Northern cardinal

Cardinalis cardinalis · The northern cardinal is a mid-sized songbird found in southeastern Canada, the eastern United States, and south through Mexico to Belize and Guatemala.

Also called Redbird, Common cardinal, Red cardinal, Virginian Nightingale.

Northern cardinal
Photo: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0
Northern cardinal
Photo: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0
Northern cardinal
Photo: Paul Danese, CC BY-SA 4.0

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassAves
OrderPasseriformes
FamilyCardinalidae
GenusCardinalis
SpeciesCardinalis cardinalis

Where it lives

Woodland edges and gardens of the eastern US, Mexico and Guatemala.

Fun facts

  • A male cardinal may mistake his reflection for an invading rival and fight it relentlessly.
  • During courtship, the male cardinal collects food and feeds it to the female beak-to-beak.
  • Cardinals can lower their body temperature by 3 to 6 °F (1.7 to 3.3 °C) to survive cold weather.
  • A male cardinal's red color comes from pigments in his diet, and when fed only yellow pigments, he becomes a pale red.

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Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).