He tends to stand out in a crowd.



We had eleven northern cardinals in the yard yesterday.

Cardinals are common around here and tend to be overlooked just like bluejays.
Winter would be bland if it weren't for the cardinals and jays. Most of the other birds are dull during the winter.

We don't get many during the warmer months, I guess there is enough food that they don't need what we put out.
This winter has been hard on the wildlife. We have a turkey that comes to the yard regularly, 6 deer, many squirrels and several rabbits, not to mention raccoons.

Cardinalis cardinalis

Cardinals don't migrate and they don't molt into a dull plumage.

The male cardinal fiercely defends its breeding territory from other males. When a male sees its reflection in glass surfaces, it frequently will spend hours fighting the imaginary intruder.
The oldest recorded Northern Cardinal was 15 years 9 months old.

source - Cornell Lab of ornithology

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