Northern Cardinal are weed seed, grains, insect snail berry and fruits eaters. Predators of chicks and eggs include milk snakes, coluber constrictors, Blue Jays, fox squirrels, red squirrels and eastern chipmunks. Northern Cardinals become prey for the Cooper’s Hawks, Loggerhead Shrikes, Northern Shrikes, Eastern gray squirrels, Long-eared Owls and Eastern Screech Owls. The frequency and volume of these notes increases as the threat becomes greater. This call often is given when predators approach the nest, in order to give warning to the female and nestlings.In some cases it will also utter a series of chipping notes. The Northern Cardinal has a distinctive alarm call, a short metallic ‘chip’ sound. Some common phrases are described as purdy, purdy, purdy…whoit, whoit, whoit, whoit and what-cheer, what-cheer… wheet, wheet, wheet, wheet’. Northern cardinal female with sunflower seed in her mouth.īoth sexes sing a clear, whistled song patterns, which are repeated several times, then varied. It is able to easily distinguish the sex of another singing Northern Cardinal by its song alone. The Northern Cardinal learns its songs, and as a result the songs vary regionally. He will chase off other males entering his territory. The male sings in a loud, clear whistle from the top of a tree or another high location to defend his territory. The Northern Cardinal is a territorial song bird. The male Cardinal often feeds the female as part of their mating behavior. If the mating is successful, this mate-feeding may continue throughout the period of incubation. ( Now there is a dating behavior tocopy! -Mother Nature) During courtship they may also participate in a bonding behavior where the male collects food and brings it to the female, feeding her beak-to-beak. When the female agrees to become his mate they sing to each other. This beautiful male bird also courts his future mate by feeding her seeds. The term “Northern” in the common name refers to its range, as it is the only cardinal found in the Northern Hemisphere. Colored red for romance the Northern Cardinal so named “cardinal” after the Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church, who wear distinctive red robes and caps.
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