The northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis), also commonly known as the common cardinal, red cardinal, or simply 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 all major islands of Hawaii since its introduction in 1929. Its habitat includes woodlands, gardens, shrublands, and wetlands. It is the state bird of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia. 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 its 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 typical orange-red color until they acquire their final adult plumage in the fall. 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 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 The northern cardinal was described by Carl Linnaeus in the 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. 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. 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. The cardinal is named after cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church, who wear distinctive red robes and caps. The term "northern" in the common name refers to its range, as it is the northernmost cardinal species known.
Description 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). The male averages slightly larger than the female. The oldest wild cardinal banded by researchers lived at least 15 years and 9 months, although 28.5 years was achieved by a captive bird. Annual survival rates for adult northern cardinals have been estimated at 60–65%.
Plumage 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. The adult female is fawn-colored, with mostly grayish-brown tones and a slight reddish tint on the wings, crest, and tail feathers. 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. Young birds, both male and female, show coloring similar to the adult female until the fall, when they molt and grow adult feathers. They are brown above and red-brown below, with brick-colored crest, forehead, wings, and tail. The legs and feet are a dark pink-brown. The iris of the eye is brown. The plumage color of the males is produced from carotenoid pigments in the diet. Coloration is produced from both red and yellow carotenoid pigments. 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. 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).
Distribution and habitat 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. Its natural habitat is in woodlands, gardens, shrublands, and wetlands. In 1929, Forbush described the species as rare in New England, 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.
Behavior 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 are thin and lack feathers, and are vulnerable to rapid heat loss. 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 °F (1.7 to 3.3 °C) if needed in order to survive cold temperatures.
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