Northern Cardinal

The Northern Cardinal, Its Latin name is Cardinalis cardinalis which mans serving as a hinge. Its a fairly large long tailed bird with a very thick prominent crest. They often sit with a hundred over posture, and the tailed pointed straight down. The size of the bird is smaller than a robin and bigger than a sparrow. Males are brilliant red and females are pale brown all round, but they both share a black face. Length -21-23 centimeters, Weight -42-48 grams, and wingspan is 25-31 centimeters. Northern cardinals tend to sit low in shrubs and trees or forage on near the ground often in pairs. They inhabit backyard, parks, woodlots, and shrubby forest edges. They breed between March and September. Usually, they raise two broods a year, one beginning around march and the second in late May to July. For Mating system they are Monogamous which means when one male mates with one female, however they often choose a different mate each breeding season. They eat weeds, sunflower, seeds, grains, fruits, and insects to feed their children. In order to crack open the seeds they developed large strong beaks. For their status its of low concern since their was a slight increase in population from 1966-2014. Their breeding population in about 129 million with 77% in U.S, and 22% in Mexico.