Never Fear, Cardinals Are Here!

In Indiana most birds don’t stick around for the winter, I don’t blame them one bit, Winter can get very mean here. But the Cardinals are a very loyal bird. They stay in the same place year round. They are the state bird for at least seven states including Indiana. They are also very loyal to their mates, Choosing, taking care of and staying with the same mate for life. Only when one of a pair dies, does the remaining bird look around for another mate to remain faithful to for the remainder of it’s life span which can be up to 15 years.

The sex of a Cardinal is easy to determine, The male is a bright red with a top-knot and black mask, the female is a grey/brown with some red on their head, wings and tails, also with a top- knot and mask . Both sexes have an orange beak. Both of them also sing, but the female tends to sing longer and more often than the male. When you see one of them, you can be sure the mate is close by.

The male Cardinal takes very good care of his chosen mate. He will feed her before, during and after the mating period, bringing her carefully selected seeds and insects and placing them directly into her beak. The female builds the nest in dense shrubs, bushes or small trees only about 1 to 15 feet off of the ground. It usually consists of twigs, bark, vines paper, and leaves, then lined with grass and hair, She will lay between 2 and 5 eggs that are a buff color with dark specks. The female will stay on the nest for 9 - 12 days, rarely, if ever leaving the nest until the eggs hatch, during which time the male guards the nest protecting and feeding her.

After the eggs hatch they both feed the young until they leave the nest approximately 9 to 11 days after hatching. The parents however continue to feed the chicks for 25 to 56 days after they fledge from the nest.

The young birds are colored more like the female, the males slowly getting their red coloring as they mature. In cardinals eyes the redder the better, The males with the reddest coloring being more favored by the females.

Cardinals like to perch while they are eating, so a tray style bird feeder filled with sunflower seeds will definitely attract them. They like seeds, fruits, buds, spiders, and other insects. They also love the birdbaths. Of course they need heated when it’s cold.
In the winter months, it is common to see 20 to 50 cardinals in a pack. They depend largely on the seeds at birdfeeders in snow covered areas and tend to be the favorite bird in those areas during the winter months. They are also a favored species for photos, home and garden decorations and even Christmas ornaments.

I know that the cardinals are one of my favorite birds, and I sure appreciate the fact that they stay in Indiana during the winter because they brighten up the very dull winter scenery and look so beautiful up against all of the snow. (Can you pick out the cardinal in this picture taken during a sowstorm?) >>>>>>>>
Their presence is very welcome year round.
The birdlady