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Northern Cardinal — printable fact sheet
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Northern Cardinal
Cardinalis cardinalis
Cardinalis cardinalis is one of the few North American songbirds in which the female sings regularly and elaborately, often from the nest, and often in duet with the male — a trait more typical of tropical birds and a clue to the species' southern origins. Her song appears to si…
Did you know?
- The Northern Cardinal is the state bird of seven U.S. states, more than any other bird species.
- A cardinal that is bilaterally gynandromorphic — literally male on one side and female on the other, split down the midline, red on the right and grey-brown on the left — has been photographed several times in Illinois and Pennsylvania, and one such bird was observed paired with a normal male. Cardinals sometimes engage in "anting," deliberately crushing ants and rubbing them through their feathers, apparently to exploit formic acid as a parasite treatment. It is the state bird of seven US states, more than any other species.
What I learned
Draw the northern cardinal
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