Front:
QlanBrooks
CARDINAL (male and female)
Published by the National Association of Audubon Societies
Back:
No. 39 Cardinal
Length 814 inches
This distinguished member of the Finch family
is a general favorite. Years ago, before laws were
passed against the caging of wild songbirds, it
was, in many sections, a common practice to trap
it for that purpose. The splendid performance of
the bird as a songster, combined with its attrac-
tive appearance, have served to bring it into
prominence in many ways. It has figured con-
spicuously in literature, and has been adopted as
the State Bird of Kentucky.
The Cardinal is resident throughout its range.
During the winter it often becomes quite grega-
rious, companies of twenty-five to fifty gathering
in suitable localities, such as secluded ravines by
small water-courses. Here, in dense thickets of
haw and tangles of wild roses, or other shelter
and food-producing shrubbery, it spends the win-
ter. It is not uncommon to hear its rich, mellow
whistle in a snowstorm in late February or early
March.
The nest is of twigs, rootlets, strips of bark,
and dead leaves, and is placed in bushes, vines, or
briar patches. The eggs are three or four in num-
ber, bluish-white, and speckled with grayish-
brown.
Classification: Order Passeres. Family Fringillide. .
Scientific name: Cardinalis cardinalis.
Range: Eastern United States, from southern edge of
northern tier of States south to the Gulf of Mexico.
No. 39 from set of 50 Winter Birds of the Northeastern United
States. Published by the National Association of Audubon So-
cieties, 1974 Broadway, New York City. Price per set, in a box,
$1.00 post paid.
