Everyday in NH
Northern Cardinal
Cardinalis cardinalis · Cardinals and Grosbeaks (Cardinalidae)
- Status
- Year-round resident; still slowly expanding north and up in elevation
- Length
- 8.3–9.1 in
- Regions
- Coast · Merrimack · Lakes · Conn. River
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What you notice first
In winter, the colour — a male against snow is the most saturated red in the New Hampshire landscape, nothing else is close.
Voice
Loud, clear, slurred whistles — "birdy-birdy-birdy" or "cheer-cheer-cheer" — carrying from a high perch. Both sexes sing, including the female from the nest. A hard metallic "chip" note year-round.
Where & when
Dense shrubby edges, brushy yards, feeders with sunflower or safflower. Southern and central NH mostly; scarcer in the North Country but creeping up. All year.
The cardinal is a southern bird that kept moving. A century ago it barely reached southern New England; feeders and warmer winters carried it into New Hampshire, and it is still gaining ground toward the notches. If your grandparents birded here, they may not have had one.
The female is the better bird to know: warm buff-brown, a sharp crest, a coral bill, and rose wash on wings and tail. She sings as much as the male and often more elaborately.
Cardinals don’t migrate and don’t flock much, so a pair holds the same few acres all year. Watch for the male feeding the female beak-to-beak in early spring — courtship, and a decent sign the pair is about to nest in your barberry hedge.