Northern Cardinal
Cardinalis cardinalis
While driving home from Jeb's football game, we
saw a male cardinal in the middle of the road near
our house.
Unable to stop, I drove over-top the bird and checked him out in the rearview
mirror.
The bird was siting in an
upright position. I parked the car and ran over to pick up the bird.
He
was dazed, possibly in shock. I gently
pulled both wings and nothing was broken and with
no indication of external
wounds. I walked to the house
with the bird, while Jeb drove the car home.
(another story entirely,
considering Jeb is 13-years old).
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Rebel and Mickey both wanted him for a snack, and we sent the dogs
outside to decide what to do
with the bird.
No need to further traumatize him. |
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It was our thinking that the bird hit a branch
or was grazed by a car,
and was temporally "out-of-it." I've
heard of stories where waxwings
and other birds have got drunk off of fermented
berries and
were grounded and tipsy. We placed him in a sparrow trap with
water and
seed, compliments of our pet singing canary. After a few
minutes the
cardinal was flying around with no apparent ill-effects. |
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I knew he regained his faculties, as he took a
nip at me while
I was handling him. |
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We took the bird outside and we checked the
wind sock.
Flying conditions looked good. |
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Everyone enjoyed the opportunity to see this
absolutely beautiful
bird up close and personal. Thank you Mark for taking all of the photos. |
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I rested the bird on the rail of our deck, and
just as the bird touched
his feet to perch, he bolted with an explosion of flight. |
The male cardinal has a brilliant and intense red color with a large crest on
it's head and with it's face
surrounded in black. Once an adult, the bird is
8 to 9-inches long and
weighs 1.4 to 1.6-ounces. They are
year-round residents
and occur in the American northeast. We are
lucky to have such a common and
beautiful
bird to call our own. Many people from the northwest and western
United
States have never seen a cardinal
(and the rest of the world for that matter)
and are amazed with their beauty
when they are first observed.
When I was stationed at Grand Canyon National
Park for three-month natural resources management detail,
I remember my reaction when I first saw stellar jays everywhere, I just had to
stop and watch. Well, back to
the story, cardinals, like most waterfowl pair-bond for life, having just one
mate until and unless one dies.
The Sound of the Northern Cardinal:
Submitted by Mark Burchick
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Saturday's Natural History
