Northern Cardinal

Cute bird Northern Cardinal

The Northern Cardinal is a member of the cardinal family of birds in North America. The bird's name comes from the red-robed Roman Catholic Cardinals. Its crested head is also said to resemble a bishop's mitre. Cardinals have been also referred to as redbirds and Virginia nightingales.

Cardinals are abundant across the eastern United States from Maine to Texas and in Canada in the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia. Their range extends west to the U.S.-Mexico border and south through Mexico to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, northern Guatemala, and northern Belize. They were introduced to Bermuda in 1700. They have also been introduced in Hawaii, and Southern California. Their natural habitats are woodlands, suburbs, gardens, swamps and thickets.

It is the state bird of North Carolina, West Virginia, Ohio, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Virginia.

Latin name:	Cardinalis cardinalis
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Cardinalidae
Size:	9 inches (22 cm)
International names:
Kardinaal (Dutch)
Punakardinaali (Finnish)
Cardinal Rouge (French)
Rotkardinal (German)
Cardinale rosso (Italian)
Kardynał szkarłatny (Polish)
Cardeal (Portuguese)
Cardenal (Spanish)