It is easy to tell a male northern cardinal apart from a female. Males have bright red feathers, a red crest, and black markings on their faces. Females are mostly a brownish color, though they also have some dull red parts on their wings, tails, and crests. By adulthood, Northern cardinals are 8 inches (20 centimeters). As with all birds, northern cardinals have beaks, though theirs is cone-shaped.

Both the male and the female sing a loud, clear, whistling song, and they do this through every season of the year.

Where it lives

The northern cardinal is mostly known for living in several states within the United States, though they are rarely found in the West Coast. They are also in other countries, including southeastern Canada, Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala. Most of these birds live in the parts of the United States east of the Rocky Mountains.

Unlike many other birds, the northern cardinal does not migrate. This means they do not fly south when winter comes; they stay in the same place all year long. Cardinals usually live in bushes, gardens, and along the edges of forests.

Food

Cardinals eat seeds, insects, and fruit.

State bird

The northern cardinal is the state bird of seven U.S. states, more than any other species: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia. It was also a candidate to become the state bird of Delaware, but lost to the Delaware Blue Hen.