Cardinals

Cardinals: Easily Overlooked

Imagine for a moment that you were on an exotic vacation to some tropical locale. Just ahead of you, you hear a cheerful, slurred “cheer, cheer, cheer!” from a thicket of tangled plants and vines. You search for the songster, and suddenly he pops into view: a brilliant red bird, feathers the scarlet of a priest’s robes. A jaunty crest gives him an added look of elegance, and the black quadrangle surrounding his orange-red bill makes that seed-cracking device stand out like Pinocchio’s nose. Few birds are so shockingly colored, and they excite legions of birdwatchers: scarlet ibis, roseate spoonbills, vermilion flycatchers, painted buntings. But this spectacular bird rarely excites such wonder because he is so common. We seldom appreciate beauty that we see every day, but long instead for the unusual. Next time you see a cardinal, take the time to enjoy him for what he is, a fantastically colored bird.

Whether highlighted against the recent dazzling whiteness of snow or perched in the dark green of a rhododendron, that incredible red always attracts my attention when the cardinals arrive at the feeder. They are usually the first birds to arrive in the morning and the last to leave at night, lingering until the shadows are long and the sun has left the sky. As darkness falls, red is the first color of the spectrum that disappears. In semi-darkness, red turns black. The brilliant red feathers of the cardinal, therefore, do not expose him to danger at dawn and dusk; instead that red provides camouflage. (Incidentally, that’s why many deep-sea fish and invertebrates are red; in the depths of darkness, red looks black.)

Cardinals are common in wooded and suburban areas throughout the eastern USA. Because they prefer low, brushy growth, they prosper wherever there are fencerows, scrubby edges of lots, or brush piles of debris. Their nests are often built close to the ground in such brushy tangles.

Their large bills are adapted for cracking seeds, and they readily accept sunflowers placed in feeders. In the summertime, when raising young, they switch almost exclusively to insects such as caterpillars and beetles. In wintertime, however, seeds form the bulk of their diet.

Cardinals are very family-oriented, and a mated pair remains together summer and winter. When the breeding season begins, the male often offers the female tidbits of food, sometimes even peeling the seeds before giving them to her. If you have a feeder, watch for this behavior, for it signals that nesting will soon follow. Once the young have fledged, or left the nest, the male cares for that brood while the female starts to lay eggs for the next clutch. They raise two or three broods each season. During nesting season, the birds are extremely territorial and chase away other cardinals. In winter, several pairs may visit your feeder and there may be aggressive interactions between them, but the chases are half-hearted at best.

If you have a feeder, stock it up with sunflower seeds, and if you don’t have a feeder, consider adding one. Cardinals are among the first birds to visit a new feeder and are common throughout our region, whether in suburban or rural areas. When that brilliant bird arrives, take the time to see him with fresh eyes: a beauty worthy of admiration for his color alone.

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