The winter holidays are approaching and therefore in this article I want to talk about the most beautiful and bright bird that has become one of the symbols of Christmas in Canada, Mexico and America - the red cardinal.
The red or virgin cardinal (lat. Cardinalis cardinalis) belongs to the cardinal family and mainly lives in the eastern states of the United States, southeastern Canada and Mexico.
It is distributed south to Guatemala and has also successfully established itself in Bermuda and Hawaii and southern California.
The red cardinal is the official symbol in seven US states: Virginia, West Virginia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and North Carolina.
The red cardinal is a medium-sized bird (length 20-23 cm, wingspan 25-31 cm).
Males are slightly larger than females and have a very elegant bright crimson color with a black mask and a beautiful tuft on the head. The color of the female is dominated by gray-brown tones and reddish feathers are found only on the wings, breast and crest, and the black mask is less bright than that of the male. Young birds have a protective color similar to their mother.
Red cardinals are found in natural forests of various types, and also settle next to a person - gardens, parks, shrub plantings.
This bird became famous not only for its unique catchy appearance, but also for its very melodic singing, similar to nightingale in many trills. The Cardinal is called the Virginian Nightingale.
The male's song consists of complex and varied trills, while the female's song is quieter and less varied. Sometimes the male and female sing together, forming a very melodic duet.
Birds communicate with each other with a quiet chirp, and when frightened, they emit a sharp chirping cry.
Red cardinals feed mainly on a variety of plant seeds and fruits, berries, elm bark and leaves. From insects, these birds use beetles, cicadas and grasshoppers. Sometimes they even eat snails.
Cardinals love to eat on artificial man-made feeders.
These birds live in pairs - a male and a female, and the pair is formed for life.
Cardinals are territorial birds and the male fiercely defends the territory from competitors and warns intruders with loud trills that the place is occupied.
Females build cup-shaped nests in bushes or low trees. The clutch usually contains 3-4 greenish eggs with grayish or brownish spots. Only the female incubates the eggs for 12-13 days, and the male brings her food and sometimes replaces it for a short time. Cardinals feed chicks with insects.
The chicks leave the nest very quickly and their father feeds them. The female proceeds to the next clutch, and in a year the couple has 2 - 3 broods.
The life expectancy of the red cardinal in nature is 10-15 years, in captivity - up to 28 years. The main natural enemies of cardinals are large birds of prey such as hawks, owls and shrikes. And squirrels, chipmunks and even snakes often destroy eggs and helpless little chicks.
The North American Indians have laid down some beautiful legends about how the cardinal bird got such a luxurious and bright plumage.
1. A grateful wolf gives a chic outfit to a rescue bird
Once a cunning raccoon hid from a hungry wolf in a dense bush by the river. Out of breath from the pursuit, the wolf decided to get drunk and saw the reflection of a raccoon in the water mirror. The wolf rushed to the "prey" and almost drowned - he barely climbed ashore and fell asleep in exhaustion. And the cunning raccoon in retaliation covered his eyes with clay. Howled gray in despair, but no one in the forest wanted to help him. The animals remembered his cruelty and deceit. And only a small inconspicuous bird took pity on the wolf and opened his eyes. And he was so delighted with the sunlight that he led the bird to the magical red rocks and painted its feathers with scarlet sand. Since then, the cardinal has proudly flaunted his festive attire.
2. The second Native American legend says that the red cardinal is the daughter of the Sun 
The Sun once got offended with people that they always squint and cover their eyes, looking at its flaming disk. It sent such a sizzling heat to the earthlings that many people died from its withering wrath. Then the insidious and cunning sorcerer turned two people into snakes and directed them to kill the Sun. However, the beloved Daughter of the Sun suffered from the snake venom. And then the light from grief and resentment completely disappeared from the sky. And people could not rejoice at the coolness that had come, because they remained in darkness. And then the sorcerer commanded to steal the beloved Daughter of the Sun from the world of the dead in order to return sunlight to earthlings again. The sorcerer gave the people a magic box and ordered them to carry it gently and not to open the lid. People stole the Daughter of the Sun from the realm of the dead and carried it to the world of the living. On the way, the girl began to suffocate in a cramped box and begged her porters to give her a breath of fresh air. The porters took pity, but as soon as they opened the lid of the box, a small scarlet bird fluttered around, and the box turned out to be empty. And now the Daughter of the Sun flutters next to people in the form of a crimson sweet-voiced cardinal. 
And people forever fell in love with a bright crimson bird and made it not only a symbol of seven states, but also one of the main symbols of Catholic Christmas.
And images of the red cardinal began to decorate Christmas and New Year cards and paintings, festive dishes and city panels in Canada, America and Mexico, giving people bright joy, sunny warmth and a festive mood during the white snowy months.
We will also admire the sunny bird, at least in photographs and postcards, since we do not have it in Russia. And in the living winter forests, we will rejoice at our favorite bullfinches.
Once the New Year was painted for me in white, white-blue, silver. I was spinning like a small snowflake under the Christmas tree in my snow-white dress, decorated with silver sparkles. As a young girl, she was already dressing up as the Snow Maiden.
Four holidays began to be celebrated in Canada: we rush to Catholic churches fabulously decorated for Christmas, then we celebrate the New Year with a Russian feast, then Orthodox Christmas comes, and, finally, the merry and incomprehensibly celebrated Old New Year. But the color scheme of the holidays has changed to red and green: green needles of Christmas wreaths with scarlet velvet bows that adorn the doors of Montreal houses, red and green bouquets of outlandish poinsettia, which are placed in abundance in all public places. The red robe of Santa Claus waving merrily from all the shop windows. And the red cardinal fit very well into this color scheme. No, not the famous Cardinal Richelieu, who, in his red vestments, looks at us from the portrait of Philippe de Champaigne.
is a favorite of many Americans. No wonder they chose him as their bird symbol in seven states at once! Virginia, West Virginia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and North Carolina. But the cardinal is adored not only by Americans, but also by Canadians. This bird is unknown to Russians, since it lives only in North America. To make it more clear, let me compare - for North Americans, the red cardinal, as for Russians - a bullfinch. And just as in Russia they like to depict a bullfinch on winter postcards, so in the USA and Canada - a red cardinal. And on Christmas and New Year's Eve, the presence of this red bird is as noticeable as Santa himself, Frosty the snowman, Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer.
Collection I. Lapina
Bell "Red Cardinal"
Collection I. Lapina
Bell "Red Cardinal"
Collection I. Lapina
Bell "Red Cardinal"
Collection I. Lapina
The image of this feathered, with a foppish tuft, in a black mask and a raspberry-red tailcoat, where it doesn’t show off: first of all, on touching Christmas cards, in paintings, panels, stained-glass windows, decorative plates, prints, on mugs and glasses, you can’t list everything . Once I could not resist and bought a plate of cardinal in a Montreal liquor store. And in Russia, I was surprised to find that there is also Red Cardinal wine. Yes, but this wine has nothing to do with our bird.
So what's the deal? Why is this bird so popular, especially during the winter holidays? The secret is easy to reveal. This bird is beautiful, it is not for nothing that it is often included in the 10 most beautiful birds in the world. Then, the cardinals are friendly and often funny. Like little kittens, they are often amused by their antics, especially when young males assert their rights to females. Watching them is a pleasure.
And, of course, this bird can be seen in many places - habitat from Mexico, Guatemala, through the eastern states - to Canada. And the cardinals also endure the winter cold, do not lose heart: while you will not see other birds, these fluffy red lumps on white snow briskly fly from place to place, or cheerfully sit on snow-covered branches. And if red rowan berries peep out from under the snow, a magnificent photo is provided. A red bird on a green branch with snow is a favorite subject of Christmas cards.
For a long time, this bird was also revered by the indigenous people of these places. How many fairy tales and legends are written about them. Only the word cardinal was missing from their names. The Indians said "dotsuwa," pronounced doh-joo-wah. And to translate it simply - a red bird.
There are two touching Indian legends. The first one says:
"Once a wolf hunted a raccoon. He had already almost reached him, but the sly one camouflaged himself among the branches of a tree not far from the stream. The skin with the stripe served its purpose. The wolf was upset. There was nothing to do, wandered to the stream, at least to drink water. And "Here I saw a raccoon in the water. It was unaware to the gray that he saw a reflection. Without hesitation, the wolf jumped into the icy water. It was about winter. He barely got out on the shore. Tired, poor fellow, dozed off under a bush."
The raccoon saw a sleeping wolf, crept up slowly and, for greater safety, covered his eyes with a lump of clay. The wolf started up, got up - does not see anything. He growled and wept in frustration. Suddenly he hears a bird chirping. And she saw the beast, flew closer and sympathized with the unfortunate. Good soul! Instantly earned a beak, and now all the clods flew off. The wolf saw his sight and saw his savior - a gray, nondescript bird in appearance. And the wolf suddenly wanted to thank her. It doesn't happen often with ferocious beasts! Our wolf brought the pigalit to the Red Rocks, where he sprinkled its feathers with red sand. He knew, apparently, what a secret. Only our bird has changed - it has turned into a beauty. That sand had magical properties, and the feathers of this bird and its offspring remained so red forever. Like a reward for a good deed. Since then, the descendants of this bird have been called the Redbird. And their beautiful scarlet feathers are much better than those of other birds."
Bell "Red Cardinal"
Collection I. Lapina
Bell "Red Cardinal"
Collection I. Lapina
Bell "Red Cardinal"
Collection I. Lapina
Bell "Red Cardinal"
Collection I. Lapina
But the Cherokee Indians believed that the red bird is the daughter of the Sun itself! There is a legend about this.
"Every day the Sun set at noon to visit his Daughter. But one day a tragedy happened - the daughter of the Sun suddenly died. And it was like this.
The Sun began to take offense at people: "Why, they say, they squint, looking at him, and do not look with all their eyes." And the Moon immediately sneered: "And looking at me, people smile." Jealousy leaped up in the Sun, and it decided to punish people. From that day on, it began to fire mercilessly - a terrible drought began, many people died. What to do? Went to the sorcerer for advice. And he offered to kill the Sun. He turned two people into terrible snakes, and sent them to the house of the Daughter of the Sun. There they were to mortally sting the Sun. The people-snakes did not succeed, and then one day, angry, the snake stung the Daughter.
Terrible grief seized the Sun, it hid from everyone. There was eternal darkness, cold. Again people went to the sorcerer. There was a way out - to return the daughter of the Sun from the Kingdom of the Dead. The sorcerer gave a box for this, but he warned: in no case open the box with the Daughter until she is in the world of the living.
The messengers abducted their daughter, on the way she came to life and began to ask for food and drink, they say, she was starving among the dead. The messengers, remembering the instructions of the sorcerer, did not open the box. The girl continued to moan and beg, saying that she would die again. People took pity, opened the lid, threw food, but the lid was quickly slammed shut. They came to the Sun, open the box - and it is empty. Suddenly they remembered that when they opened the lid, a red bird appeared nearby. People then understood that the Daughter of the Sun had turned into her. The Sun was saddened again, began to sob even more than before, and from those tears a grandiose flood began.
How much water has flowed under the bridge while people have reconciled with the luminary? And now only a small red bird, which everyone considers the Daughter of the Sun, reminds of those events.
These are the legends.
But let's get back to our cardinal and add some more interesting information about this amazing bird.
Cardinals are a group of passerines, a subfamily of cardinals, uniting 132 species of birds ranging in size from siskin to thrush. In addition to the above habitats, in 1700 the bird was brought to Bermuda, where it successfully took root, and then it was acclimatized in Hawaii and southern California.
The most remarkable singers among the cardinals are the red-breasted (Zamelodia ludoviciana), virginian (Cardinalis cardinalis), gray (Paroaria coronata). In the song of the Virginian cardinal, there are roulades reminiscent of nightingale, for which he is called the "Virginian nightingale" in his homeland. When frightened, the birds emit a sharp chirping cry, talking among themselves in a quiet chirp.
Cardinals are extremely smart, they have an excellent memory. But the main thing: handsome cardinals are excellent family men. They are distinguished by loyalty to the lady of the heart and take care of the offspring. Unlike many birds, cardinals mate for life, not just for the breeding season. When cardinal babies leave the nest, the male feeds them, and the female proceeds to the next clutch. For a year, a beautiful married couple has 2-3 broods.
And also in the compositions there was a "birdhouse" for the cardinal, which I am taking as a gift to my sister at the dacha. That's just it should, perhaps, be nicknamed "cardinal"?
Darrell Bush.
Roger Tory Peterson. 
First, a little biology... 
Cardinals are a large group of passerines that inhabit North and South America. The subfamily of Cardinals includes up to 132 species of birds ranging in size from siskin to thrush. In terms of body proportions, cardinals are similar to buntings: they have an elongated tail, a massive beak, curved along a ridge, and a crest of elongated feathers often adorns the head.
The color of the plumage of these birds is striking in variety - from modest gray tones to bright red, lemon yellow, white and black. Among the cardinals there are wonderful singers - red-breasted (Zamelodia ludoviciana), virginian (Cardinalis cardinalis), gray (Paroaria coronata) and others. In the song of the Virginian cardinal, there are roulades reminiscent of nightingale, for which he is called the "Virginian nightingale" in his homeland.
Paroaria coronata. 
Actually, we will be interested in the most cardinal of all cardinals - Cardinalis cardinalis. Sometimes it is also called the Northern Cardinal. People often just say: Red bird.
Only males have a beautiful coloration in these birds.
Male. 
But the females are painted much more modestly. 
The cardinal is the state symbol of Indiana.
The Indians call them "dotsuwa," pronounced doh-joo-wah. It also translates as a red bird.
Since these birds do not live in Europe, the Europeans did not come up with ancient rituals, and legends about them. But the North American Indians came up with it.
Susan Bourdet. 
Patricia Savage. 
Legend one 1 . "Why does the cardinal have red feathers" (Native American tale)
Once a wolf hunted a raccoon. The wolf almost overtook him, but the Raccoon hid in the branches of a tree, near the stream. The wolf lost sight of him, ran to the water to get drunk, and then he saw that the raccoon was in the water. The wolf did not realize that this reflection was, and jumped there. barely made it to shore. He was so tired that he fell asleep. And the cunning raccoon covered the wolf's eyes with clay. The wolf has woken up and sees nothing. The wolf cried. His moaning was heard by a small nondescript bird. She flew up to him and asked how she could help him. The wolf asked to unstick the clay. The bird did the job quickly. The wolf asked her how he could help? "Oh! It's not necessary!" - answered the bird. But the wolf wanted to thank her so much that he led her to the Red Rocks, took some red sand and painted the bird's feathers with it. Since then, as a reward for a good deed, all the descendants of this bird began to be called Redbird (Red Bird), and began to wear beautiful scarlet feathers.
James Hautman. 
David G.Paul Garden birdhouse. 
Janene Grende. 
Peter R. Gerbert, The Nature of Cardinals, acrylics on gessobord. 
Catherine Mcclung. 
Billy Hassel. 
The second legend. "Daughter of the Sun" (From the legends of the Cherokee Indians). Retelling in a slightly abbreviated version from the Internet.
Previously, in the middle of the daily solar path, the daughter of the Sun lived. The sun set every day at noon to visit her.
Somehow the Sun was offended by people, because they always squint, looking at him, they cannot look at him directly. And the Moon told him that he did not notice this, and that people, looking at him, smile. Then jealousy leapt up in the Sun, it decided to punish people. From that day on, it fired so mercilessly that many people died. When there were very few people left on earth, they went to the sorcerer, who knows everything, and asked for advice. He offered them to kill the Sun, for this he turned two of them into snakes. They were supposed to sting the Sun by waiting for him near his daughter's house. But although they sent enchanted people there more than once, they did not succeed. However, unfortunately, one day, due to negligence, one of them killed the daughter of the Sun. When it found its daughter dead, the Sun hid from everyone and began to grieve. People stopped dying from the heat, but now night reigned all the time. Again they went to the sorcerer. He said that it is necessary to take the daughter of the Sun out of the World of the Dead, then the Sun will rejoice and will shine again. There was one condition. The sorcerer gave them a special box where they had to place the daughter of the Sun while they carried her from the World of the Dead. It was impossible to open it. The messengers managed to kidnap her daughter, but on the way back she began to ask them to drink and eat. But they did not open the box, as ordered. However, she began to cry that she had nothing to breathe and that she would die. They took pity and opened the lid a little, and then slammed it shut again. When the messengers came to the Sun, they found that the box was empty. Then they remembered that since their last stop, a red bird had been flying next to them. Then they realized that it was the Daughter of the Sun that turned into her. The sun, of course, was upset, began to cry, from his tears a flood began. With difficulty, people managed to make peace with the luminary. And now everyone considers the little bird to be the Daughter of the Sun.
Probably really, the Daughters of the Sun is the place on New Year's cards.))
Sam Timm. 
Collin Bogle. 
Douglas Laird. 
Douglas Laird. 
Douglas Laird. 
Susan Bourdet. 
Marc Hanson. 
Kim Norlien , Winter Cardinals, acrylic. 
Russell Cobane. 
Russell Cobane. 
Darrell Bush. 
Diane Phalen. Winter Patchwork. 
Laura Milnor Iverson. 
Martin Ryan. Winter Cardinals. 
Martin Ryan. holiday spirit. 
R.-M. condor. Winter Cardinals. 
Robert Bateman. 
Janene Grende. 
It is also called very representatively - the cardinal bird. This is a very loud and important name for such a small creature of nature. How did this bird deserve such respect? Beautiful singing or bright, cheerful colors? Who hunts the red cardinal and what does he eat? These and other questions can be answered in this article.
What do cardinals look like?
The northern cardinal is a small bird native to Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Its other name is red cardinal or virgin cardinal. For the fact that, in addition to her beautiful appearance, this baby also has a gorgeous voice, she is also often called the virgin nightingale.
The most famous distinguishing feature of this bird is its bright red plumage. The most beautiful males. Their feathers are bright crimson, and around the beak and eyes they are black. It seems that he is wearing a mysterious black mask, giving the cardinal a special mystery. Their feet are also reddish-brown.
The females are much less bright, mostly grayish-brown feathers. Red blotches are present only on the wings. But that doesn't make them any less beautiful.
The size of the red cardinal rarely exceeds 23-25 cm, and the wingspan can reach 30 cm. They also weigh a little: a large adult male barely reaches 50 grams.
Where is this beauty found?
The red cardinal is a bird with bright plumage and a beautiful voice. Its natural habitat is the territory of many eastern states of America, and cardinals can also be found in Mexico, Canada and Guatemala.
In the early eighteenth century, Virginian cardinals were artificially brought to Bermuda. The local nature came to their liking, so they are happy to live there today.
Artificially, the virgin cardinal was also bred in California and Hawaii. The experiment was successful, the birds acclimatized well and took root.
The first legend of the cardinal
The Indians of North America have their own theories, or rather, beautiful legends that tell how the red cardinal got his chic plumage.
The first one is like this. Once a wolf wanted to hunt a cunning raccoon. Saving his skin, the raccoon hid in the bushes near the stream and hid. Feeling very thirsty, the wolf approached the water and saw in the waves the reflection of his future prey. Without thinking that he sees only the reflection of a raccoon in the water, the wolf jumped on him and almost drowned.
With great difficulty, the predator got out of the water to the shore and fell asleep from fatigue. While he was sleeping, a cunning raccoon crept up to him and, in retaliation, covered his eyes with clay. When the wolf woke up, he could not open his eyes and thought he was blind. From despair, he sobbed throughout the forest, but no one wanted to help him.
The wolf's cry was heard by a small bird, it flew to the rescue and removed the clay from the predator's eyes. Gray wanted to thank his savior. He took her to the red rocks and painted the sand there. Since then, the cardinal has such beautiful crimson feathers.
Legend #2
There is another legend according to which the red cardinal is the daughter of the Sun. Once the Sun was offended by people for the fact that when they look at him, they always squint. From resentment, it began to fry so much that many people died.
The sorcerer intervened. He said that in order for everything to work out, the Sun must be killed. For this purpose, he turned two men into snakes and sent them to the luminary. But it turned out that it was not the Sun itself that suffered from the snake venom, but his beloved daughter. Then the luminary was offended and left the firmament forever.
The heat subsided, but complete darkness set in, people were again unhappy and went to the sorcerer. He said that in order for the Sun to forgive them, you need to return his beloved daughter from the world of the dead. The sorcerer gave people a special box to carry it, and ordered them not to open the lid on any way. People stole the daughter of the Sun from the dead, put her in a box and carried her back, but on the way she began to complain and cry that she was suffocating. Then the porters opened the lid for a second to let in some air, and immediately slammed it shut, but it did not help.
When they came to the luminary, it turned out that the box was empty. Then people remembered that at the time when they opened the lid, a small beautiful bird fluttered around them. It was into her that the girl turned.
Bird behavior in nature
Most often, the red cardinal settles where people live nearby - in gardens and parks. It can also live in forest areas, swamps and bushes.
The main natural enemies of these beautiful birds are larger birds of prey: hawks, owls, shrikes. Squirrels, chipmunks and snakes also harm cardinals - they spoil and destroy eggs and chicks left unattended.
Nutrition and reproduction
The red cardinal is quite unpretentious in food. It feeds on berries, various seeds and grains. With pleasure, he can also eat a cicada, a grasshopper, various bugs and even snails. If you place a feeder near the habitation of the red cardinal, he will not be picky and will gratefully peck at any offered delicacy.
The red cardinal is a monogamous bird, he chooses a companion for living together once and does not change his preferences. The female virginian cardinal herself builds a nest for future offspring. She usually lays 2-4 eggs in one clutch and incubates the babies for about 2 weeks.
A caring "daddy" feeds his chosen one and even sometimes replaces her in the process of incubation. But when the chicks are born, the upbringing process goes "into the paws and beak" of the father.
cardinal bird, Virginia cardinal, Virginia nightingale, Northern cardinal or Red cardinal is a brightly colored finch-like songbird living in America. The origin of the name is clear from its appearance - such bright shades of red are typical for the robes of the cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church, who wear distinctive red robes and headdresses. The natural habitat of the cardinal bird is the eastern states of the United States and the southeastern coast of Mexico and Canada. In 1700, it was brought to Bermuda, where it successfully took root, and was also acclimatized in the Hawaiian Islands and southern California. It has been imported to Western Europe as an exotic poultry for several centuries. In nature, it inhabits forests of various types, gardens, parks, bushes. It tends to anthropogenic landscapes, it is found even in the parks of large cities, for example, in Washington.
For North Americans, the Northern Cardinal, as for Russians, is a bullfinch. And just as in Russia they like to depict a bullfinch on winter postcards, so in the USA and Canada - a cardinal. And on Christmas and New Year's Eve, the presence of this red bird is as noticeable as Santa himself, Frosty the snowman, Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer. The image of this feathered one flaunts everywhere: first of all, on touching Christmas cards, in paintings, panels, stained-glass windows, decorative plates, prints, on mugs and glasses - you can’t list everything. Cardinals endure the winter cold well, do not lose heart: while you will not see other birds, these fluffy red lumps on white snow briskly fly from place to place or cheerfully sit on snow-covered branches. And if, moreover, red rowan berries peek out from under the snow - a great photo is provided. A red bird on a branch covered with snow is a favorite subject of Christmas cards. The image of the bird has been chosen as an official symbol in seven US states: Indiana, Virginia, West Virginia, Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio and North Carolina. By the way, it is possible that it was the cardinal bird that became the prototype of one of the characters in the popular game Angry Birds.
The cardinal was one of many species originally described by Carl Linnaeus in his 18th-century work The System of Nature (Latin Systema naturae). It was originally included in the genus Klesta, which now contains only crossbills. In 1838, it was placed in the genus Cardinals and given the scientific name Cardinalis virginianus, meaning "Virgin cardinal". In 1918, the scientific name was changed to Richmondena cardinalis in honor of Charles Wallace Richmond, an American ornithologist. And only in 1983 the scientific name was again changed to today's Cardinalis cardinalis.
The body length of an adult is about 20-23 cm, weight 45 g. The male has a memorable bright crimson color, with a dark "mask" around the eyes and beak. Females have a gray-brown plumage with red-pink elements on the wings, crest and breasts, and a mask that is lighter than that of males. Young birds are similar in color to adult females. Legs are pinkish-brown. Eyes with gray-brown pupils. They have a well-marked high crest of elongated feathers.
The singing of the male fills the house with loud and melodic sounds, slightly reminiscent of nightingale trills. Females also sing, but quieter and not as beautiful. The song is a loud, flowing whistle with many variations, including "kyu-kyu-kyu", "chiir-chiir-chiir" and "way-way-puny". Both sexes sing almost all year round. The usual call is a sharp “chip”. Since cardinals get fat easily in captivity, you need to keep them in large cages or aviaries at least one meter long, taking into account the fact that you can let the bird fly into open space every day.
As a rule, red cardinals choose a pair for life. These birds are very independent and rarely use artificial houses, so during the mating season, the female builds a nest, and the male helps her. It is also worth considering that during nesting, birds are very aggressive and can fight with their relatives located in adjacent cells, so the breeding pair must be kept isolated from others. The red cardinal is very beautiful and not whimsical. Its content is not complicated and easy to do, in return the owner receives an exotic bird with excellent vocal abilities.
Birds-cardinals "sweet tooth" - are happy to eat elderberries, junipers, cherries, grapes, strawberries, raspberries, mountain ash, sugar maple flowers, as well as oranges, apples, corn and other cereals in the stage of milky-wax maturity, tree buds, greens and flour worms, among other things hunts for beetles, cicadas, butterflies, grasshoppers, caterpillars. The chicks are fed almost exclusively on insects.
At the time of love, the singing of this magnificent singer is performed very loudly. He is conscious of his strength, puffs out his chest, spreads his pink tail, beats his wings and turns alternately to right and left, as if feeling the need to express his own delight over the wonderful sounds of his voice. Again and again these motives are repeated; the bird falls silent only to take a breath. Every day, the cardinal entertains the female sitting on the eggs with his singing, and from time to time she echoes him with the modesty characteristic of her sex.
The red cardinal belongs to the territorial birds, the male does not allow other cardinals to enter the territory occupied by him and warns them with loud singing that the place is occupied. The nest is built by the female. It is cup-shaped, rather dense, located on a bush or a low tree. The eggs are greenish or bluish with gray or brown spots. A full clutch contains 3-4 eggs. Incubation lasts 12-13 days. Only the female incubates, and the male feeds her and sometimes replaces her. The chicks fly out of the nest very quickly, and the male feeds them, and the female proceeds to the next clutch. There are 2-3 broods per year. The life expectancy of the red cardinal in nature is 10-15 years, in captivity - up to 28 years.
There are 19 subspecies of cardinals:
cardinalis cardinalis cardinalis
Cardinalis cardinalis affinis
Cardinalis cardinalis canicaudus
Cardinalis cardinalis carneus
Cardinalis cardinalis clintoni
Cardinalis cardinalis coccineus
Cardinalis cardinalis flammiger
Cardinalis cardinalis floridanus
Cardinalis cardinalis igneus
Cardinalis cardinalis littoralis
Cardinalis cardinalis magnirostris
cardinalis cardinalis mariae
cardinalis cardinalis phillipsi
Cardinalis cardinalis saturatus
Cardinalis cardinalis seftoni
Cardinalis cardinalis sinaloensis
Cardinalis cardinalis superbus
Cardinalis cardinalis townsendi
Cardinalis cardinalis yucatanicus
Cardinal birds are preyed upon by many birds of prey in North America, including falcons, all hawks, shrikes, and several species of owls - the long-eared owl and the North American owl. Chickens and eggs are stolen by: striated king snakes, slender snakes, blue jays, gray squirrels, fox squirrels, East American chipmunks and domestic cats.
But the Cherokee Indians even believed that the cardinal bird was the daughter of the Sun itself! Their legend tells about it.
« Every day the Sun set at noon to visit his daughter. But one day a tragedy happened - the daughter of the Sun suddenly died. And it was like that. The Sun began to take offense at people: Why, they say, they squint, looking at me, and do not look with all their eyes. And the Moon immediately sneered: And looking at me, people smile. Jealousy leaped up in the Sun, and it decided to punish people. From that day on, it began to fire mercilessly - a terrible drought began, many died. What to do? Went to the sorcerer for advice. And he offered to kill the Sun. He turned two people into terrible snakes and sent them to the house of the daughter of the Sun. There they were to mortally sting the Sun. The snake people did not succeed, and then one day, getting angry, they stung their daughter.
Terrible grief seized the Sun, it hid from everyone. There was eternal darkness, cold. Again people went to the sorcerer. The way out was to return the daughter of the Sun from the Kingdom of the Dead. The sorcerer gave a box to put her in and take her away, but he warned her not to open it until she came to the world of the living. The messengers kidnapped the daughter. On the way, she came to life and began to ask for food and drink - they say, she was starving among the dead. The messengers, remembering the instructions of the sorcerer, did not open the box. The girl continued to moan and beg, saying that she would die again. People took pity, opened the lid, threw food, but the lid was quickly slammed shut. They came to the Sun, open the box - and it is empty. Then they remembered: when the lid was opened, a red bird appeared nearby. People understood that it was the daughter of the Sun who turned into her. The Sun was saddened again, wept more than ever, and from those tears a great flood began.
How much water has flowed under the bridge while people have reconciled with the luminary? Now only a small red bird, which is considered the daughter of the Sun, reminds of those events.».