Bird red cardinal. Northern cardinal. Flying towards him from all sides

The winter holidays are approaching and therefore in this article I want to talk about the most beautiful and bright bird that has become one of the symbols of Christmas in Canada, Mexico and America - the red cardinal.

The red or virgin cardinal (lat. Cardinalis cardinalis) belongs to the cardinal family and mainly lives in the eastern states of the United States, southeastern Canada and Mexico.

It is distributed south to Guatemala and has also successfully established itself in Bermuda and Hawaii and southern California.

The red cardinal is the official symbol in seven US states: Virginia, West Virginia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and North Carolina.

The red cardinal is a medium-sized bird (length 20-23 cm, wingspan 25-31 cm).

Males are slightly larger than females and have a very elegant bright crimson color with a black mask and a beautiful tuft on the head. The color of the female is dominated by gray-brown tones and reddish feathers are found only on the wings, breast and crest, and the black mask is less bright than that of the male. Young birds have a protective color similar to their mother.

Red cardinals are found in natural forests of various types, and also settle next to a person - gardens, parks, shrub plantings.

This bird became famous not only for its unique catchy appearance, but also for its very melodic singing, similar to nightingale in many trills. The Cardinal is called the Virginian Nightingale.

The male's song consists of complex and varied trills, while the female's song is quieter and less varied. Sometimes the male and female sing together, forming a very melodic duet.

Birds communicate with each other with a quiet chirp, and when frightened, they emit a sharp chirping cry.

Red cardinals feed mainly on a variety of plant seeds and fruits, berries, elm bark and leaves. From insects, these birds use beetles, cicadas and grasshoppers. Sometimes they even eat snails.

Cardinals love to eat on artificial man-made feeders.

These birds live in pairs - a male and a female, and the pair is formed for life.

Cardinals are territorial birds and the male fiercely defends the territory from competitors and warns intruders with loud trills that the place is occupied.

Females build cup-shaped nests in bushes or low trees. The clutch usually contains 3-4 greenish eggs with grayish or brownish spots. Only the female incubates the eggs for 12-13 days, and the male brings her food and sometimes replaces it for a short time. Cardinals feed chicks with insects.

The chicks leave the nest very quickly and their father feeds them. The female proceeds to the next clutch, and in a year the couple has 2 - 3 broods.

The life expectancy of the red cardinal in nature is 10-15 years, in captivity - up to 28 years. The main natural enemies of cardinals are large birds of prey such as hawks, owls and shrikes. And squirrels, chipmunks and even snakes often destroy eggs and helpless little chicks.

The North American Indians have laid down some beautiful legends about how the cardinal bird got such a luxurious and bright plumage.

1. A grateful wolf gives a chic outfit to a rescue bird

Once a cunning raccoon hid from a hungry wolf in a dense bush by the river. Out of breath from the pursuit, the wolf decided to get drunk and saw the reflection of a raccoon in the water mirror. The wolf rushed to the "prey" and almost drowned - he barely climbed ashore and fell asleep in exhaustion. And the cunning raccoon in retaliation covered his eyes with clay. Howled gray in despair, but no one in the forest wanted to help him. The animals remembered his cruelty and deceit. And only a small inconspicuous bird took pity on the wolf and opened his eyes. And he was so delighted with the sunlight that he led the bird to the magical red rocks and painted its feathers with scarlet sand. Since then, the cardinal has proudly flaunted his festive attire.

2. The second Native American legend says that the red cardinal is the daughter of the Sun

The Sun once got offended with people that they always squint and cover their eyes, looking at its flaming disk. It sent such a sizzling heat to the earthlings that many people died from its withering wrath. Then the insidious and cunning sorcerer turned two people into snakes and directed them to kill the Sun. However, the beloved Daughter of the Sun suffered from the snake venom. And then the light from grief and resentment completely disappeared from the sky. And people could not rejoice at the coolness that had come, because they remained in darkness. And then the sorcerer commanded to steal the beloved Daughter of the Sun from the world of the dead in order to return sunlight to earthlings again. The sorcerer gave the people a magic box and ordered them to carry it gently and not to open the lid. People stole the Daughter of the Sun from the realm of the dead and carried it to the world of the living. On the way, the girl began to suffocate in a cramped box and begged her porters to give her a breath of fresh air. The porters took pity, but as soon as they opened the lid of the box, a small scarlet bird fluttered around, and the box turned out to be empty. And now the Daughter of the Sun flutters next to people in the form of a crimson sweet-voiced cardinal.

And people forever fell in love with a bright crimson bird and made it not only a symbol of seven states, but also one of the main symbols of Catholic Christmas.

And images of the red cardinal began to decorate Christmas and New Year cards and paintings, festive dishes and city panels in Canada, America and Mexico, giving people bright joy, sunny warmth and a festive mood during the white snowy months.

We will also admire the sunny bird, at least in photographs and postcards, since we do not have it in Russia. And in the living winter forests, we will rejoice at our favorite bullfinches.

In several US states, one small red bird is the official symbol. It turns out that this is a cardinal bird. A very unusual and loud name for such a small feathered creature. How did the red cardinal deserve such an honor? Maybe with its unusual and conspicuous plumage? Or maybe beautiful singing?

The red cardinal is also called the virgin cardinal. This bird belongs to the cardinal family.

The appearance of the cardinal bird

The most attractive males of this species of birds, because their color justifies the name. The plumage of the male cardinals is bright crimson, and the face seems to be wearing a black mask, which gives the bird some special mystery. The legs are painted pinkish brown. As for the females of this species, they are less bright and have a predominantly brownish-gray shade of feathers, and only on the sides on the wings they have some red feathers.

In length, the red cardinal grows up to 23 centimeters, wingspan reaches 30 centimeters. An adult weighs quite a bit - only 45 grams.

Spread of cardinals

The habitat of the red cardinal is the territory of the eastern states of the United States. But this bird is also found in Mexico, Guatemala and also in Canada. At the beginning of the 18th century, this species of birds was brought to Bermuda, the cardinals liked the nature of those places, so they successfully took root there and live to this day. The red cardinal was artificially bred in Hawaii and in the state of California, and there he also acclimatized.

Habitats of the red cardinal in nature

For settlements and nests, cardinals choose forest areas, swamps, thickets of bushes and, at times, even gardens located near human habitation.

Behavior and lifestyle of a cardinal

The red cardinal, like other types of cardinals, leads a settled life. The cardinals actively and furiously defend their places where they settled down and built their nests from uninvited guests, especially if they suddenly decided to “evict” the permanent residents of the cardinals.

All his life, the cardinal bird lives with one partner, remaining faithful to him. These birds live in pairs - male and female. For communication use a whole range of music! What sounds can not be heard from these birds! Sometimes the male and female sing together, forming a wonderful melodic duet, the trills of which you can hear!

What does the red cardinal eat?

Food for these birds are cereals, as well as berries and a variety of seeds. From "animal food" they can eat cicadas, grasshoppers, various bugs and even snails.

If on the way of the red cardinal a feeder made by human hands accidentally comes across, it will never fly by and will definitely peck at everything that is edible inside.

How red cardinals breed

It was already mentioned above that the red cardinals are “monogamous”, they spend their whole lives with one partner. The nest for future offspring is built by the female. It is shaped like a bowl. The nest is very strong. The female, often. Places it on a low tree or shrub branch.

The female red cardinal lays 3-4 eggs at a time. The process of incubation of chicks continues for about two weeks. At this time, while the caring "mother" is sitting on the eggs, the male brings her food, and sometimes even briefly replaces her.

When baby cardinals are born, a caring “father” is engaged in growing and feeding them, and the female begins to prepare for a new laying. These birds breed 2-3 times a year.

Listen to the voice of the cardinal

In conditions wildlife red cardinals live up to 15 years. It is worth saying that this is not too short a time for such a small bird.

The Virginia or Red Cardinal is a small but very colorful songbird. Her appearance and beautiful voice have made her a popular pet.
Habitat. Lives in North and Central America. It was introduced to Hawaii and Bermuda, as well as to California.

Habitat.
The cardinal lives in the southern part of the United States of America, and is also found in Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize. This species was artificially settled in Bermuda and Hawaii, as well as on the California Peninsula. The bird inhabits parks and gardens; it can be seen both in shrubbery and near cultivated fields. The cardinal avoids dense forests and large open spaces; most often it inhabits the area near natural flowing reservoirs.

Species: Cardinal virginian (red) - Cardinalis cardinalis.
Family: Oatmeal.
Order: Sparrows.
Class: Birds.
Subtype: Vertebrates.

Reproduction.
The red cardinal is a monogamous bird. A lone male tries to attract the attention of females with his song. Adult individuals that make up a pair not only live together throughout the spring until the end of the nesting period, but often do not separate for several years. The mating season lasts from March to September, and birds during this time, as a rule, have time to give birth to two broods. The female makes the first clutch in March, and the second - in May or early June. The female is also involved in the construction of the nest, located in dense thickets at a height of 30 cm to 4.5 m above the ground. In a structure woven of grass and twigs, sharply tapering downwards, she lays from two to five eggs. Hatching begins after the laying of the last egg, and their incubation period is 12-14 days. All this time, the male supplies the partner with food. For the first two days after hatching, the mother stays in the nest and warms the offspring, and then begins to fly with her husband to hunt and forage. Both adult birds regularly clean the nest, removing waste from it.

Lifestyle.
The cardinal leads a sedentary lifestyle. In winter, birds gather in small flocks, whose members search for food and smell together. With the beginning of the nesting period, a pair of cardinals occupies the home territory, driving away other applicants from its borders by singing. This feathered bird is active during the day, and the live is most actively looking for in the morning and afternoon. The basis of the diet (up to 95%) are plants - more precisely, seeds, vegetables and fragments of flowers. The cardinal finds food mainly on the branches of shrubs, although it often collects fallen seeds on the ground, and from time to time it catches insects and larvae. In the spring, young shoots are also eaten. Between themselves, these birds communicate with voice and postures: for example, an alarm signal is accompanied by a flapping of the tail and a fluffy crest. Both males and females of the cardinal can sing. Representatives of this species have many natural enemies among snakes, birds and mammals: for example, individuals living in cities, as well as their nests, are constantly threatened by cats and dogs.

Did you know?

• The red cardinal has a pronounced sexual dimorphism. Individuals noticeably differ not only in plumage color, but also in size: the male cardinal is larger than the female.
• In winter, birds living in the city often find howling dimorphism. Individuals noticeably differ in food in man-made feeders.
• Only about two-thirds of cardinal chicks reach the age of puberty and can proceed to procreation. During the first year of life, many young animals become victims of various predators.
• Over the past two centuries, the world population of cardinals has increased and today it is approximately 100 million individuals. The main reason for this was the activity of North American settlers, who created land in large areas with favorable conditions for the habitat of these birds. In addition, the cardinals brought to California, Bermuda and Hawaii took root well and gave numerous offspring.
• The maximum age of an individual of the virgin cardinal recorded by ornithologists was 15 years 9 months.

Cardinal virginian - Cardinalis cardinalis.
Body length: 20-23 cm.
Weight: 42-48 g.
Number of eggs: 2-5.
Incubation period: 12-14 days.
Sexual maturity: 1 year.
Food: fruits, seeds, insects.
Lifespan: 10-11 years.

The structure of the cardinal.
Tuft. A small head is crowned with a tuft of red feathers.
Beak. The short and wide beak of the bird is red.
Eyes. Dark round eyes are set on the sides of the head close to the beak.
Mask. Around the beak and below, on the neck, one can see a mask of black feathers.
Plumage. The whole body is covered with red feathers. On the back and wings, the shade is darker, as if they are covered with a brown coating.
Body. The body is small, rounded.
Legs. The thin legs end in four toes.
Tail. Long regular tail feathers are distinguished by an intense, bright red color.

related species.
The oatmeal family includes many species of birds that live in both the Old and New Worlds. Close relatives of the virgin cardinal are found mainly in those regions of Central and South America where a tropical climate reigns. Close relatives of cardinals are buntings, the males of which are distinguished by very colorful plumage.

Darrell Bush.

Roger Tory Peterson.

First, a little biology...

Cardinals are a large group of passerines that inhabit North and South America. The subfamily of Cardinals includes up to 132 species of birds ranging in size from siskin to thrush. In terms of body proportions, cardinals are similar to buntings: they have an elongated tail, a massive beak, curved along a ridge, and a crest of elongated feathers often adorns the head.
The color of the plumage of these birds is striking in variety - from modest gray tones to bright red, lemon yellow, white and black. Among the cardinals there are wonderful singers - red-breasted (Zamelodia ludoviciana), virginian (Cardinalis cardinalis), gray (Paroaria coronata) and others. In the song of the Virginian cardinal, there are roulades reminiscent of nightingale, for which he is called the "Virginian nightingale" in his homeland.

Paroaria coronata.

Actually, we will be interested in the most cardinal of all cardinals - Cardinalis cardinalis. Sometimes it is also called the Northern Cardinal. People often just say: Red bird.
Only males have a beautiful coloration in these birds.

Male.

But the females are painted much more modestly.

The cardinal is the state symbol of Indiana.
The Indians call them "dotsuwa," pronounced doh-joo-wah. It also translates as a red bird.

Since these birds do not live in Europe, the Europeans did not come up with ancient rituals, and legends about them. But the North American Indians came up with it.

Susan Bourdet.

Patricia Savage.

Legend one 1 . "Why does the cardinal have red feathers" (Native American tale)
Once a wolf hunted a raccoon. The wolf almost overtook him, but the Raccoon hid in the branches of a tree, near the stream. The wolf lost sight of him, ran to the water to get drunk, and then he saw that the raccoon was in the water. The wolf did not realize that this reflection was, and jumped there. barely made it to shore. He was so tired that he fell asleep. And the cunning raccoon covered the wolf's eyes with clay. The wolf has woken up and sees nothing. The wolf cried. His moaning was heard by a small nondescript bird. She flew up to him and asked how she could help him. The wolf asked to unstick the clay. The bird did the job quickly. The wolf asked her how he could help? "Oh! It's not necessary!" - answered the bird. But the wolf wanted to thank her so much that he led her to the Red Rocks, took some red sand and painted the bird's feathers with it. Since then, as a reward for a good deed, all the descendants of this bird began to be called Redbird (Red Bird), and began to wear beautiful scarlet feathers.

James Hautman.

David G.Paul Garden birdhouse.

Janene Grende.

Peter R. Gerbert, The Nature of Cardinals, acrylics on gessobord.

Catherine Mcclung.

Billy Hassel.

The second legend. "Daughter of the Sun" (From the legends of the Cherokee Indians). Retelling in a slightly abbreviated version from the Internet.

Previously, in the middle of the daily solar path, the daughter of the Sun lived. The sun set every day at noon to visit her.

Somehow the Sun was offended by people, because they always squint, looking at him, they cannot look at him directly. And the Moon told him that he did not notice this, and that people, looking at him, smile. Then jealousy leapt up in the Sun, it decided to punish people. From that day on, it fired so mercilessly that many people died. When there were very few people left on earth, they went to the sorcerer, who knows everything, and asked for advice. He offered them to kill the Sun, for this he turned two of them into snakes. They were supposed to sting the Sun by waiting for him near his daughter's house. But although they sent enchanted people there more than once, they did not succeed. However, unfortunately, one day, due to negligence, one of them killed the daughter of the Sun. When it found its daughter dead, the Sun hid from everyone and began to grieve. People stopped dying from the heat, but now night reigned all the time. Again they went to the sorcerer. He said that it is necessary to take the daughter of the Sun out of the World of the Dead, then the Sun will rejoice and will shine again. There was one condition. The sorcerer gave them a special box where they had to place the daughter of the Sun while they carried her from the World of the Dead. It was impossible to open it. The messengers managed to kidnap her daughter, but on the way back she began to ask them to drink and eat. But they did not open the box, as ordered. However, she began to cry that she had nothing to breathe and that she would die. They took pity and opened the lid a little, and then slammed it shut again. When the messengers came to the Sun, they found that the box was empty. Then they remembered that since their last stop, a red bird had been flying next to them. Then they realized that it was the Daughter of the Sun that turned into her. The sun, of course, was upset, began to cry, from his tears a flood began. With difficulty, people managed to make peace with the luminary. And now everyone considers the little bird to be the Daughter of the Sun.

Probably really, the Daughters of the Sun is the place on New Year's cards.))

Sam Timm.

Collin Bogle.

Douglas Laird.

Douglas Laird.

Douglas Laird.

Susan Bourdet.

Marc Hanson.

Kim Norlien , Winter Cardinals, acrylic.

Russell Cobane.

Russell Cobane.

Darrell Bush.

Diane Phalen. Winter Patchwork.

Laura Milnor Iverson.

Martin Ryan. Winter Cardinals.

Martin Ryan. holiday spirit.

R.-M. condor. Winter Cardinals.

Robert Bateman.

Janene Grende.

63w, 73w" sizes="(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" /> Christmas and New Year are getting closer!

Today is CARDINAL, the scarlet bird of Christmas. It is so bright and recognizable that its colorful appearance has long been used as one of the unofficial symbols of Christmas. He himself, like a Christmas tree toy, smart and fluffy among the winter branches in the snow.

So, what is this bird that we have in Russia, and throughout Eurasia, you just can’t see?

Red cardinal , or virginian cardinal (lat. cardinalis cardinalis) is a species of bird from the cardinal family ( Cardinalidae).

In seven states of the USA it is chosen as an official symbol. This is a beautiful red bird with a crest.

The red cardinal is a medium sized bird. Her appearance is amazing. Length - 20-23 cm. The male is slightly larger than the female. The color of the male is bright crimson, with a black "mask" on the face. The coloration of the female is dominated by grayish-brown tones, with reddish feathers on the wings, chest and crest, with a less pronounced "mask" than that of the male. The beak is strong, cone-shaped. Juveniles are similar in coloration to the adult female. Legs are dark pink-brown. The pupils are brown.

It lives mainly in the eastern states of the United States, as well as in southeastern Canada and Mexico. Distributed south to northern Guatemala. In 1700, it was brought to Bermuda, where it successfully took root, and was also acclimatized in the Hawaiian Islands and southern California. Inhabits forests of various types, gardens, parks, bushes. It tends to anthropogenic landscapes, it is found even in the parks of large cities, for example, in Washington.

The song of the male is a set of very beautiful sonorous trills, vaguely reminiscent of the song of the nightingale, for which he is often called the virgin nightingale. Females also sing, but their song is quieter and not as varied. When frightened, the birds emit a sharp chirping cry, talking among themselves in a quiet chirp.

Pairs in the virgin cardinal are formed for life and remain together even outside the breeding season.

The red cardinal belongs to the territorial birds, the male does not allow other cardinals to enter the territory occupied by him and warns them with loud singing that the place is occupied. The nest is built by the female. It is bowl-shaped, located on a bush or low tree. A full clutch contains 3 4 eggs. Incubation lasts 12 13 days. Only the female incubates, and the male feeds her and sometimes replaces her. The chicks fly out of the nest very quickly, and the male feeds them, and the female proceeds to the next clutch. There are 2 3 broods per year.

The life expectancy of the red cardinal in nature is 10-15 years, in captivity up to 28 years.