All About Northern Cardinals and How to Attract Them

If you spot a bright red bird on your nature walk, it might be a male Northern Cardinal. If the red is limited to the head and wings and more muted and paired with a sandy brown or light grey body, it's likely a female. These popular feathered friends often fascinate beginning birders and trigger the excitement for a new birdwatching hobby. 

• How to Identify a Northern Cardinal
• Where Do Northern Cardinals Live?
• What Do Northern Cardinals Eat?
• See More Northern Cardinals

Both male and female Northern Cardinals sport short orange bills and black masks.

How to Identify a Northern Cardinal

In addition to their bold, rosy feathers, Northern Cardinals have several distinguishing features to admire:

• Both males and females have short, thick bills in a beautiful orange-red tone. 
• They have crests, or mohawk-like tufts of feathers, on the tops of their heads. They will raise or lower these feathers to express themselves.
• Northern Cardinals sport black masks of feathers around their beaks, extending up to the eyes. The male's mask appears darker than the female's.
• Listen closely! As songbirds, you're most likely hearing a male's melodies. Females sing, but don't vocalize as often as males.

The Northern Cardinal isn't the only red bird you might encounter as your birdwatching hobby grows. Other popular species with red feathers include the Scarlet Tanager, the Summer Tanager and the pyrrhuloxia (also known as the Desert Cardinal).

Fun Fact: There are only two species of cardinals in North America: the Northern Cardinal and the Desert Cardinal.

Northern Cardinals live in areas with lots of tree cover.

Where Do Northern Cardinals Live

Northern Cardinals live in North and South America, with their range spanning the Midwest, Eastern seaboard, southern United States and deep into Mexico. They feel most comfortable in open woodlands with low undergrowth and at the edges of residential properties with trees or nearby forests.

Northern Cardinals are not migratory birds. They stay in their general range all year long while enjoying your garden, even through winter months. As a bonus, Northern Cardinals also maintain their vibrant feather colors, unlike some birds that molt (shed feathers) and become duller in cooler months.

Northern Cardinals will eat seeds on the ground and from feeders. 

What Do Northern Cardinals Eat

Northern Cardinals forage for seeds on the ground or on plants in open woodlands, with sunflower seeds being a favorite find. They also enjoy dining on insects such as beetles, grasshoppers, ants, flies and spiders. Cardinals will happily peck at your cherry tree and clean up dried fruit from the branches in the winter.

If you'd like to bring more Northern Cardinals to your yard, simply offer them a meal too delicious to resist. You can also plant berry bushes and start a wildflower garden to attract insects. Or, fill a bird feeder!

Try one of these bird food and feeder combinations:

1. Pennington Feeding Frenzy Wild Bird Food Cardinal & Songbird Suet Nugget Blend: Treat your Northern Cardinals to black oil sunflower seeds, raisins and high-energy peanut suet nuggets in the easy-to-fill Pennington Cedar Junior Pavilion Bird Feeder (made in the USA) with feeding stations on all four sides of the pavilion.
2. Pennington Ultra Feeding Frenzy: This bird seed mix delights songbirds with sunflower chips, black oil sunflower, safflower, dried cherries, peanuts and more. Place it on the Pennington Cedar Hanging 2 in 1 Bird Bath/Feeder (made in the USA) for an unobstructed view of the birds it attracts.
3. Pennington Classic Wild Bird Feed: Birds will flock to taste the mix of grains and seeds (including sunflower seeds) in this blend. Easily fill the Pennington Cedar Nature's Friend Bird Feeder (made in the USA), made from weather-resistant Eastern Red Cedar, and enjoy the view.

Cardinals love snacks, too. Try sprinkling Pennington Select Mealworm Wild Bird Food on the ground in an area where you'd like to see wild birds gather, such as the edge of a deck or near a garden. This treat offers extra energy for Northern Cardinals during chilly winter months. 

Need more ideas? Browse additional bird feeders and houses, as well as seed blends, from Pennington Wild Bird.

See More Northern Cardinals

If you've developed an admiration for these bold birds, you're not alone. Northern Cardinal sightings top the wish list for many birders. 
Bring these colorful friends into closer view by offering a bird food blend rich with sunflower seeds in a feeder near your favorite picture window or patio.

Here at Pennington, you might have noticed we love birds as much as we love lawns and gardens. That's really what appreciating nature and nurturing the slice of earth in your care is all about. If you have questions about birding, plants or beautiful green carpets of lawn, we have the answers you need. Reach out and let us help you nurture your roots and your dreams.

Always read product labels thoroughly and follow instructions.