Feathers and Fuzz

one woman's cure for the empty-nester blues

Northern Cardinal

At My Feeders: Northern Cardinal

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At My Feeders:  Northern Cardinal

The Northern Cardinal is resident in my area (Emerson, GA) throughout the year.

At My Feeders: Northern Cardinal
Female and Male Northern Cardinals

As is true in most birds, the adult male is brightly colored and the adult female is relatively plain-colored.  The male is easily identified by his rich, red color and black face mask.  A heavy, wide beak is typical of all post-fledging Northern Cardinals.

The beak is our key to gauging age.  Newly-fledged cardinals have a solid black beak.

Black Beak - Juvi Male Cardinal
Black Beak - Young, Juvenile Male Cardinal

As Cardinals mature, the beak will go through a "mottled" stage before turning the solid orange color seen in both male and female adults.  The trickier part is distinguishing between a juvenile male cardinal and a juvenile female cardinal.  Since both genders of adult cardinals have a solid, red tail -- we can't use the tail as our gauge.  I look for red splotches beginning to form in areas which are typically tan-colored in adult females.  This tells me I am looking at a juvenile male vs female.

Juvi Male Cardinal - Mottled Beak

Juvenile Male Northern Cardinal

Juvi Female Cardinal - Mottled Beak

Juvenile Female Northern Cardinal

Now, just when you thought you had this ... look again.  A juvenile Northern Cardinal and a juvenile Summer Tanager look a lot alike!

Juvenile Cardinal Similar to Summer Tanager

Juvenile Northern Cardinal

Juvenile Tanager Similar to Juvi Cardinal

Juvenile Summer Tanager

At My Feeders: Northern Cardinals

Cardinal Intruder Appalled by Homeowners’ Return

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The Eastern Phoebes returned to their nest site to discover a juvenile Cardinal Intruder.  There is no doubt from the watching the scene unfold, this was an intruder appalled by the homeowners’ return!  Momma Phoebe was the first to return home.  The Cardinal glared at her as if to say:  “How dare you intrude upon my invasion of your home?!”  The Phoebe perched calmly on the edge of the platform, flicking her tail.  She made little eye contact and engaged in no threatening behavior.  I guess “my” Phoebes are not particularly surprised by intruders.

I’ll let the video tell the remainder of the story.  Let’s just say:  Daddy Phoebe did not adopt his mate’s calm approach to the intrusion.

 

In Future Posts

I chose to share the juvenile Cardinal video as a bit of a segue into a series highlighting many of the birds visiting this property.  Birds will be highlighted mostly by species, but sometimes in color groups.  The series will be called “At My Feeders“.  This time of year, especially, it’s pretty hard to tell who is who.  Typically:  Males are one color.  Females are another color.  Juveniles are some combination thereof.  If you add molting to the picture, then the Who’s Who question can spin your head.  Bring in the aspect of color families and, again, it often takes a minute to figure out who is who.

I can’t promise I’ll always get it right, but I’ll do my best.  If, along the way, you disagree with any of my conclusions, please let me know.  We’ll figure it out together!