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Northern
Cardinal / Cardinal rouge (Cardinalis cardinalis)
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Seasonal
status at MBO:
| JAN
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FEB
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MAR
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APR
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MAY
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JUN
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JUL
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AUG
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SEP
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OCT
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NOV
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DEC
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QUICK TIPS:
| 1) Check
the bill colour - it is gray to blackish
on HY birds (usually through to at least September), and orange-red
on AHY birds (but beware HY birds in September and beyond)
2) Examine
the wing for moult limits - on HY/SY birds only
there are often sharp contrasts between brown and
faded feathers and fresh red feathers (males) or brown
feathers with red edging (females) among the
primaries and secondaries, as well as the primary
coverts; note that some HY birds undergo a complete
first prebasic moult and will not show any moult limits
after it has been completed
3) Look
at the overall plumage - on males it is mostly
red, while on females it is mostly brown,
with red on the crest and wings
Species account updated January 2009 |
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Ageing and sexing guidelines:
Ageing and sexing details:
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JAN - JUL: after-hatch-year
male |
AHY
male Northern Cardinals are unmistakable. The body plumage is
entirely red aside from the black facial mask, though note that colour may appear quite
different depending on lighting. While feathers on the
back and wings may have gray edging, there are no brown juvenal feathers
visibly contrasting with the red adult feathers.
Photo by Barbara Frei,
McGill Bird
Observatory (QC), May 2006
Note the entirely red wing, without any molt limits.
Photo by Peter Pyle, Howell Woods (NC), May 2006
Photo by Peter Pyle, Merry Lea (IN), May 2007
The tail is uniformly brick red.
Photo by Barbara Frei,
McGill Bird
Observatory (QC), May 2006
RETURN TO AGE/SEX
OVERVIEW
|
JAN - JUL: after-hatch-year
female |
AHY
female Northern Cardinals are primarily brown, with red on the crest,
bill, and wings. It is primarily the absence of a molt limit on the
wings which indicates the age of this bird as AHY. Other AHY
characteristics are the dark brown iris (gray or grayish-brown in HY) and
uniformly red bill (dark in HY birds until mid- to late fall).
RETURN TO AGE/SEX
OVERVIEW
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JAN - JUL: second-year
male |
RETURN TO AGE/SEX
OVERVIEW
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JAN - JUL: second-year
female |
Any Northern Cardinals showing molt limits among or between feather tracts in the first half of the year can be reliably aged as second-year. In the first photo below, note the contrast between the uniformly brownish unreplaced juvenal secondaries and the replaced red-edged primaries. In the second example the same pattern exists, and in addition the unreplaced brown primary coverts contrast with the replaced red greater coverts.
Photo by Peter Pyle, Hermosillo (MEX), July 2007
Photo by Peter Pyle, Howell Woods (NC), May 2006
RETURN TO AGE/SEX
OVERVIEW
|
JUN - DEC: unknown age
male (probable after-hatch-year) |
AHY
male Northern Cardinals are unmistakable. The body plumage is
entirely red aside from the black facial mask, though colour may appear quite
different depending on lighting. While feathers on the
back and wings may have gray edging, there are no brown juvenal feathers
visibly contrasting with the red adult feathers.
Photo by Marcel Gahbauer,
McGill Bird
Observatory (QC),
November 2006
Photo by Lance Laviolette,
McGill Bird
Observatory (QC),
October 2004
The wing is uniformly red, with no molt limits within or among any feather tracts.
Photo by Marcel Gahbauer,
McGill Bird Observatory (QC),
November 2006
The tail is uniformly brick red.
Photo by Marcel Gahbauer,
McGill Bird Observatory (QC),
November 2006
RETURN TO AGE/SEX
OVERVIEW
|
JUN - DEC:
unknown age
female (probable after-hatch-year) |
AHY
female Northern Cardinals are primarily brown, with red on the crest,
bill, and wings. It is primarily the absence of a molt limit on the
wings which indicates the age of this bird as AHY. Other AHY
characteristics are the dark brown iris (gray or grayish-brown in HY) and
uniformly red bill (dark in HY birds until mid- to late fall).
Photo by Marcel Gahbauer,
McGill Bird Observatory (QC),
November 2006
Photo by Marcel Gahbauer,
McGill Bird
Observatory (QC),
October 2004
Photo by Marcel Gahbauer,
McGill Bird
Observatory (QC),
August 2005
The wings of after-hatch-year female Northern Cardinals are grayish-brown with broad dull red edging, lacking in molt limits within or among feather tracts.
Photo by Marcel Gahbauer,
McGill Bird Observatory (QC),
November 2006
Photo by Marcel Gahbauer,
McGill Bird
Observatory (QC),
August 2005
Photo by Peter Pyle, Southeast Arizona, July 2007
The tail of female Northern Cardinals is grayish red; note the contrast with the grayish-brown rump. The first photo shows relatively fresh rectrices following the prebasic molt, while the second shows the relatively worn rectrices of an adult just prior to its prebasic molt.
Photo by Marcel Gahbauer,
McGill Bird Observatory (QC),
November 2006
Photo by Marcel Gahbauer,
McGill Bird
Observatory (QC),
August 2005
RETURN TO AGE/SEX
OVERVIEW
|
JUN - DEC: hatch-year
male |
By late in the year, HY
male Northern Cardinals are primarily red, but may have patches of retained
brown juvenal feathers if the preformative molt has not completed. These are most commonly seen on the wings,
but may also occur on the back and tail, and can generally be observed in
one or more places on a perched bird. There may also be a dusky tip
to the bill, and the iris is typically gray or grayish-brown until late in
the year.
Photo by Marcel Gahbauer,
McGill Bird
Observatory (QC),
October 2004
Photo by Marie-Anne Hudson, McGill Bird Observatory (QC), October 2007
HY
Northern Cardinals typically show very visible molt limits on the wing, but the pattern can vary considerably among individuals. In the first photo below, the contrast between the fresh and unreplaced primaries is evident in terms of both colour and quality. In the second, the molt appears to have completed, with three outer primaries left unreplaced, contrasting with the remainder of the red-edged inner primaries. In the third, it appears that most to all of the primaries have been replaced, but two retained juvenal secondaries are conspicuous.
Photo by Marie-Anne Hudson, McGill Bird Observatory (QC), October 2007
Photo by Marcel Gahbauer,
McGill Bird
Observatory (QC),
October 2004
Photo by Marcel Gahbauer,
McGill Bird
Observatory (QC),
November 2005
The tail is generally uniformly red on hatch-year Northern Cardinals.
Photo by Seabrooke Leckie,
McGill Bird Observatory (QC),
August 2006
Photo by Marie-Anne
Hudson, McGill Bird Observatory (QC), October 2007
RETURN TO AGE/SEX
OVERVIEW
|
JUN - DEC: hatch-year
female |
Like
older female Northern Cardinals, HY females are primarily brown, with red
on the crest, bill, and wings. However, there are distinct molt
limits on the wings between the retained brown juvenal feathers and the
new red adult feathers, and this is usually visible even when the bird is
perched. There may also be a dusky tip to the bill, as in the bird
below, and the iris is typically gray or grayish-brown until late in the
year.
Photo by Marcel Gahbauer,
McGill Bird
Observatory (QC),
October 2004
HY
Northern Cardinals typically show very visible molt limits on the wings. In the first photo below, the outermost three primaries and
outermost five primary coverts are retained juvenal feathers, contrasting
sharply with the fresh new red adult feathers adjacent to them. The second photo shows a HY female just beginning its preformative molt.
Photo by Marcel Gahbauer,
McGill Bird
Observatory (QC),
October 2004
Photo by Peter Pyle, Southeast Arizona, July 2007
The tail of female Northern Cardinals is generally a grayish-brownish red. Note in this example the growth bars across the tip of all rectrices, indicative of a hatch-year bird.
Photo by Barbara Frei,
McGill Bird
Observatory (QC), August 2007
RETURN TO AGE/SEX
OVERVIEW
|
JUN - DEC: juvenile unknown |
Juvenile Northern Cardinals
are most readily recognized by their dusky, rather than red, bills. Until they have commenced their preformative molt, sex cannot be reliably determined.
Photo by Marcel Gahbauer,
McGill Bird
Observatory (QC),
Jun 2005
This very early season hatchling was still growing in primaries when it
was caught.
Photo by Marcel Gahbauer,
McGill Bird
Observatory,
Jun 2005
Photo by Marcel Gahbauer,
McGill Bird
Observatory,
Jun 2005
RETURN TO AGE/SEX
OVERVIEW
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