What is a northern cardinal?

The northern cardinal ( Cardinalis cardinalis ) is a North American songbird known for the male's bright-red plumage. Females have olive-brown feathers with reddish highlights on their wings and tail. Both sexes have a crest, a black mask around the eyes, a short red-orange bill, and a long tail. Northern cardinals are omnivores, eating seeds, grains, nuts, berries, fruits, and insects. The red pigment comes from carotenoids in fruits and berries. They don't mate for life, but breeding pairs stay together for seasons, raising two to three broods a year. Their population is stable, and the IUCN lists them as a species of least concern. Due to their popularity, seven states have adopted the northern cardinal as their state bird.

What does a northern cardinal look like?

The male northern cardinal is a striking scarlet color, while females have a more subdued olive-brown coloring with reddish highlights on the wings and tail. Both sexes have a distinctive crest and a black mask around the eyes, along with a short, thick red-orange bill, and a relatively long tail. Northern cardinals measure about 21–23 cm (8.3–9.1 inches) long, weigh 42–48 grams (roughly 1.5–1.7 ounces), and have an average wingspan of about 30 cm (12 inches). They are common throughout the eastern United States, but their geographic range extends as far west as Arizona and New Mexico, and as far south as southern Mexico, northern Guatemala, and northern Belize.

What do northern cardinals eat?

The northern cardinal is an omnivorous bird with a diet that includes a wide variety of seeds, grains, nuts, berries, fruits, and insects . The red pigment that gives the male northern cardinal its signature red plumage is a product of carotenoids found in fruits and berries.

How do male and female northern cardinals differ in appearance?

Male and female northern cardinals have different colorations. The male exhibits a striking scarlet color, while the female has a more subdued olive-brown coloration with reddish highlights on the wings and tail. However, both sexes share distinctive features such as a crest, a black mask around the eyes, a short, thick red-orange bill, and a relatively long tail. Northern cardinals measure about 21–23 cm long, weigh 42–48 grams, and have an average wingspan of about 30 cm.

Why are northern cardinals important to their ecosystems?

Northern cardinals are vital to their ecosystems because they are omnivores, consuming a wide array of seeds , grains, nuts, berries, fruits, and insects, which contributes to seed dispersal and insect population control . The northern cardinal is a nonmigratory bird common throughout the eastern United States. They can be found in various habitats, including urban parks, forest edges, and backyards. The IUCN lists the northern cardinal as a species of least concern, with a large and stable population.

Northern cardinal

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Images

A bright red northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) perches on a snow-covered branch with a blurred winter background.

Male northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis).

Illustrations of eight bird heads, each showing a different bill shape adapted for feeding: a hooked bill for tearing flesh on a red-tailed hawk, a cone-shaped bill for cracking seeds on a northern cardinal, a flat bill for catching fish on a roseate spoonbill, a spear-like bill for jabbing prey on a great blue heron, a chisel-like bill for digging insects on a northern flicker, a large pouch bill for scooping fish on a brown pelican, a narrow bill with toothlike edges for catching fish on a hoo

Quick Facts

Also called:: cardinal, redbird, or cardinal rouge

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Northern cardinal

bird

Also known as: Cardinalis cardinalis, cardinal, cardinal rouge, redbird(Show More)

Written by

Barbara A. Schreiber

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Last updated

Nov. 13, 2026 •History

Top Questions

What is a northern cardinal?
The northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) is a North American songbird known for the male's bright-red plumage. Females have olive-brown feathers with reddish highlights on their wings and tail. Both sexes have a crest, a black mask around the eyes, a short red-orange bill, and a long tail.

Northern cardinals are omnivores, eating seeds, grains, nuts, berries, fruits, and insects. The red pigment comes from carotenoids in fruits and berries. They don't mate for life, but breeding pairs stay together for seasons, raising two to three broods a year. Their population is stable, and the IUCN lists them as a species of least concern. Due to their popularity, seven states have adopted the northern cardinal as their state bird.
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What does a northern cardinal look like?
The male northern cardinal is a striking scarlet color, while females have a more subdued olive-brown coloring with reddish highlights on the wings and tail. Both sexes have a distinctive crest and a black mask around the eyes, along with a short, thick red-orange bill, and a relatively long tail.

Northern cardinals measure about 21–23 cm (8.3–9.1 inches) long, weigh 42–48 grams (roughly 1.5–1.7 ounces), and have an average wingspan of about 30 cm (12 inches). They are common throughout the eastern United States, but their geographic range extends as far west as Arizona and New Mexico, and as far south as southern Mexico, northern Guatemala, and northern Belize.
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2. northern cardinal: Natural history
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Where can you find northern cardinals in the wild?
Northern cardinals can be found across a wide range of habitats, including tall brush, vines, urban parks, and the edges of deciduous forests. They are common throughout the eastern United States but can be found as far west as Arizona and New Mexico, and as far south as southern Mexico, northern Guatemala, and northern Belize. These birds do not migrate during the winter. They are adaptable to areas disturbed by human activity, such as hedgerows, woodlot remnants within agricultural settings, and yards with ornamental vegetation in residential areas.
1 Britannica Source
1. northern cardinal
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
What do northern cardinals eat?
The northern cardinal is an omnivorous bird with a diet that includes a wide variety of seeds, grains, nuts, berries, fruits, and insects. The red pigment that gives the male northern cardinal its signature red plumage is a product of carotenoids found in fruits and berries.
1 Britannica Source
1. northern cardinal: Natural history
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
How do male and female northern cardinals differ in appearance?
Male and female northern cardinals have different colorations. The male exhibits a striking scarlet color, while the female has a more subdued olive-brown coloration with reddish highlights on the wings and tail. However, both sexes share distinctive features such as a crest, a black mask around the eyes, a short, thick red-orange bill, and a relatively long tail. Northern cardinals measure about 21–23 cm long, weigh 42–48 grams, and have an average wingspan of about 30 cm.
2 Britannica Sources
1. cardinal
2. northern cardinal: Natural history
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Why are northern cardinals important to their ecosystems?
Northern cardinals are vital to their ecosystems because they are omnivores, consuming a wide array of seeds, grains, nuts, berries, fruits, and insects, which contributes to seed dispersal and insect population control. The northern cardinal is a nonmigratory bird common throughout the eastern United States. They can be found in various habitats, including urban parks, forest edges, and backyards. The IUCN lists the northern cardinal as a species of least concern, with a large and stable population.
2 Britannica Sources
1. cardinal
2. northern cardinal: Conservation status
Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Northern cardinal, (Cardinalis cardinalis), common North American songbird species best known for its bright-red plumage, which occurs in the male, and classified in the family Cardinalidae (order Passeriformes). It can be found in a wide variety of habitats, including tall brush, vines, urban parks, the edges of deciduous forests, and urban backyards. It does not migrate during the winter and is common throughout the eastern United States, though its geographic range extends as far west as Arizona and New Mexico and as far south as southern Mexico, northern Guatemala, and northern Belize. The bird’s common name is taken from the scarlet color of the caps and liturgical vestments worn by Roman Catholic cardinals, and a flock of northern cardinals is referred to as a “college,” “conclave,” or “Vatican.”

Although the species is called the northern cardinal, its original range was mostly southern until the early 1900s, when it began to expand its territory northward, as far as southeastern Canada. Ornithologists believe that this expansion was caused by rising global temperatures, which made northern climates more hospitable, as well as a growth in towns and suburban areas, which increased habitat and introduced sunflower seed–filled bird feeders in backyards during the winter months. In 1983 ornithologists added the adjective “northern” to distinguish it from other, more southerly species, including the yellow cardinal (Gubernatrix cristata), which is a different species from the rare yellow variant of the northern cardinal. There are 19 recognized subspecies of northern cardinal.

Natural history

Whereas males exhibits the striking scarlet color, females have a more subdued coloration; their feathers are olive brown with reddish highlights on the wings and tail. Both sexes, however, have the distinctive crest and black mask (or black regions) around the eyes, a short, thick red-orange bill, and a relatively long tail. The northern cardinal measures 21–23 cm (8.3–9.1 inches) long and weighs 42–48 grams (roughly 1.5–1.7 ounces), having an average wingspan of about 30 cm (12 inches).

A male cardinal perched in a tree (birds, redbirds).

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The northern cardinal is an omnivore, and its diet includes a wide variety of seeds, grains, nuts, berries, fruits, and insects. Carotenoids in fruits and berries produce the red pigment that gives the bird its signature red plumage. In recent decades, an exceptionally rare yellow variant of the northern cardinal has been discovered. This unique coloration is caused by a genetic mutation that results in a lack of a specific enzyme that converts yellow pigments in their food to red.

Northern cardinals do not mate for life; however, most breeding pairs remain together for several breeding seasons. Mating occurs in March and again from May to July. During this time, males offer food gifts to females and aggressively defend their breeding territories from rival males. They become so protective that they may even attack their own reflections in windows and mirrors. Females construct cup-shaped nests out of twigs, bark, leaves, and rootlets and line them with soft materials, such as fine grass, moss, and hair or feathers. These nests are well hidden, built low (from 3 to 10 feet [1 to 3 meters] above the ground) in small trees, shrubs, and thick vines. Although most female songbirds sing, those with year-round territories tend to sing throughout the year. The female northern cardinal falls into this category, singing all year, especially at the beginning of breeding season.

Pairs may raise two to three broods per year, and a female can lay as many as five eggs per brood. Typically each an inch long, eggs are grayish or bluish-white in color with brown, purple, or gray blotches and usually take about 12 days to hatch. Young cardinals are fed a diet of caterpillars and other insects until they are ready to leave the nest for short periods, after 11 days; they are able to fly within 20 days, and they become fully independent some 20–56 days later. The average life span of the northern cardinal is approximately three years. However, there are records of individuals that have survived at least 15 years.

Conservation status

The northern cardinal has been listed as a species of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) since 2004. The northern cardinal population remains both large and stable, owing to its large geographic extent, prolific reproductive ability, and adaptability to areas disturbed by human activity—such as hedgerows and woodlot remnants within agricultural settings and yards planted with ornamental vegetation in residential areas.

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The popularity and widespread range of the northern cardinal have prompted seven eastern U.S. states to adopt it as their official state bird, including Illinois, which features a northern cardinal on a version of its vehicle license plates. It also serves as the mascot for many sports teams, including the University of Louisville, the St. Louis Cardinals professional baseball team, and the Arizona Cardinals professional gridiron football team.

Barbara A. Schreiber

Northern cardinal

Natural history

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Conservation status