Male Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)
Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary
Southwestern Florida
USA
Cardinal photographed on the handrail of the boardwalk thru the swamp.
The Northern Cardinal is widespread and abundant, having expanded its range over the last century or more. Current numbers stable.
Family – Cardinals, Grosbeaks, and Buntings
Habitat - Woodland edges, thickets, suburban gardens, towns, desert washes. Found in a wide variety of brushy or semi-open habitats in the East, from forest clearings and swamps to city parks, almost wherever there are some dense bushes for nesting. In the Southwest, more local; occurs in tall brush, streamside thickets, groves of mesquites in desert.
One of our most popular birds, the Cardinal is the official state bird of no fewer than seven eastern states. Abundant in the Southeast, it has been extending its range northward for decades, and it now brightens winter days with its color and its whistled song as far north as southeastern Canada. West of the Great Plains, the Cardinal is mostly absent, but it is locally common in the desert Southwest.
Forages mostly while hopping on ground or in low bushes, sometimes higher in trees. Readily comes to bird feeders, where it favors sunflower seeds.
Mostly seeds, insects, berries. Diet is quite varied. Feeds on many insects, including beetles, true bugs, grasshoppers, caterpillars, ants, flies, and many others, also spiders, centipedes, and snails. Most of diet is vegetable matter.Young are fed mostly insects.
Male Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)
Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary
Southwestern Florida
USA
Cardinal photographed on the handrail of the boardwalk thru the swamp.
The Northern Cardinal is widespread and abundant, having expanded its range over the last century or more. Current numbers stable.
Family – Cardinals, Grosbeaks, and Buntings
Habitat - Woodland edges, thickets, suburban gardens, towns, desert washes. Found in a wide variety of brushy or semi-open habitats in the East, from forest clearings and swamps to city parks, almost wherever there are some dense bushes for nesting. In the Southwest, more local; occurs in tall brush, streamside thickets, groves of mesquites in desert.
One of our most popular birds, the Cardinal is the official state bird of no fewer than seven eastern states. Abundant in the Southeast, it has been extending its range northward for decades, and it now brightens winter days with its color and its whistled song as far north as southeastern Canada. West of the Great Plains, the Cardinal is mostly absent, but it is locally common in the desert Southwest.
Forages mostly while hopping on ground or in low bushes, sometimes higher in trees. Readily comes to bird feeders, where it favors sunflower seeds.
Mostly seeds, insects, berries. Diet is quite varied. Feeds on many insects, including beetles, true bugs, grasshoppers, caterpillars, ants, flies, and many others, also spiders, centipedes, and snails. Most of diet is vegetable matter.Young are fed mostly insects.