---
title: "What the sources say about the Northern Cardinal | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "46 claims from the Northern Cardinal profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
image: "https://animaltracks.wiki/images/animals/northern-cardinal-1.webp"
canonical: "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/northern-cardinal/sources/"
---

# What the sources say about the Northern Cardinal (*Cardinalis cardinalis*)

> 46 claims from the Northern Cardinal profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Northern Cardinal](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/northern-cardinal/)

## Cardinalis cardinalis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2018: e.T22723819A132024136.

https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2018-2.rlts.t22723819a132024136.en

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Least Concern | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). (note: status) |
| The IUCN rates the species Least Concern | IUCN Red List category: Least Concern (LC). |

## Cardinalis cardinalis (northern cardinal). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Cardinalis_cardinalis/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Weed seeds, grains, fruit and insects | About 90% of northern cardinals' diet consists of weed seeds, grains, insects, fruits, and sunflower seeds. (note: stats.diet; the list only, the ADW 90% figure is not used) |
| Woodland edges, hedgerows and thickets in eastern and central North America, plus gardens with feeders | Northern cardinals have a preference for the edges of woods, hedgerows, and vegetation around houses. (note: stats.habitat) |
| Woodland edges, hedgerows and thickets in eastern and central North America, plus gardens with feeders | Cardinals prefer to build their nests in dense thickets. (note: stats.habitat) |
| Woodland edges, hedgerows and thickets in eastern and central North America, plus gardens with feeders | They are found throughout eastern and central North America from southern Canada into parts of Mexico and Central America. (note: stats.habitat) |
| Woodland edges, hedgerows and thickets in eastern and central North America, plus gardens with feeders | Cardinals also benefit from the large numbers of humans who feed them and other seed-eating birds with backyard bird feeders. (note: stats.habitat) |
| Both males and females sing | Male and female cardinals both sing. |
| The songs are loud, whistled phrases that defend territory and court mates | Their songs are loud, beautiful whistled phrases. ... These songs are used to defend territories and to court mates. |
| Chip calls work as contact calls and alarms | Male and female cardinals use "chips" as contact calls and alarms. |
| raising and lowering the crest, the tuft of feathers on the head, also signals alarm | They also have many visual displays to signal alarm. These include "tail-flicks" and raising and lowering the crest. |
| An adult is 20.9 to 23.5 cm long | Range length 20.9 to 23.5 cm |
| averages 42 to 48 g | The average weight of adult cardinals is 42 to 48 g. (note: AnAge lists adult weight 42.6 g) |
| has an average wingspan of 30.5 cm | Average wingspan length measures 30.5 cm. |
| The bill is thick and cone-shaped, and cardinals prefer seeds that are easily husked | Both males and females have thick, orange-red, cone-shaped bills |
| The bill is thick and cone-shaped, and cardinals prefer seeds that are easily husked | They prefer seeds that are easily husked |
| parents feed their chicks almost exclusively insects | feed their young almost exclusively insects |
| The female incubates the eggs for 11 to 13 days | incubates the eggs for 11 to 13 days |
| They are year-round residents of their range | Northern cardinals are not migratory; they are year-round residents throughout their range. (note: FAQ) |
| In winter most join flocks and roost together, then in the breeding season they turn territorial | In winter, most cardinals flock and roost together. During the breeding season, they are quite territorial. (note: FAQ) |
| Both male and female northern cardinals sing | Male and female cardinals both sing. (note: vibe.reason animal clause, same source as the body claim "Both males and females sing") |
| weightKg: 0.045 | The average weight of adult cardinals is 42 to 48 g. (note: #998; name guess put it Light) |

## Halkin et al. (2021). Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis). Birds of the World.

https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.norcar.02

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Male northern cardinals are brilliant red | males are brilliant red |
| Females are mostly grayish tan, with red on the wings, tail and crest | females are primarily grayish tan with red on the wings, tail, and crest |
| It comes from carotenoids, pigments the bird eats, changes chemically inside its body and deposits in new feathers while it molts | Red plumage color results from ingestion, metabolic conversion, and deposition of carotenoid pigments obtained from the diet during molt. |
| Colour may carry a message | Plumage coloration may signal individual quality and/or behavioral attributes. |
| Redder males have denser vegetation on their territories, and may be larger and have higher reproductive success | Redder males, with more densely pigmented plumage, have territories with greater vegetation density, and may be larger and have higher reproductive success. |
| Studies in cities and the countryside have found different links between colour and success | Studies in urban and rural environments have reported different relationships between plumage color and behavior or reproductive success |
| Mates and neighbours share most or all of their songs, and the repertoires drift apart with distance, which makes local dialects | Local song dialects are apparent; mates and neighbors share most or all of their song repertoires, and repertoires diverge increasingly with increased distance |
| The diet is mainly seeds, fruits and insects | This species is omnivorous with a diet consisting mainly of seeds, fruits and insects. |
| Cardinals live across eastern, central and parts of southwestern North America, from southern Canada to northern Central America, and have been introduced to Hawaii, southern California and Bermuda | broadly distributed in eastern, central, and portions of southwestern North America, from southern Canada to northern Central America, and has been introduced to Hawaii, southern California, and Bermuda |
| The range has been expanding northward since at least the mid-1800s, as the birds took advantage of moderate temperatures, human habitation and bird feeders | has been expanding its range northward since at least the mid-1800s, taking advantage of moderate temperatures, human habitation, and provisioning at bird feeders |
| only 15 to 37 percent of nests produce fledglings | only 15–37% of nests produce fledglings |
| Both sexes sing, and a female singing from the nest appears to tell her mate when to bring food | Both males and females sing. Female song from the nest appears to provide the male with information about when to bring food to the nest. (note: FAQ) |
| predators take many eggs and nestlings | Predation rates are high on nestlings and eggs |
| Life is risky at the nest | Predation rates are high on nestlings and eggs, and only 15–37% of nests produce fledglings. |
| That red is not made from scratch | Red plumage color results from ingestion, metabolic conversion, and deposition of carotenoid pigments obtained from the diet during molt. |
| mates share most or all of their songs | Local song dialects are apparent; mates and neighbors share most or all of their song repertoires, and repertoires diverge increasingly with increased distance (note: vibe.reason animal clause, same source as the body claim "Mates and neighbours share most or all of their songs, and t") |

## McGraw et al. (2001). The Influence of Carotenoid Acquisition and Utilization on the Maintenance of Species-Typical Plumage Pigmentation in Male American Goldfinches (Carduelis tristis) and Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis). Physiological and Biochemical Zoology.

https://doi.org/10.1086/323797

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| A red songbird that turns yellow food pigments into scarlet feathers | northern cardinals grew pale red feathers in the absence of red dietary pigments, indicating that their ability to metabolize yellow carotenoids in the diet contributes to the bright red plumage that they display (note: tagline and superpower) |
| Cardinals kept away from red pigments in their diet still grew pale red feathers, which indicates that their bodies turn yellow food pigments into red ones | We also deprived cardinals of red dietary pigments to determine whether they could manufacture red carotenoids from yellow precursors to grow species-typical red plumage. ... northern cardinals grew pale red feathers in the absence of red dietary pigments, indicating that their ability to metabolize yellow carotenoids in the diet contributes to the bright red plumage that they display (note: FAQ) |
| Turns yellow food pigments into red feathers | northern cardinals grew pale red feathers in the absence of red dietary pigments, indicating that their ability to metabolize yellow carotenoids in the diet contributes to the bright red plumage that they display (note: stats.superpower) |

## Northern Cardinal Overview. All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Cardinal/overview

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| The oldest recorded cardinal was a female, 15 years and 9 months old when she was found in Pennsylvania | The oldest recorded Northern Cardinal was a female, and was 15 years, 9 months old when she was found in Pennsylvania. |
| Both sexes attack their own reflections in windows and car mirrors, most often in spring and early summer, when they are defending their territory | a cardinal attacking its reflection in a window, car mirror, or shiny bumper. Both males and females do this, and most often in spring and early summer when they are obsessed with defending their territory against any intruders. |

## McGraw, Hill & Parker (2003). Carotenoid Pigments in a Mutant Cardinal: Implications for the Genetic and Enzymatic Control Mechanisms of Carotenoid Metabolism in Birds. The Condor.

https://doi.org/10.1650/7281

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Researchers once studied a cardinal with yellow feathers | We investigated carotenoid pigments present in the feathers of an aberrantly colored yellow Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) |
| They lacked all four of the usual red pigments and held yellow ones instead, including lutein, a yellow pigment from food | We found that the yellow feathers of this mutant lacked all four of the typical red pigments, and instead contained a yellow dietary carotenoid (lutein) and three yellow metabolic derivatives |
| The mutation seems to have impaired only one class of chemical reaction, leaving the rest working | it seems that this genetic mutation did not broadly disrupt all metabolic activity, but specifically impaired only one class of metabolic reactions and its associated enzymes. |