Cardinals

The cardinal is 8-inches in length, brilliant red with a patch of black at the base of its conical red bill and a prominent crest that it can raise or lower for effect. The attractive female is the same shape, but in yellow tan plumage accented with red wings, crest, tail, and bill. They use their heavy, sharp bills to crack seeds. They live in thickets, forest edges, hedges, and garden shrubbery. They eat seeds in the winter; a variety of beetles, cicadas, and other insects during warm months; and the fruits of trees, shrubs, and vines when available. Cardinals hide their bulky nest of twigs, vines, and leaves in a deep thicket, generally no higher than 10 feet above the ground. The female lines the nest with fine grasses and hair, sometimes assisted by the male. The 3 or 4 bluish or greenish white eggs blotched with brown spots are incubated by the female, and occasionally by the male, for 12 or 13 days. The young fly about 12 days after hatching. Cardinals are fond of sunflower seeds, cracked corn, and sunflower seeds. They will also bathe and drink from garden ponds.

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© copyright 2001 by Chris Aker