Northern Cardinals are a medium-sized songbird (21-23 cm or 8-9 inches) with short, rounded wings, a long tail, a heavy conical bill, and a crest. Males are nearly all brilliant red. The red bill is surrounded by a mask of black that extends to a dark eye and includes the chin and throat. Legs and feet are dark red.
The female is soft grayish brown on the back with variable areas of red on the tail, crest, and wings. The underparts are a warm pinkish brown. Her red bill is also surrounded by darker but not black feathers, so her mask is not as distinct as the male's. Females are slightly smaller than males.
Cardinals feed on a variety of foods including seeds, leaf buds, flowers, berries, and fruit. Up to one-third of its summer diet can be insects. Its winter diet is 90 percent vegetable matter, especially large seeds. In our limited time of backyard feeding we have found that the male prefers the bird feeder while the female enjoys shelled peanuts.
Cardinals live in a variety of habitats and are often seen in parks and back yards. It mates for life and will return to the same breeding area each year. Mated pairs communicate with songs. The male fights other birds to defend his territory and sometimes tries to attack his own reflection in windows, car mirrors, chrome and hubcaps.
