![]() Eastern red cedars ( Juniperus virginiana) are a common choice. With no leaves out yet, the cardinals are likely to build their first nest in a dense evergreen tree or shrub. You might see the pair flying around together, with the female gathering nesting material and the male trailing after her, guarding his mate from other males. The female does most of the nest-building. The pair may nest several times, starting in April and continuing to early September. You may hear the pair staying in contact with frequent “chip” calls. Once a territory and a pair bond are established, the male cardinal chases away other males, and the female drives other females away. All of these things help to show off the male’s health and ability as a provider, which will be put to the test when the time comes for the male to bring food to the female on the nest and to the chicks. A female cardinal is attracted to a male on the basis of the territory, the brightness of his feathers, the quality of his song, and his mate-feeding. When a female joins a male in a territory, the two sing back and forth in a similar way. Two males sing back and forth, one answering the other, to establish boundaries. Typically in February-March, the males establish territories, singing to make their claim. Male and female cardinals pair for the breeding season, and the same two birds sometimes pair up season after season, on the same territory. ![]() Eventually both male and female end up busily feeding their fast-growing chicks. The birds usually continue mate-feeding through the spring, while the female builds a nest and then stays on it to warm the eggs and newly hatched chicks. Mate-feeding is part of courtship in cardinals (and various other birds as well). Eventually you might spot them mate-feeding, where the two touch beaks as the male passes a seed to the female. Flocks break up as birds drop out to claim territories and pair up for the breeding season.Īt a bird feeder and on the ground underneath, you might notice a male and female cardinal feeding separately early in the year but staying closer together as spring arrives. Within the pecking order of a flock, older birds are dominant to younger ones, and males are somewhat dominant to females. By now, last year’s young look like adults. The pair in your yard may be among those that stay in one place.Īt this time of year, you might still see a flock of cardinals. Many – but not all – join other cardinals in flocks in November-December through February-March. If you suspect that the same pair of cardinals visits your yard year-round, you’re probably right. A similar wear-and-tear change takes place in some other birds, such as European starlings. By spring, the tips have worn off, leaving the bird brighter and redder. The new feathers that grew in last August-September were tipped with brown, so in fall and winter, male cardinals seem to wear a shawl of brown that dulls their appearance, as our photo shows. ![]() For cardinals, this change comes from wear and tear. The cardinals in various parts of the country sound somewhat different – at least to other cardinals.Īs the songs of both male and female cardinals are getting stronger, cardinals’ colors are getting brighter, just in time for the breeding season. As cardinals learn their songs, they pick up the local dialect. Cardinals sing an average of 9 songs, eventually running through them all. In the case of cardinals, the left side makes the low notes and the right side makes the high notes. Like many other songbirds, cardinals have a double voice box. Both sexes get red pigments from their food, especially the berries and insects they eat in August-September when they replace their feathers. The females are tan and brown but with enough red to catch your eye. Not only are they bright red, but they also perch in conspicuous places to sing. We usually think of male birds as the singers, showing off their songs to claim territory or attract a mate, and female birds as relatively silent, but both male and female cardinals sing. As the birds’ bodies respond to the lengthening days by producing hormones for the upcoming breeding season, the song centers in their brain enlarge and develop. Listen for the cardinals’ “wa-cheer, wa-cheer, wa-cheer” or “whoit, whoit, whoit.” These distinctive parts of their song become clearer and louder as the season progresses. ![]() Last year’s young are learning and practicing theirs as they hear and imitate the adult cardinals around them. Since mid-January, adult cardinals have begun trying out their songs. ![]() You might hear a northern cardinal ( Cardinalis cardinalis) when you’re out shoveling snow or refilling a bird feeder. Days are getting longer, and birds are beginning to sing, including everyone’s favorite, the cardinal. We’re surrounded by mountains of snow in this old-fashioned winter, but in Westborough we can tell that spring is on the way. ![]()
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