The Things I've Learned...

I've been getting into the field of bird-watching as of late. Very amateur of course. I've just setup a couple of bird feeders at my house. Its great fun just to watch to see which birds show up. It winter now so there are a lot of birds eating at the feeders. Anyway, one of my favorites is the Northern Cardinal. First off, did you know that not all cardinals are bright red? Of course, when you think of cardinal you think bright red. Well, at least I always did. You can see by the picture here that not all cardinals are the same color. The top picture is a male northern cardinal. That is what I think of as a cardinal. The other picture is a female cardinal. Still red but not nearly as bright as the male. I just thought that was interesting.

Here are some interesting facts about the northern cardinal.
• Length of Incubation: 12-13 days (time in the egg)
• Days to Fledge:9-10 (age they can fly)
• Eats: seeds, fruit, and sometimes insects
• The male cardinal fiercely defends its breeding territory from other males. When a male sees its reflection in glass surfaces, it frequently will spend hours fighting the imaginary intruder. (taken from All About Birds)

Anyway, that's the tidbit for the day. For more information on Cardinals check out birding.com. For more information on North American birds in general check out the National Geographic Field Guide To The Birds Of North America