Male Northern Cardinal at the Birdfeeder

"Northern Cardinal Male at the birdfeeder"

 

WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHY – NORTH MIAMI, FL

 

This photograph of a male Northern Cardinal was taken in my backyard at a bird feeder. The camera used in this Northern Cardinal photo was a Nikon D90 attached to a Tamron 28-300mm lens. Setting up a few bird feeders with seed is an excellent way to observe birds in your own back yard. You will be surprised how many species of birds will arrive during all seasons. Give it a try!

The male Northern Cardinal is perhaps responsible for getting more people to open up a field guide than any other bird. They’re a perfect combination of familiarity, conspicuousness, and style: a shade of red you can’t take your eyes off. Even the brown females sport a sharp crest and warm red accents. Cardinals don’t migrate and they don’t molt into a dull plumage, so they’re still breathtaking in winter’s snowy backyards. In summer, their sweet whistles are one of the first sounds of the morning.

The Northern Cardinal is a fairly large, long-tailed songbird with a short, very thick bill and a prominent crest. Cardinals often sit with a hunched-over posture and with the tail pointed straight down. Male cardinals are brilliant red all over, with a reddish bill and black face immediately around the bill. Females are pale brown overall with warm reddish tinges in the wings, tail, and crest. They have the same black face and red-orange bill.

Only a few female North American songbirds sing, but the female Northern Cardinal does, and often while sitting on the nest. This may give the male information about when to bring food to the nest. A mated pair shares song phrases, but the female may sing a longer and slightly more complex song than the male.

Northern Cardinals hop through low branches and forage on or near the ground. Cardinals commonly sing and preen from a high branch of a shrub. The distinctive crest can be raised and pointed when agitated or lowered and barely visible while resting. You typically see cardinals moving around in pairs during the breeding season, but in fall and winter they can form fairly large flocks of a dozen to several dozen birds. During foraging, young birds give way to adults and females tend to give way to males. Cardinals sometimes forage with other species, including Dark-eyed Juncos, White-throated Sparrows, other sparrow species, Tufted Titmice, goldfinches, and Pyrrhuloxias. They fly somewhat reluctantly on their short, round wings, taking short trips between thickets while foraging. Pairs may stay together throughout winter, but up to 20 percent of pairs split up by the next season.

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    7 Thoughts to “Male Northern Cardinal at the Birdfeeder”

    1. San439

      Really excellent photography

    2. Joyce.Epel

      VERY COOL PHOTO

    3. @palvisha_khan1

      RT @Photobug52: Male Northern Cardinal at the Birdfeeder http://t.co/vaxi06Jv

    4. Chinese tourist visa

      Lovely capture.

    5. @mike_magoo

      Male Northern Cardinal at Bird Feeder http://t.co/VK3mSEiH via @wibiya

    6. Hi Alan,
      Your site is amazing! So beautiful.
      I’m very glad to have known your work through Twitter. Congratulations!

      Sissym

    7. jane goodwin

      beautiful work, hope your proud,

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    Alan S Hochman Photography