Northern Cardinal

About the Northern Cardinal

A stocky songbird a little under nine inches long, and one of the few birds almost everyone can name. The male is brilliant red from crest to tail, with a black mask running from the forehead through the chin and a heavy, cone-shaped orange-red bill. The female is quieter but arguably the better subject - warm buff-brown, washed with red in the crest, wings, and tail, wearing the same startling orange bill.

Cardinal pairs stay together through the year and rarely stray far from cover. The male sings from an exposed perch with a series of loud, clear, slurred whistles, and the female sings back - uncommon among North American songbirds and one of the nicer things to listen for on a spring morning. Both birds give a sharp metallic chip note that will follow you down a trail if you get too close to a nest.

In Texas the Northern Cardinal is a year-round resident across nearly the whole state, from East Texas woods to Hill Country creek bottoms to the South Texas brush, and it is entirely at home in a suburban yard. It does not migrate, which makes it one of the most dependable birds on the list.

Behind the lens, the trouble is that red. It clips easily in bright sun, so shoot early or late, expose for the red channel, and keep an eye on the black mask before it blocks up into a hole. A cardinal in falling snow or on a frosted branch is the classic Texas image, and it is worth waiting out a cold snap for. Familiarity makes this bird easy to walk past - very few species pay back good light this well.