Just a fun little PPT about cardinals.

1. TheNorthernCardinal
Cardinalis cardinalis
A Ryan Long PRODUCTION

2. Morphology
• Mid-sized songbird
• long-tailed
• Thicc big boy bills
• Prominent crests
• Red
• Practices blackface
Bilateral gynandromorph
♂
♀
☿

3. Call & Range

4. Behavior & Diet
 They sit low in trees and shrubs or
forage on the ground
 Eat primarily seeds and fruits, some
insects
 Mostly non-migratory
 Beak-to-beak feeding courtship ritual
 mate for life, both raise offspring

5. Males are fiercely
Territorial
• Have been known to attack their reflections
• Occurs during breeding season May-August

6. Cool Facts
• Named after Catholic cardinals
• Group names: college, conclave, radiance,
and Vatican
• Average life span: 3 years
• Oldest lived for 15 years 9 months
• Often portrayed incorrectly as a mascot
• State bird of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky,
North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, and WV
• 3 cardinal species in Cardinalidae

7. Leucism
Xanthochromism
Albinism
Yellow cardinal (Gubernatrix cristata) – not to be confused

8. -5 0 5 10 15 20
Cardinal
Dinosaurs
You
Big Bird
Birdness by Bird
Total
Birdness
YOU
In AU’s
(Avian
units)

9. In Conclusion: Cardinalsaresuperiortous all

10. Sources
Allaboutbirds.org
FarmersAlmanac.com