Interesting Facts
- The "redbird" is a popular visitor to backyards and is usually the last songbird bird in the evening to eat at the birdfeeders.
Common Names
Click on the language to view common names.
Common Names in English:
Northern Cardinal
Common Names in French:
Cardinal Rouge
Common Names in Spanish:
Cardenal Rojo
Description
Family Fringillidae
A Family of seed-eating, small to moderately large passerine birds that have strong , stubby beaks, which in some species can be quite large. They have a bouncing flight, alternating flapping with gliding on closed wings. Most sing well.
Physical Description
Adult Female: Head : buffy golden brown Crest : olive with red tip Face : Lores : dusky Body: Underparts: buffy golden brown Upperparts: buff-brown Tail: olive with red wash.Adult Male: Head: Crest: red Face: Eye Color: black mask surrounds black eyes Bill: reddish Shape : conical.
Color:
Male is red with a black face . Female has a red tail, wings, and crest ; the remainder of her body is brown. Both sexes have red bills, but juvenile cardinals have black bills.
Size/Age/Growth
About 7.5 to 9.25 inches long, with a wingspan of 10 to 12 inches. Adults weigh about 1.6 ounces .
Habitat
The Northern Cardinal prefers wooded or shrubby areas in either urban, suburban, or open woodlands. It is a common inhabitant of disturbed habitat , often found near houses .
Ecology:
List of Habitats
:1.6Forest - Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland
3.5Shrubland - Subtropical/Tropical Dry
3.6Shrubland - Subtropical/Tropical Moist
14.6Artificial/Terrestrial - Subtropical/Tropical Heavily Degraded Former Forest
Biology
Diet
The diet of the Northern Cardinal includes insects, seeds, and fruits. Most of the food is picked off the ground or vegetation.
Reproduction
The breeding season
begins in late March, peaks in May, and extends until early August. The breeding habitat
preferred by this species includes shrubby areas, thickets, or areas with a very dense understory
. The nest
is usually in a shrub
0.3-4.5 m
(1-15 feet) above the ground
. The nest is cup-shaped and constructed from plant stems, twigs
, grass
, bark
strips, and other plant material. The female lays
2-5 (usually 3-4) eggs
that she incubates for 12-13 days. The young are altricial and fledge
9-10 days after hatching
. The male will care for the young while the female starts the next nest. The young are dependent
on adults
for 2-4 weeks after they leave the nest.
- Breeding Habitat: Successional-scrub
- Nest Location: Ground-low nesting
- Nest Type: Open-cup
- Clutch Size: 2-5
- Length of Incubation : 12-13 days
- Days to Fledge: 9-10
- Number of Broods: 2, 3, occasionally 4
Migration
Nonmigratory
The Northern Cardinal song is usually loud, variable, whistled notes , sometimes sounding like cheer cheer cheer or purty purty purty.
Taxonomy
- Domain:
Eukaryota
(
)
- Whittaker & Margulis,1978
- Kingdom:
Animalia
()
- Linnaeus, 1758
- animals
- Subkingdom:
Bilateria
()
- (Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983
- Branch:
Deuterostomia
()
- Grobben, 1908
- Infrakingdom:
Chordonia
()
- (Haeckel, 1874) Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Phylum:
Chordata
()
- Bateson, 1885
- Chordates
- Subphylum:
Vertebrata
()
- Cuvier, 1812
- Vertebrates
- Infraphylum:
Gnathostomata
()
- Auct.
- Jawed Vertebrates
- Superclass:
Tetrapoda
()
- Goodrich, 1930
- Class:
Aves
()
- Linnaeus, 1758
- Birds
- Subclass:
Neornithes
()
- Gadow, 1893
- Infraclass:
Neoaves
()
- Superorder:
Passerimorphae
()
- Order:
Passeriformes
()
- C. Linnaeus, 1758
- Perching Birds
- Suborder:
Passeri
()
- Parvorder:
Passerida
()
- Superfamily:
Passeroidea
()
- Family:
Fringillidae
()
- Buntings, Finches
- Subfamily:
Emberizinae
()
- Tribe:
Cardinalini
()
- Genus:
Cardinalis
()
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Specific name:
cardinalis
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Scientific name: - Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Specific name:
cardinalis
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Genus:
Cardinalis
(
- Tribe:
Cardinalini
(
- Subfamily:
Emberizinae
(
- Family:
Fringillidae
(
- Superfamily:
Passeroidea
(
- Parvorder:
Passerida
(
- Suborder:
Passeri
(
- Order:
Passeriformes
(
- Superorder:
Passerimorphae
(
- Infraclass:
Neoaves
(
- Subclass:
Neornithes
(
- Class:
Aves
(
- Superclass:
Tetrapoda
(
- Infraphylum:
Gnathostomata
(
- Subphylum:
Vertebrata
(
- Phylum:
Chordata
(
- Infrakingdom:
Chordonia
(
- Branch:
Deuterostomia
(
- Subkingdom:
Bilateria
(
- Kingdom:
Animalia
(
Notes
Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: 17-Oct-2001.
Similar Species
Pyrrhuloxia
Members of the genus Cardinalis
There are approximately 31 species in this genus:
C. cardinalis (Northern Cardinal) · C. cardinalis affinis · C. cardinalis canicaudus · C. cardinalis cardinalis · C. cardinalis carneus · C. cardinalis clintoni · C. cardinalis coccineus · C. cardinalis flammiger · C. cardinalis floridanus (Northern Cardinal) · C. cardinalis igneus (Northern Cardinal) · C. cardinalis littoralis · C. cardinalis magnirostris · C. cardinalis mariae · C. cardinalis phillipsi · C. cardinalis phoeniceus · C. cardinalis saturatus · C. cardinalis seftoni · C. cardinalis ssp · C. cardinalis superbus (Northern Cardinal) · C. cardinalis townsendi · C. cardinalis x · C. cardinalis yucatanicus · C. clintoni · C. phoeniceus · C. phoenicus · C. saturatus · C. sinuatus (Pyrrhuloxia) · C. sinuatus fulvescens · C. sinuatus fulvesgens · C. sinuatus peninsulae · C. sinuatus sinuatus
Bibliography
- Bird Reference Citations. The numbers inserted in the text accounts above (usually in bold) refer to references. For further details on these references, click on the BirdLife International link above to go to the specific species account on the BirdLife web site. In some cases, particularly in the taxonomic notes, the references are cited using the author names. Details for these can be found on the BirdLife International web site at the following two places: For References from A–L. For References from M–Z.
- BirdLife International. 2000. Threatened Birds of the World. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, U.K.
- BirdLife International. 2004 Threatened Birds of the World 2004. CD-ROM. BirdLife International, Cambridge, U.K.
More Info
- Search for Pictures: images.google.com
- Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
- Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
- Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books
Notes
Contributors
- BirdLife International 2004. In IUCN 2008. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCNRedList.org. Downloaded July 18, 2008.
- Bisby, F.A., Y.R. Roskov, M.A. Ruggiero, T.M. Orrell, L.E. Paglinawan, P.W. Brewer, N. Bailly, J. van Hertum, eds (2007). Species 2000 and ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual Checklist. Species 2000: Reading, U.K.
- Bronx Zoo, Bronx, NY USA
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Accessed March 05, 2008. http://www.gbif.org Mediated distribution data from 16 providers.
- Hines, J. E., Gregory Gough, J. R. Sauer, et al. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
- NatureServe. 2003. Downloadable animal data sets. NatureServe Central Databases. Accessed February 6, 2005.
- Pippen, Jeffrey S. Jeff's Nature Page. Accessed December 2, 2007.
- Sauer, J. R., J. E. Hines, and J. Fallon. 2005. The North American Breeding Bird Survey, Results and Analysis 1966 - 2004. Version 2005.2. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD
- Sauer, J. R., S. Schwartz, and B. Hoover. 1996. The Christmas Bird Count Home Page. Version 95.1. USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD
- The Georgia Museum of Natural History and Georgia Department of Natural Resources
Data Sources
Accessed through GBIF Data Portal March 05, 2008:
- Avian Knowledge Network: eBird
- Avian Knowledge Network: Great Backyard Bird Count
- Avian Knowledge Network: Macaulay Library - Video Data
- Avian Knowledge Network: Project FeederWatch
- Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum: Bishop Museum Natural History Specimen Data
- Bird Studies Canada: Marsh Monitoring Program - Birds
- Bird Studies Canada: Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas 1981-1985
- Bird Studies Canada: Ontario Breeding Bird Atlas 2001-2005
- Borror Laboratory of Bioacoustics
- Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility: Provincial Museum of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada. Birds (Aves)
- Canadian Museum of Nature: Canadian Museum of Nature Bird Collection
- Cornell University Museum of Vertebrates: Bird Collection
- Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University: MCZ Ornithology Collection
- Museum of Vertebrate Zoology: Terrestrial vertebrate specimens
- New Brunswick Museum: NBM birds
- Royal Ontario Museum: Bird specimens
- Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History: Santa Barbara Musem of Natural History
- The New York Botanical Garden: Bronx River Bioblitz
- UNIBIO, IBUNAM: CNAV/Coleccion Nacional de Aves
- University of Alaska Museum of the North: University of New Mexico Museum of Southwestern Biology Bird Collection
- University of Michigan Museum of Zoology (UMMZ): Bird specimens
Identifiers
- Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 8938273
- Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: ITS-179131
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 13815894
- Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 179124
- IUCN ID: 54066
- Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: ABPBX60010
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 273
