Northern cardinal, the state bird of Ohio

How to recognize it

The northern cardinal is a medium-sized songbird about 8 to 9 inches long. The male is bright red all over with a black face, and it is the only red North American bird with a crest. The female is mostly tan and brown with reddish tinges, but she has the same pointed crest, long tail and heavy pinkish bill. Young birds have dark bills at first. The song is a series of rich, clear whistles, and the call is a sharp, metallic chip.

How it lives

Cardinals eat mostly seeds, insects and berries: beetles, grasshoppers, caterpillars, wild fruit and weed seeds. The female builds an open cup nest 3 to 10 feet up in dense shrubs and lays three or four eggs, and a pair may raise two or three broods a year. Cardinals favor woodland edges, thickets, suburban gardens and towns, anywhere with dense, brushy cover.

Where to see one in Ohio

The cardinal is a year-round resident throughout Ohio and one of the most familiar birds at backyard feeders, where sunflower seed brings it in. Look for it in shrubby yards, parks and woodland edges in any season.

Doing well

Audubon describes the northern cardinal as widespread and abundant, with numbers currently stable after a century in which its range expanded north into southeastern Canada.

The state bird since 1933

Ohio named the cardinal its state bird in 1933. It is one of the most popular state birds: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia have also chosen it.