The cardinal and his lady

By Christine Tailer
HCP columnist

It seems odd that I rarely notice him during the spring, summer and fall. It is only during the winter when the valley is cloaked in various shades of brown and gray and occasionally blanketed in stark white that his brilliant red jumps out to greet me.

Male cardinals are such beautiful birds. Their bright red beaks and plumage shine in stark contrast against their jet-black faces, but during the warmer weather when the valley is filled with so many other bright and beautiful colors, their red seems diminished, almost even hidden by the new greens of spring, the brilliant yellows, purples, blues and oranges of summer and the deep rusty colors of fall. It makes sense that the cardinal’s time to really shine is during the winter. Even so, when the male pops so boldly into my vision, I find that I have to look more closely to find his more muted mate. She certainly has the same red beak and jet-black eyes, but her demure light beige coloring lends itself to camouflage all throughout the year. She is beautiful, but far from flamboyant.

Like many birds, cardinals mate for life, though their lives are not that long by avian standards. They only live for three to four years, mostly due to the hazards of predation, and it is only when their mate dies, that a cardinal will go in search of another.

I was curious why, for the last several months, I have always been seeing the male and his mate on the back hillside each morning as I prepare our breakfast. I learned that they are not only territorial, but are also creatures of habit. They likely nest behind the rock wall that runs up the hill beside our cabin, and when the sun rises over the hill on the far side of the creek, they leave their nest to forage for food. 

If another cardinal should enter the pair’s territory, the male will fly to the top of a tree and utter a clear loud whistle to advise the newcomer that this area is already spoken for. If the newcomer does not vacate the premises, the male will attack with wings beating, and drive the intruder off. 

You may have noticed a male cardinal attacking his own reflection in a window, mistaking the reflection for an invader. You might have noticed that the bird is not actually flying into the window, but is rather beating the window reflection with his wings. If you happen across such a situation, it is best to open the window, or cover the window to hide the reflection.    

I have also noticed that cardinals are ground feeders, and I learned that they dine not only on weed seeds and grain, but also, during warm weather, gladly eat insects, including cicadas. This spring we will see the rare emergence of both the 13-year and 17-year cicada broods. I have no doubt we’ll accordingly see some very fat and happy cardinals. I also had to smile when I learned that cardinals enjoy sipping on maple sap when the sap flows. I too agree that there is nothing quite like a cold drink of pure maple sap. It tastes like the very best, slightly sweetened, unadulterated spring water, perfectly filtered by the creek valley trees from which we gather it.

And cardinals love to sing, especially in the spring. Typically, it is only male songbirds who sing, but both male and female cardinals actually sing duets together. You may have heard, and come to recognize, some of their calls. “What-cheer,” “cheeer-a-dote,” and “what, what, what” are a few calls that are fairly easy to distinguish when out in the woods. The birds link these individual calls together, in repetitive sequence, to form a song, and once their young have hatched, the whole family can be heard singing together, the young following along with their parents. Couples are out forging for food, they will also stay in contact with each other through their song, as if to ask “Where are you dear? Is everything well?” 

Spring is still weeks away, but when I look out the window and see the brilliant red of the male cardinal, I know that even though he might fade into the bright colors of the new season, I will still be able to find him and listen to his cheerful songs.

Christine Tailer is an attorney and former city dweller who moved several years ago, with her husband, Greg, to an off-grid farm in Ohio south-central Ohio. Visit them on the web at straightcreekvalleyfarm.com.