Northern Cardinal

How to identify

Field marks

1. Prominent raised crest on the crown
2. Adult male bright red, with black on the face extending to the upper breast
3. Adult has a stout, conical, coral-colored bill
4. Female grayish-rufous, with red on the wings and tail

Male, female and young

Adult male bright red; adult female grayish-rufous, with red on the wings and tail. Juvenile resembles the adult female in color.

Voice

Alarm call a single short metallic note.

Where and when it's recorded

Busiest months: May · Most records: United States, Canada, Mexico

Northern Cardinal has been recorded at 639 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 6 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

1. Montrose Point Bird Sanctuary, Lincoln Park, ChicagoUnited States42,917 records
2. Prospect ParkUnited States39,148 records
3. Central ParkUnited States36,048 records

Countries and regions with the most records

United StatesCanadaMexicoBermudaBelizeGuatemala

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis), also commonly known as the common cardinal, red cardinal, or simply cardinal, is a bird in the genus Cardinalis. It can be found in southeastern Canada, through the eastern United States from Maine to Minnesota to Texas, New Mexico, southern Arizona, southern California and south through Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala. It is also an introduced species in a few locations such as Bermuda and all major islands of Hawaii since its introduction in 1929.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions