Meet the Northern Cardinal

The Northern Cardinal

Ohio's State Songbird

Dazzling against a wintry background, the male of species Cardinalis cardinalis is easily the most recognized bird in Northeast Ohio. With its brilliant red plumage and masked throat, the male offers stark contrast against the bare, snow-dusted branches of winter, making it easy to draw the attention of observant humans and watchful predators. While the males easily catch your eye, females are also stunning in a more subtle way, discernable by overall pale brown coloring with warm, red tinges. Think that’s all there is to know? Keep reading!

12 things you may not know

  1. Cardinals are the first species to visit feeders at dawn and the last to visit at dusk, maybe to stay one step ahead ofthe competition OR to avoid predators by moving under the cover of lower light.
  2. Cardinals are granivores, meaning seeds are largely the base of their diet. Their beaks are specially designed to crack seed hulls and nut shells.

3. Cardinals are monogamous and, during courtship, males affectionately feed seeds to females “beak to beak”, giving the impression they are kissing.

4. Unlike other species, both male and female cardinals sing. Females typically sing from the nest, asking their mate for food, while males sing for courtship and to establish territory.

5. Cardinals are so obsessed with defending their territory, birdwatchers often notice them comically doing battle with their own reflection for hours in windows and shiny surfaces.

6. The lifespan of a cardinal is just 3 years on average, due to hazards presented by predators, disease, accidents, and starvation.

7. Each winter, cardinals give up their territorial ways and congregate, working together in search of food for collective survival.

8. A flock of cardinals is known as a college, conclave, deck, radiance, or Vatican of cardinals.

9. The combination of yellow, orange, and red pigments (carotenoids) found naturally in the seeds that that birds eat, is directly responsible for the cardinal’s coloration. Cardinals are special in that they have an enzyme that typically converts all the yellow pigment in their diet over to red, and so red dominates to program the coloring of their feathers.

10. Every once in a while, yellow cardinal is spotted, making national news and garnering special attention from birding hobby & lifestyle magazines. It’s not a trick of photo editing software, but rather a result of a genetic variation called xanthochroism. This is when the enzyme that converts the yellow pigment to red actually fails, resulting in yellow feathers rather than red feathers. Because there are far fewer red carotenoids than yellow in the cardinal’s mostly yellow diet, yellow pigmentation is easily able to take the lead, in this case. Yellow cardinals are incredibly rare (chance of occurrence is less than one in a million!), but they are found primarily in Ohio, Illinois, Florida, and Alabama.

11. Birdwatchers are often alarmed and concerned when they spot a cardinal balding, patchy, or presenting with dark grey, featherless skin. Have no fear, cardinals molt at least once each year. It’s perfectly natural, just a little unsightly.

12. The cardinal’s natural enemies in Northeast Ohio include predators like cats, barred owls, long-eared owls, Cooper’s hawks, and snakes.

bright, happy & healthy

through winter

By providing a few simple provisions, you can support Northeast Ohio’s signature year-round songbird, nurturing a healthier population of Northern Cardinals and increasing their chances of cold weather survival.

Northern Cardinal

Year-round resident

Favorite Food: Black Oil Sunflower Seed
Preferred Feeder: Hopper

Birding, Feeder, Hopper

Here in Northeast Ohio, cardinals are most frequently spotted visiting hopper feeders, followed closely by tube feeders, and platform feeders. They are most successfully attracted by foods like black oil sunflower seed, as well as sunflower kernels or sunflower chips, safflower seed (avoided by squirrels & blackbirds!), cracked corn, peanut pieces or peanuts in the shell, millet, and milo. Make an offer they’ll gladly accept with Petitti Cardinal Mix served in a hopper feeder, which combines many cardinal favorites including sunflower kernels, sunflower chips, safflower seed, and black oil sunflower into one irresistible blend.

northeast ohio's redbird

Northern cardinals may be the most popular, recognizable “redbirds” in our region, and yet there’s seemingly always something new to observe and learn about them. We hope you enjoyed reading these 12 fun facts about this most striking species.

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