Backyard Birds: Northern Cardinals & Other Red Birds to Attract

A flash of crimson against snow, a clear whistle piercing a winter morning—the northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) is a year-round beacon of color and song across eastern North America. Non-migratory and retaining brilliant plumage through winter, cardinals brighten gardens from Maine to Texas, with introduced populations in Hawaii and the Southwest.

Larry Belt

Identification

Male: Intense red overall, black face mask, large orange conical bill, prominent crest, long straight tail. Robin-sized.

Female: Warm tan-brown with red accents on wings, tail, and crest tip; smaller mask; same bright orange bill. Equally striking.

Juvenile: Brown with gray-black bill transitioning to orange; molt to adult plumage within weeks of fledging.

eBird

Habitat & Range

Superb generalists: backyard feeders, suburban gardens, parks, woodland edges, thickets, shrubby grasslands, hedgerows. Year-round residents.

Attracting Cardinals

Feeders

Primarily seed-eaters in winter; love black-oil sunflower seeds. Will carry seeds to cover, return repeatedly. In spring/summer, hunt beetles, butterflies, larvae among branches and blossoms.

Dan Behm

Native Plantings

Diet: 71% plant material (seeds, fruit), 29% insects. Plant native shrubs (dogwood Cornus, elderberry Sambucus), vines (wild grape Vitis, blackberry Rubus), sedges (Carex), grasses, and trees (mulberry Morus, hackberry Celtis, tulip tree Liriodendron). Crab apples hold fruit deep into winter.

Jonathan Fredin

Nesting & Breeding

Nest building begins late February (sometimes in snow), peaks mid-April. Both sexes scout low, dense sites—thickets, grapevine tangles, shrubs (dogwood, honeysuckle, spruce, pine, hemlock, maple). Female builds cup nest from sticks, leaves, grapevine bark, lined with grasses, rootlets, pine needles over 1–2 weeks; male feeds her.

2–5 eggs, ~2 weeks incubation (female only). Both parents feed nestlings insects up to 4×/hour. Fledge at 9–13 days; independent in 1–2 months. Native, diverse habitat ensures ample insect supply.

Unique Behaviors

• Female sings! One of few North American songbirds where females sing—often on the nest, sometimes longer/more complex songs than males. Pairs duet.
• Territorial obsession: Males fiercely defend breeding territory spring/early summer, attacking reflections in windows/mirrors for hours.

Judith Gandy

State bird of 7 states; mascot for pro teams and universities.

Other Red Birds for Your Region

Pine Grosbeak

Boreal Canada in summer; irrupts south to Wyoming, Dakotas, Utah, Idaho, California, Northwest in winter. Largest finch; male red with brown wings, white wing bars. Flocks strip fruit trees (spruce, pine, juniper, elm, maple, mountain ash). Attract with feeders and native evergreens.

David A Mitchell / Terry & Joanne Johnson

Red Crossbill

Evergreen forests across Canada, Rockies, West Coast. Unique crossed bill pries seeds from conifer cones. Dependent on conifer seeds—breeds whenever abundant. Plant native spruce, pine, Douglas fir; may nest in your spruce.

Terry & Joanne Johnson

Summer Tanager

Only all-red bird in North America (male strawberry-red; female mustard-yellow). Southern U.S. summer; migrates to mid-South America. Specializes in catching bees/wasps on the wing. Distinctive chuckling call.

YardMap (Cornell Lab of Ornithology) helps document yard habitat for birds.