Northern Cardinal brighten Piney Woods days By Jay Huner Male Northern Cardinals brighten all seasons in our Piney Woods with their striking scarlet red body coloration and their ringing purtee, purtee, purtee song. A variation of this song is described as what cheer - cheer - cheer. Most folks call cardinals "redbirds." Males are literally "red" birds with only a black face mask and orangish bill to mar an otherwise red appearance. However, every spring, the Scarlet Tanager, another "redbird," arrives from the tropics to nest and leave again in the fall for warmer climes, leaving our resident cardinals to brighten our winter landscape. Unlike cardinals, tanagers tend to remain in the tree tops and feed almost exclusively on insects including juicy caterpillars and spiders. Cardinals, of course, consume animal food, especially when feeding their nestlings who need the proteins and fats those organisms provide. However, their strong, conical bills bespeaks a bird that crushes seeds and berries throughout the year. Cardinals also have a striking profile compared to tanagers because they have crests on their heads, something tanagers lack. Unlike its mate, female cardinals are basically brown in coloration, darker above and lighter below with a hint of red at the edges of the feathers on their backs. This makes plenty of sense because the female cardinal simply does not need to be conspicuous when nesting. The simple cup-shaped nests are usually constructed in dense cover 5-6 feet above the ground, often near homes. After they fledge--begin to fly, young cardinals resemble their mothers but their bills are very dark, almost black. By the fall following hatching, male cardinals will molt (change their feathers) to scarlet. If weather conditions are favorable and food readily available, cardinals may nest as many as three times a spring-summer breeding season in our region of the world. One would wonder then, why we don't see hundreds and hundreds of cardinals everywhere? Well, there is significant mortality ranging from loss of nests from bad weather, predation on eggs and hatchlings by all manner of critters including squirrels, possums, raccoons, cats, Blue Jays, crows, rat snakes, etc. Then, once they are out and flying, fledgling cardinals are fair game for both hawks and unthinking or un-supervised children with BB guns and air rifles! Fill a feeder in your yard with sunflower seeds and within a day, if you have any shrubs and trees in your yard, and you are sure to have a pair of cardinals come to the feeder. If your yard has no cover, it may take a week or more before cardinals show up, even in most towns and cities. Set up a bird bath, even a simple one, and the birds will be more likely to hang around. So, you have squirrels that love the expensive sunflower seeds! There are two humane solutions to squirrel problems. Set up a squirrel proof feeder or use safflower seeds. For some reason, squirrels won't eat safflower seeds. Be warned, however, that it may take a few days before your birds get used to eating them. Breeding cardinals will often bring their families to backyard feeders. Don't be surprised, however, to occasionally see a cardinal feeding an odd looking grayish "blackbird". Brown-headed Cowbirds regularly lay their eggs in cardinal nests. This is a form of nest parasitism. There seems to be a harmonious relationship between cardinals and cowbirds as there is no shortage of either species. The bright scarlet male Northern Cardinals take their common name from the robes of Roman Catholic cardinals. But, just because they are conspicuous out in the open doesn't mean that they are very easy to find when they want to hide. In fact, it is pretty hard to see them in heavy shrubbery because they blend into the shadows. Brown females and fledglings completely disappear in such hiding places. Listen for a low tic, tic, tic call. It is almost certain to be several nervous cardinals. If you really want to see these birds, use a bird watcher's secret and start pishing! To pish, just start repeating pish, pish, pish quietly several times and stop. Wait a minute or two and repeat. By the third time you pish, whatever birds, most likely cardinals, are sure to stick their heads out to find the source of the unusual sound which some ornithologists believe to sound like a fussing Tufted Titmouse. Cardinals are common birds throughout the Piney Woods but it is hard to tire of seeing and hearing them. Jay V. Huner |