Three Acre Tablea garden, a kitchen, a good excuse to gather
Cardinalis cardinalis
Plate — illustration to come
Year-round residentNative · New Jersey

Northern Cardinal

Cardinalis cardinalis

Cardinalidae

One of the most familiar backyard birds in New Jersey — and one of the few that stays through the coldest months. Males are unmistakably brilliant red with a black mask; females are warm buff-brown with red highlights and the same distinctive crest. Both sing.

Identify by

How to spot one.

  • 8–9 inches — larger than a sparrow, smaller than a robin

  • Male: brilliant red overall with black mask around the bill

  • Female: warm tan-brown with red on wings, tail, and crest

  • Prominent pointed crest on the head

  • Heavy conical orange-red bill

Voice

What it sounds like.

Loud clear whistled phrases: 'birdy-birdy-birdy' or 'cheer-cheer-cheer.' One of the very few North American songbirds where the female sings as much as the male.

Life & behavior

How it lives.

Sedentary — most cardinals live within a mile of where they hatched. Pair-bonded year-round; you often see males and females feeding together. Aggressive to reflections in windows (mistaking their own image for a rival) — cover windows temporarily if a male is repeatedly attacking one.

At a glance

The spec sheet.

Status
Year-round resident
Size
8.3–9.1 inches
Present in NJ
Year-round
Native to NJ
Yes
Conservation status
abundant
Family
Cardinalidae
Diet

What it eats.

Diet often shifts dramatically between breeding season and the rest of the year — especially for insectivorous birds that pivot to native berries in fall and winter.

Summer / breeding season

  • Insects (beetles, caterpillars, grasshoppers, crickets) — heavily fed to nestlings

  • Native berries (wild grapes, dogwood berries)

  • Sunflower and coneflower seeds

Fall / winter

  • Seeds — coneflower, sunflower, native grasses

  • Persistent berries (holly, sumac, cedar)

  • Sunflower seeds at feeders

Plants it uses

What it needs.

Native plants that feed this bird or provide shelter. Names in hydrangea link to the plant’s Field Guide entry.

  • Purple Coneflower

    Seed source

  • Serviceberry

    Fruit / berry source

  • Wild grape (Vitis)

    Fruit / berry source

  • Native dogwoods

    Fruit / berry source

  • Dense native shrubs

    Cover / habitat

Sources

All About Birds (Cornell) · Bird Friendly Plantings NJ

More in this group

Other year-round residents.