Male northern cardinals definitely have the spotlight when it comes to North American birds. They're beautiful and highly recognizable. Interestingly, their color can signal certain things about them - not just feather color but also beak color.
But beyond color, their mask size can be an indicator of the type of mate and father he will be.
Furthermore, while color plays a role in dominance, it is not the only factor. One interesting characteristic of how dominant a cardinal is is based on how close he is to his territory.
You might be surprised to find out that color may not play as high of a role in mate selection - however researchers are having a hard time studying that.
His call can also give neighboring cardinals information about himself - for instance, how new he might be to the territory.
And his call has been found to be more adaptable to surrounding environments compared to robins.
In the case of leucistic birds, many studies report their ability to still find mates with females of healthy plumage.
***Acknowledgements***
This is a special thank you to Scott Davis, Joseph McHugh Jr. and Jan Ador for their video and photo contributions of cardinals with leucism. Your contributions were beautiful and such a gem for this video. Thank you very much for your help.
To learn more about Northern Cardinals - specifically their nesting and breeding stages, check out this video: • Cardinal Nesting, Bree...
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At Nest Hollow, we are more interested in true bird conservation than profit. That means we are not going to misinform you about wild bird care in order to make an extra buck. We care about our native birds and want to share as much knowledge with you as we can.
Tell us what you love about Northern Cardinals - or if you live in a region where you don't get to see them very much, maybe share why you'd love to see one or your first time getting to see one in real life :)
***** Referenced Studies:
Gentry, K. M. (2015). Territorial defense strategies in the northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis): Who is the bigger threat?. The University of Southern Mississippi.
Jawor, J. M., & Breitwisch, R. (2004). Multiple ornaments in male northern cardinals, Cardinalis cardinalis, as indicators of condition. Ethology, 110(2), 113-126.
Lemon, R. E. (1975). How birds develop song dialects. The Condor, 77(4), 385-406.
Seger-Fullam, K. D., Rodewald, A. D., & Soha, J. A. (2011). Urban noise predicts song frequency in Northern Cardinals and American Robins. Bioacoustics, 20(3), 267-276.
Senar, Juan Carlos, G. E. Hill, and K. J. McGraw. "Color displays as intrasexual signals of aggression and dominance." Bird coloration 2 (2006): 87-136.
Wolfenbarger, L. L. (1999). Female mate choice in Northern Cardinals: is there a preference for redder males?. The Wilson Bulletin, 76-83.
Wolfenbarger, L. L. (1999). Is red coloration of male Northern Cardinals beneficial during the nonbreeding season?: a test of status signaling. The Condor, 101(3), 655-663.
Wolfenbarger, L. L. (1999). Red coloration of male northern cardinals correlates with mate quality and territory quality. Behavioral Ecology, 10(1), 80-90.