Virginia Nightingale

Red Bird, Songbird, Northern Cardinal, Virginia Nightingale, Cardinalis Cardinalis, all names of this wonderful bird I love to hear outdoors. Listening to their morning songs as they break the silence when the sun rises.

I was recently reading about this bird and discovered some information I had no idea about. So, in my own way I'm going to tell you what I know.

First off, Cardinals distinctive colour is forged from the food they eat but it's only the males that are red the female, as you've probably seen, are a slight dark brown coloration. One third of the Cardinal's diet consist of insects and only during the warm months of the year. Nearly 90 percent and the rest of the year between fall to spring, the Cardinal's diet is made up of vegetaion. Devouring anything from leaves and flowers, to small berries and fruits, to seeds and small nuts.

The known habitat for Cardinals consist of mainly woodlands, mountain ranges, forests, residential areas, and so forth. But cardinals didn't used to be everywhere in the United States like they are today. They're called the Northern Cardinal but they only moved northward in the last 100 years. Originally this bird was from the Southeast part of the United States but over the years this bird has migrated to lands far beyond.



If Cardinals are a nonmigratory bird, then what's making them migrate?


But Cardinals have a very distinctive way of living. Male Cardinals tend to find a mate and live with her for up to a year or more. One thing that differs Cardinals from other species is that they mate for life whereas other species will only mate during their youthful years. Also, Cardinals will sometimes stay with their mate for life.