One study of a cardinal population in Ohio found that 20 percent of pairs separated during the breeding season and 10 percent more split up over the winter. Although pairs may stay together for multiple years, they do sometimes seek out new mates. Male and female cardinals don't necessarily mate for life. Accessible at: Cardinal Relationships: Bonded, but not Always for Life Male and female cardinals sing the same types of songs, usually consisting of repeated phrases that sound like “cheer, cheer, cheer” or “birdy, birdy, birdy.” You can listen to a male and female duetting in the recording below: Audio: Richard E. When a female is incubating or caring for newly hatched chicks, she sometimes sings from the nest to communicate with the male, likely signaling when to bring food and when to stay away to avoid predators. Males also sing to females during courtship, and pairs sing duets together when preparing to nest. Males typically sing more often, more loudly, and from higher perches, but both sexes break into song to defend their shared territories. Singing Is Key Both for Male and Female CardinalsĬontrary to the idea that only male birds are good vocalists, female cardinals do in fact sing. To request food, the female cardinal begs the same way a young bird would, opening her bill and fluttering her wings. Male cardinals feed females when courting them and again when the female is incubating and can't forage for herself. Although males help choose where the nest will be built, females handle the actual nest construction and incubate the eggs. They display to each other during courtship, performing a variety of twisting, swaying, and chest-puffing movements. Male and female cardinals work together to select and defend the territories where they'll nest and raise their young. Northern Cardinals engaged in courtship feeding.
This bird has also been introduced to Hawai`i and Bermuda. In recent decades, its range has crept northward, through New England and into southeastern Canada. The Northern Cardinal is one of North America's most abundant bird species and is found year-round throughout the eastern and central U.S., in the desert Southwest, across much of Mexico, and even in northern Guatemala and Belize. While birds molting out of juvenile plumage and splotched with red can be identified as males, birds with dark bills and “female-like” plumage are not distinguishable as male or female.ĭepending on where you live, it is not rare to see a female cardinal. Both look like duller versions of adult females, with a gray or black bill, a shorter crest, and lack of the adult female's red-orange highlights. Just after fledging, juvenile male and female cardinals look alike. (Northern Cardinals get their name from this color, which reminded early European settlers of a Catholic cardinal's red robes.) Females are also slightly smaller than males on average, although the difference is subtle. You can easily distinguish adult males and females by color: In contrast to the female's muted plumage, males are bright red birds. Photo by Bonnie Taylor Barry, Shutterstock.
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