Northern Cardinal

Northern Cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis
Northern Cardinal

NPS wildlife camera photo

The Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) is an easily identified common bird of the Chattahoochee River corridor. Males are bright red with black around the base of their orange bills with a large crest, while females have a buff colored body and grayish-brown above and a reddish-orange bill, crest, wings and tail. They are common in brushy habitats within or at the edges of woods and travel in pairs or small groups year-round. They can be seen feeding while hopping around on the ground, gathering seeds, fruit, berries, spiders, and insect larvae from low shrubs and trees. It makes its nests in dense shrubs or among the branches of small trees out of twigs, bark strips, vines, leaves, rootlets, and paper lined with fine grass and hair. They grow 8.5-9 inches long, with a wingspan of about 12 inches. Their song is a series of high, clear, mostly slurred whitsles "woit woit woit chew chew chew chew chew" or "pichew pichew tiw tiw tiw tiw tiw tiw tiw".

Last updated: April 14, 2015

Park footer

Contact Info

Mailing Address:

1978 Island Ford Parkway
Sandy Springs, GA 30350

Phone:

678-538-1200
Call 770-992-6585 for non-emergency law enforcement assistance for any event that does not pose a direct threat to the health and safety of visitors or employees. Examples of when to call 770-992-6585 are for property crime (car break-ins, vandalism), suspicious activity, or a threat to the park's resources (digging). Dial 911 when there is a direct threat to the health and safety of visitors or employees. Examples of when to dial 911 are for missing person, fire, physical altercation, or injury.

Contact Us