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Can
you imagine the thrill of spotting a bright red bird with a crest
of feathers that is also a popular songbird? Well, we could have
the experience, provided we are somewhere in the region east of
the Rocky Mountains of North America.
Family
history
Also known as the redbird or cardinal grosbeak, the cardinal
are birds that may be found inhabiting the area stretching from
south-eastern North Dakota, central Minnesota, southern parts of
Ontario, the Gulf of Mexico, Mexico and parts of Maine. They
belong to the family Emberizidae. Some researchers say that they
belong to the family Fringillidae. Though abundantly found in the
eastern regions of North America, they have also been introduced
in Hawaii and Bermuda. |
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Entertainers
The cardinal is also referred to as the songbird. This is
because of the wide variety of cheerful flutelike or whistling
sounds that they produce, when they are in open gardens or
woodlands, all the year round. In fact, they used to be trapped
and sold commercially as songbirds; however, they now enjoy the
status of being legally protected. Before this, songbirds also
used to be trapped for their feathers, which came in as handy
embellishments for ladies’ hats. |
The Cardinal
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Sizing
them up
The cardinal is usually about eight inches long or (twenty
centimeters) long. The male of this bright looking species is red
in color, with some patches of grey on the back. It sports a
black marking around its eyes and at the base of its bill, which
is also a bright reddish orange. The female cardinal is of duller
red or olive brown in color.
It is usually red in the wings, crest and tail.
To
protect itself from its enemies, the cardinal has a crest of
feathers on its head, which it promptly raises on sighting an
enemy. The sight is usually enough to frighten off the enemy. They
feed on insects, wild seeds, grains and wild fruits. Their
favorite eats are beetles and worms. The younger ones have a
distinct leaning for cotton worms, moths and potato beetles. The
cardinals have a fondness for sunflower seeds. Well, they do share
some of our tastes too – they like apples, bread, raisins and
millet.
Their
homes
The sites preferred for building their nests of warmth are
usually at a height of four or five feet from the ground, in thick
shrubs or tangles of saplings. The cardinals use strips of bark,
stems, twigs, leaves and even strips of paper to make their cozy
nests.
Caring
papas
Between April and August, cardinals have four broods.
Generally, the mother lays three or four eggs, which hatch after a
period of twelve or thirteen days. The eggs are spotted with
speckles and are grayish in color. The mother stays at home,
sitting protectively on the eggs, waiting for the hatching time.
The father takes it upon himself to provide food for the mother.
When the eggs are hatched, both mother and father feed the babies.
After some time, the mother takes leave to build a new home for a
new set of babies. The father continues to feed the babies during
this time. The babies are generally ready for the world outside
when they are about ten days old.
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