Red Gallery – Northern Cardinal | H.J. Ruiz

The adult male is a brilliant crimson red color with a black face mask over the eyes, extending to the upper chest. The color becomes duller and darker on the back and wings. The female is fawn, with mostly grayish-brown tones and a slight reddish tint on the wings, the crest, and the tail feathers. The face mask of the female is gray to black and is less defined than that of the male. Both sexes possess prominent raised crests and bright coral-colored beaks. The beak is cone-shaped and strong. Young birds, both male and female, show coloring similar to the adult female until the fall, when they molt and grow adult feathers.They are brown above and red-brown below, with brick-colored crest, forehead, wings, and tail. The legs and feet are a dark pink-brown. The iris of the eye is brown. The plumage color of the males is produced from carotenoid pigments in the diet. Coloration is produced from both red pigments and yellow carotenoid pigments. Northern cardinal males normally metabolize carotenoid pigments to create plumage pigmentation of a color different from the ingested pigment. When fed only yellow pigments, males become a pale red color.

16 thoughts on “Red Gallery – Northern Cardinal”

bayphotosbydonna on December 1, 2018 at 9:42 am said:

My Saturday begins lovely with these Cardinals! 🙂

Reply ↓
- H.J. for avian101 on December 1, 2018 at 9:19 pm said:
  
  I appreciate that! Thanks Donna. 🙂
  
  Reply ↓
Indira on December 1, 2018 at 10:27 am said:

Interesting info about pigmentation of the birds!

Reply ↓
- H.J. for avian101 on December 1, 2018 at 9:21 pm said:
  
  Thank you Indira. 🙂
  
  Reply ↓
svtakeiteasy on December 1, 2018 at 2:16 pm said:

I look forward to seeing your cardinals each week. Thanks HJ.

Reply ↓
- H.J. for avian101 on December 1, 2018 at 9:24 pm said:
  
  Thank you Chris! 🙂
  
  Reply ↓
GP Cox on December 1, 2018 at 2:50 pm said:

Bird search. Today i saw a small but chubby bird that i have never seen here in south Florida before. The chubby breast was a very pale yellowish and the feathers i could see on its back were either a pale brown or gray. I checked on-line and no site showed me one that was even close. Any clue?

Reply ↓
- H.J. for avian101 on December 1, 2018 at 9:28 pm said:
  
  It could be the Palm Warbler, they are abundant in Florida. Check it out. 🙂
  
  Reply ↓
  - GP Cox on December 2, 2018 at 6:51 am said:
    
    That’s it!! Thanks, I knew you would know. I keep trying to memorize your posts, but maybe I’m too old to remember all your birds.
    Thanks again for the help!!
Jet Eliot on December 1, 2018 at 3:54 pm said:

Always a joy to visit the Cardinal Gallery, HJ — thanks so much for my weekly fix of this exquisite bird.

Reply ↓
- H.J. for avian101 on December 1, 2018 at 9:30 pm said:
  
  Thanks so much Jet. 🙂
  
  Reply ↓
Francine Proulx Harvey on December 2, 2018 at 6:04 am said:

Been trying for years to get a cardinal to my feeder…Nope…not yet! Really enjoyed these!

Reply ↓
- H.J. for avian101 on December 2, 2018 at 2:42 pm said:
  
  Don’t stop! 🙂
  
  Reply ↓
BirdNation on December 6, 2018 at 9:51 pm said:

You always have such beautiful Northern Cardinal photos. Do you have any suggestions for photographing cardinals? I find them really hard to photograph, they’re so skittish! You must have the magic touch, because all your cardinal shots are fantastic! 😁

Reply ↓
- H.J. for avian101 on December 7, 2018 at 9:20 pm said:
  
  I’d suggest that you find a way to avoid being seen while you shoot. Remember, they look at us as giant creatures and get spooked easily. Thank you and good luck next time… 🙂
  
  Reply ↓
  - BirdNation on December 7, 2018 at 10:50 pm said:
    
    Thanks!