Cardinals, the bird, not the religious official

February

Maybe they’re anxious for spring, but I’ve been hearing and seeing northern cardinals singing the past few days.

The “northern” in the bird’s name refers to North America. Several other species of cardinal call South America home.

Until the late 1800s, the birds were only found in the Southeast. Since then, they’ve expanded their range into the Northeast, making use of parks and gardens, the brushy remains of farms, bird feeders and, some say, warming temperatures.

The birds, of course, take their name from the office of cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church. Cardinals (as in the religious figure) wear red skullcaps and other vestments.

(Bird photo by TJN photographer Stuart Bayer, 2004 Cardinal Edward Egan photo by TJN photographer Rory Glaeseman.)

This entry was posted on Monday, February 23rd, 2009 at 12:35 pm by Mike Risinit.
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One Response to “Cardinals, the bird, not the religious official”

Keira March 4th, 2009 at 6:28 pm
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