![]() It gradually changes to the adult color three to four months after hatching. Young Northern Cardinals have black bills rather than the orange-red of the adults.The female will lay anywhere from two to five eggs that are an off-white color speckled with gray or brown. Northern Cardinals normally have one brood per season, but occasionally have a second.She will crush nesting material in her beak to make it pliable so she can make her nest into a cup-like shape. The female cardinal does most of the nest building with the male sometimes bringing her nesting materials.They will build their nest in shrubs and trees, and the placement of the nest can be anywhere from a one to fifteen feet high. Cardinals are not cavity nesters, and do not use man made nest boxes.The size of the Cardinal’s breeding territory varies with habitat quality and population density, but generally ranges from two to ten acres.Mated pairs will often sing duets together. During the breeding season, male Cardinals may sing 200 or more songs per hour in the early morning hours.The Northern Cardinal is the state bird of seven states: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia.The oldest recaptured banded Northern Cardinal was still alive at 15 years and 9 months old. ![]() The loss of the dense forest to agriculture and suburban uses has greatly expanded the amount of suitable habitat for Cardinals. O Another important factor in the Cardinal’s northward expansion is the change in land-use practices in the Northeast. As this temperature gradient has moved north, so have the Cardinals. Studies show that the northern edge of the Cardinal’s range is limited to areas with an average January temperature of at least 5 degrees Fahrenheit. While birdfeeding may have played a small role in this expansion, the steady increase in global temperatures during the last half of the 20th century is probably a more important factor. Over the past 60 years, Northern Cardinals have actually expanded their range northward.They prefer habitats with dense, shrubby plant growth such as forest edges.its home, the modifier Northern is appropriate because all of the other six species are located in South America. Although it is a bird that historically called the Southern U.S. O The Northern Cardinal is actually one of seven species in the world with the name Cardinal. The name was derived from the fact that they are the northernmost species of cardinal, and that they share a similar fashion sense with the Cardinals (the rank above Bishop) of the Roman Catholic Church who wear red robes and hats. The Northern Cardinal’s scientific name is Cardinalis cardinalis.
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