Kentucky's State Bird: The Cardinal - Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives

The cardinal became the state bird of the Commonwealth during the legislative session in 1926 [KY Acts, Chapter 350, Senate Resolution No. 17; recodified in 1942 (KRS 2.080)]. Cardinals are considered one of America's favorite backyard birds, being the state bird for six other states besides Kentucky: Illinois, Indiana, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia. Cardinals are especially popular at Christmas and are featured in many types of decorations from ornaments to Christmas cards.

The Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) is a type of finch that can be found in gardens, streamside thickets, mesquite patches, and woodlands throughout the east and southwest sections of the United States. The cardinal does not migrate in winter - even those found in southern Canada; however, the cardinal prefers areas with mild winters.

The male cardinal is bright red with a tufted head (crest) and black mask. In winter, the color of a male cardinal fades, then brightens during molting in the spring in order to attract a mate. Studies show that females prefer the brightest and reddest males; presumably the hue and intensity of color are indications of the male's fitness. Females are olive-brown with reddish wings and/or tail, and also have a crest and black mask. The drab color helps the female be camouflaged from predators, especially during the nesting season.

The name cardinal is linked to the color of the male, reminding people of the cardinals, prominent Catholic bishops who wear bright red robes and advise the Pope.

A conical shaped bill helps the cardinal peck open seeds, fruit and insects. Cardinals are valued as destroyers of weed seeds; a few also eat harmful insects. The cardinal is especially fond of sunflower and safflower seeds. It mainly feeds in open ground areas and in backyard birdfeeders.

The cardinal sings almost year-round. Common whistles include "cheer cheer cheer," "whit-chew whit-chew" and "purty purty purty." Calls are soft "tsip" and "pink" notes.

The female cardinal sings usually after a male establishes territory, but before nesting starts. The male cardinal is a vigorous defender of its territory, which is about four acres. It has been know to attack its own reflection in a mirror, window or chrome. Sometimes, too, he will even attack small red objects he mistakes for other males.

Once they are about a year old, the breeding season for cardinals is in late March until early summer. Cardinals breed two to three times during a breeding season, usually in shrubby thickets or undergrowth. Nests are built by the female in tangles of vines or in shrubs, usually about four to five feet above the ground.

Cardinal nests can be recognized for their thin cupped shape, consisting of fine stems, vines, or rootlets supplemented by dead leaves, rags, paper or bark; and lined with fine dry grass, moss and hair. Eggs, usually three or four in number and about an inch long, are a very pale or grayish blue with speckles, spots or blotches of purple, brown, or gray.

It takes approximately twelve to thirteen days for a cardinal egg to hatch. The female cardinal will tend the nest of young fledglings for up to ten days; the male supplies the food. After that, the male takes care of the brood while the female begins a second clutch (birds hatched at the same time) in a new nest.

Young cardinals have blackish-gray down with orange skin. They learn to fly about eleven days after hatching. Most live only for a year or two, but one cardinal was caught almost sixteen years after it was initially banded by orithologists.

For more information about the cardinal, or any bird, visit the home page of the National Audubon Society, named after Kentucky painter and naturalist, John J. Audubon.

For information about Kentucky's official state symbols, visit the state symbol web page.

"Northern Cardinal" Wild Texas Bird Fact Sheet. Texas Parks and Wildlife. http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/factsheets/birds/cardinal_northern/norther_cardinal.htm

Audubon Sociey, The. Field Guide to North American Birds: Western Region. New York: Chanticleer Press. 1977. Call number: 598.297 UDVA

Harrison, Colin. A Field Guide to the Nests, Eggs and Nestlings of North American Birds. Cleveland: Collins and Sons Pub. 1978. Call number: 598.297 Harr

"Finch." Bird of the Week, Cornell Lab of Orithology. Cornell University. http://birds.cornell.edu/bow/