| |
North Carolina State Bird
Northern Cardinal
- Official North Carolina State Bird Name: Cardinal
- American Ornithologists' Union Common Name: Northern
Cardinal
- Also Know As: Red Bird
- Family: Cardinalidae, Cardinals
- Scientific name: Cardinalis cardinalis
- Length: 8.75" (22 cm)
- Diet: Primarily insects, but also seeds & fruit.
- Voice:
Listen to Northern Cardinal Song (recorded by Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
Song a series of high, clear, sharp, mostly slurred
whistles woit woit woit woit chew chew chew chew chew or
pichew pichew tiw tiw tiw tiw tiw; many variations. Call a high,
hard tik; also a softer, rising twik.
- Habitat: Woodland edges, thickets, suburban
gardens, towns, swamps.
- Displays: Male and female with outstretched necks and erect
crests sway bodies from side to side while singing softly.
- Number of broods: 2, 3, occasionally 4 broods.
- Nest: In bramble thickets or tree saplings, 1-15' above ground;
compact and well lined to flimsy and scarcely lined; of weed stems,
pliable twigs, bark strips, grass rootlets, with leaves and paper
interwoven, lined with fine grass, hair.
- Eggs: Averages 3-4 grayish-, bluish-,
greenish-white eggs, marked with browns, grays, purples. 1.0" (25 mm).
- Incubation period: 12-13 days
- Fledge: 9-10 days after hatching
- Longevity Record: 15 Years and 9 months (according to USGS
Bird Banding Lab)
Cardinal is sometimes called the
Winter Redbird because it is most noticeable during the winter when it is the
only "redbird" present. The Cardinal was selected by popular choice as the North
Carolina State Bird on March 4, 1943.
(Session Laws, 1943. c. 595; G.S. 145-2)
Cardinals are considered one of America's favorite backyard birds and is the State Bird
of six other states besides North Carolina:
Illinois,
Indiana,
Kentucky,
Ohio,
Virginia, and
West Virginia.
North Carolina State Bird Books
Return to 50 State
Birds Page
Return to Bird Watching
Bliss Home Page
|
