Cardinal

Both sexes sing

Female cardinals sing — a behavior unusual among North American songbirds, where typically only males sing. Female cardinals sometimes sing from the nest, possibly to communicate hunger or location to the male during incubation. Researchers think singing in both sexes may be the ancestral state and that female silence in many species is actually a derived trait that has evolved repeatedly.

The red

Male cardinals’ brilliant red feathers are produced from carotenoid pigments in the bird’s diet — the same family of compounds that color flamingos. Cardinals fed a low-pigment diet fade to pale pink or yellowish red. Studies suggest females prefer redder males (they make better fathers — providing more food to nestlings), making the color a sexually selected signal of nutritional health.

Females are pale tan-brown with red highlights on the wings, tail, and crest — well-camouflaged for incubation. Both sexes have the distinctive black mask around the bill.

A range that’s expanding

The northern cardinal historically ranged from the southern United States down through Central America. Over the past century, the species has steadily expanded northward, reaching New England, the Great Lakes, southern Canada, and even southern parts of Manitoba and Alberta. Bird feeders, suburban habitat creation, and possibly climate change are all credited.

State-bird champion

The northern cardinal is the official state bird of more U.S. states than any other species — seven: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia. It’s also the most common bird-on-Christmas-card subject in North America.

Pair bonds and unusual courtship

Cardinals pair-bond for the breeding season and often stay together year-round. During courtship, males feed seeds beak-to-beak to females — a behavior so often photographed it has become almost iconic. Both parents tend the nest, with the male defending territory and the female doing most of the incubation.

A namesake

The species was named for its bright red color, which 18th-century European observers compared to the red robes of Roman Catholic cardinals. Both the cardinal-bird and the cardinal-bishop got their names from the Latin cardo (hinge) — referring to the “pivot” position of senior clergy. The bird, being more colorful, got the nicer association.