Northern cardinal

The northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis), known colloquially as the redbird, common
cardinal, red cardinal, or just cardinal, is a bird in the genus Cardinalis. It can be found in
southeastern Canada, through the eastern United States
from Maine to Minnesota to Texas, New Mexico, southern Arizona, southern California, and
south through Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala. It is also an introduced species in a few locations
such as Bermuda and Hawaii. Its habitat includes woodlands, gardens, shrublands, and
wetlands.

The northern cardinal is a mid-sized perching songbird with a body length of 21–23 cm (8.3–
9.1 in) and a crest on the top of the head. The species expresses sexual dimorphism: Females
are a reddish olive color, and have a gray mask around the beak, while males are a vibrant red
color, and have a black mask on the face, as well as a larger crest. Juvenile cardinals do not
have the distinctive red-orange beak seen in adult birds until they are almost fully mature. On
hatching, their beaks are grayish-black and they do not become the trademark orange-red
color until they acquire their final adult plumage in the fall.[2]

The northern cardinal is mainly granivorous, but also feeds on insects and fruit. The male
behaves territorially, marking out his territory with song. During courtship, the male feeds seed
to the female beak-to-beak. The northern cardinal's clutch typically contains three to four eggs,
with two to four clutches are produced each year. It was once prized as a pet, but its sale was
banned in the United States by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.

Taxonomy[edit]

The northern cardinal was described by Carl Linnaeus in the 1758 10th edition of Systema
Naturae.[3] It was originally categorized as Loxia cardinalis, a genus which now contains only
crossbills. In 1838, it was recategorized as Cardinalis virginianus. In 1918, the scientific name
was sometimes replaced with Richmondena cardinalis.[4] In 1983, the scientific name was
changed again to Cardinalis cardinalis and the common name was changed to "northern
cardinal", to avoid confusion with the several other species also termed cardinals.[5]

The cardinal is named after cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church, who wear distinctive red
robes and caps.[6][7] The term "northern" in the common name refers to its range, as it is the
northernmost cardinal species known.[6]

Distribution and habitat[edit]

Northern cardinals are numerous across the eastern United States from the southern half
of Maine to Minnesota to the Texas-Mexico border and in Canada in the southern portions
of Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, all the way east to Cape Breton Island. Its
range also extends south through Mexico to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, northern Guatemala,
and northern Belize. An allopatric population is found on the Pacific slope of Mexico
from Jalisco to Oaxaca (this population is not shown on the range map). The species was
introduced to Bermuda in 1700. It has also been introduced in Hawaii, southern California and
southern Arizona. Its natural habitat is in woodlands, gardens, shrublands, and wetlands.[1]

In 1929, Forbush described the species as rare, and by 1955 Griscom reported the bird to be
"pushing northward" when recorded annually at feeding stations. Audubon data shows that
the population has grown rapidly in Massachusetts since 1960. In Massachusetts, the species is
most abundant in the east, especially in areas where dense cover is interspersed with open
areas, such as woodland edges, brushy fields, wooded wetlands, parks, and suburban areas.
They tend to avoid extensive woodlands.[8]

Adults[edit]

The northern cardinal is a mid-sized songbird with a body length of 21–23.5 cm (8.3–9.3 in) and
a wingspan of 25–31 cm (9.8–12.2 in). The adult weighs from 33.6–65 g (1.19–2.29 oz), with an
average 44.8 g (1.58 oz).[9] The male averages slightly larger than the female.[10]

Adult plumage[edit]

The adult male is a brilliant crimson red color with a black face mask over the eyes, extending
to the upper chest. The color becomes duller and darker on the back and wings.[11] The
female is fawn-colored, with mostly grayish-brown tones and a slight reddish tint on the wings,
crest, and tail feathers.[12] 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 bright coral-colored beaks.
The beak is cone-shaped and strong.[11] Young birds, both male and female, show coloring
similar to the adult female until the fall, when they molt and grow adult feathers.[13] They are
brown above and red-brown below, with brick-colored crest, forehead, wings, and tail.[5] The
legs and feet are a dark pink-brown. The iris of the eye is brown.[5]

The plumage color of the males is produced from carotenoid pigments in the
diet.[14] Coloration is produced from both red pigments and yellow carotenoid
pigments.[15][16] Northern cardinal males metabolize carotenoid pigments to create plumage
pigmentation of a color different from the ingested pigment. When fed only yellow pigments,
males become a pale red color.[15] A few rare "yellow morph" cardinals lack the enzyme to
convert carotenoids into red pigments, and have a yellow beak and feathers (except for black
face mask). [17][18][19][20]

During winter, cardinals will fluff up their down feathers in order to retain warm air next to
their body. The down feathers are small and hairlike at the base of each flight feather. The legs
and feet of are thin and lack feathers, and are vulnerable to rapid heat loss.[21] In cold
temperatures, cardinals will shiver and tense their muscles, especially breast muscles, to
generate heat. Cardinals have the ability to drop their body temperature 3 to 6° if needed in
order to survive cold temperatures.