Posts Tagged "mating of the cardinals"

Northern Cardinal State Bird

Posted by Pat Stewart on Apr 14, 2012 in Backyard Birds, My Blog | 0 comments

The Northern Cardinal is no doubt one of the most popular birds…among those that are selected as State Bird in the USA.  The Northern Cardinal is State Bird for seven states:  Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia.  So what makes this bird one of our favorites?  Is it the flashing red color of the male?  Perhaps, it’s because we love to hear them sing their melodious songs to one another?  Or maybe it’s because the paler female has a beauty all her own.  My guess is that it’s all of these that form the crowd around the voting table for one’s favorite backyard bird. I like watching a male sit and watch for his mate to come hither after hearing his little click-click-click sound.  Usually, I see him doing this when he is near my feeder.  It isn’t too long before she comes flying in beckoning his call.  When the cardinals are courting, it’s quite entertaining to watch.  She sits in the tree near the feeder but not approaching it. She slightly flutters her wings a little.  He gets the seed and comes to sit right next to her, cracks it open and gets it just right for her and then feeds her…over and over.  It is believed that she is testing him out to see how well he would “provide for the family.”  He also is quite protective of his intended mate and if another male comes nearby, he takes care of that situation immediately.  One day I actually watched one male chase another male around the big holly tree numerous times before the 2nd hopeful suitor finally gave up. Quite entertaining. Remember to fill your...