It’s hard to miss a male cardinal and his bold red feathers, black face mask and spiked crest. Although the female is more subdued, she is no less adored. Either is a go-to critter for holiday cards, in snowy scenes that take on vibrancy thanks to the dash of red.
Despite being fairly common, the birds can be a bit elusive. They often come to feeders as the sun is setting, when their red feathers are muted under low light conditions. Cardinals like to eat from trays or platforms, preferring sunflower and safflower seeds and often roasted, unsalted peanuts. Seeds and nuts are no match for their hefty pink beaks. Cracked corn is worth setting out, too.
This story is from the December 2019/January 2020 edition of Birds & Blooms.
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This story is from the December 2019/January 2020 edition of Birds & Blooms.
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Sense or Nonsense? - Why some birds can taste and smell - but others can't
Does a porcelain berry taste like a blueberry to a gray catbird? Does a block of lard smell like frying bacon to a northern flicker? The short answer is no. While some avian species do have a well-adapted sense of taste or smell, they can't distinguish between flavors and odors the way humans can. They're not picking up every ingredient in the suet you put out, says José Ramírez-Garofalo, an ornithology researcher at Rutgers University in New Jersey and the director of Freshkills Biological Station in Staten Island, New York.
Maple Mania - Amazing facts about this fall foliage mainstay
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Food-Focused and Fierce - Meet Canada jays and learn why they eat almost anything they can find
Even if you haven't heard of Canada jays, you've heard of their relatives. Members of the corvid family, they belong to the same group as American crows, blackbilled magpies, and jays including blue, Steller's and scrub. "Unlike many of the other jays, a Canada jay doesn't have a crest of any kind; it just has a rounded head," says Dale Gentry, director of conservation for Audubon Upper Mississippi River.In 2018, the Canada jay's name was changed from gray jay, but Dale thinks the former adjective was fitting. "Most of its body is shades of gray with some white," he says. "There are different subspecies that have different physical traits, but most of them have some lighter coloring on their foreheads, upper breasts and throats, each with a darker streak that starts at each eye and goes back."
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