One particularly interesting fact about cardinals is that they exhibit sexual dimorphism. This means that it’s easy to tell a female apart from a male.
While they have pretty much the same basic specs—size, wingspan, and crest—their plumage is one noticeable difference between them.
Cardinals are red songbirds, but this is just the males. The females usually have a different color to their feathers, although they have streaks of red that are visible enough for you to tell that they’re cardinals.
Let’s learn all about the female cardinal bird and its defining qualities.
What Does a Female Cardinal Look Like?
For the sake of clarity and the avoidance of confusion, we’ll be using the qualities of the Northern Cardinal because it is the most prominent cardinal species in America (it is also the state bird of seven of the US’ 50 states).
As stated earlier, the plumage of the female cardinal is the differentiating factor between herself and the male cardinal.
While males are red, females are more fawn-colored. Fawn is that yellowish-tan color. The female’s crest is red, as is her tail. On her wings are streaks of the peculiar red that cardinals are known for as well.
Female cardinals also have a less pronounced face mask than males, who have a pitch-black Zorro-like mask around their eyes that extends to their throats. Overall, female cardinals have a more subtle and camouflaged appearance.
What Do Female Cardinals Do?
The animal kingdom is an ordered one. Each sex has a responsibility they take very seriously. Humans can learn a lot from them. Below is a description of the key behaviors of the female cardinals.
Spring Alarm
Both male and female cardinals serve as spring alarms. Whenever you hear them sing for the first time in months, it means spring is around the corner or already here.
Females, however, sing a more complex song that tells the males the kinds of food and nesting materials to forage for as spring marks the beginning of their breeding season.
Nest Defenders
Cardinals are territorial birds, which is why they mate for life. During breeding season, the male goes out to forage for food for the female and the hatchlings. The female assumes the position of defending their home in the male’s absence.
Why Are Female Cardinals Brown Not Red?
Ornithologists have put forward the fact that female cardinals have to blend in with their surroundings while nesting as a reason for their plumage not being as vibrantly red as the males’.
Because they’re small songbirds, they are easy targets of predators. Cardinals also fall victim to the dupes of another bird called the cowbird.
These brood parasites are too lazy to raise their young and target the nests of smaller birds like the cardinal, with which they overlap in habitat range.
If a female cardinal slips up for one minute, she risks losing one of her eggs to the cowbird, who then replaces the egg with one of theirs for the cardinal to incubate.
This camouflage is why they stay brown, which is the same color of plumage that juvenile cardinals are born with.
Males and Females Working Together
After choosing their mates, male and female cardinals get to work ahead of the breeding season.
Picking the right territory to nest in, picking the right tree or shrub to build the nest in, deciding on the meals to feed on while they copulate, lay eggs and raise their young, and figuring out the babysitting schedule between both of them are the things they work together to determine.
After both of them choose their nesting area, the male flies about to gather the materials for the female to build the nest with. While the nest is being built, the male goes out to forage for food (seeds, nuts, insects) as the female will be too busy building their home.
When the nest is done, and the laying begins, the male flies around to search for food while the female becomes a full-time housewife.
In both instances, the males feed the females, who in turn feed the hatchings she is incubating.
Singing Is Key Both for Male and Female Cardinals
Male and female cardinals sing for many reasons, including:
Territorial Defense
As beautiful as their calls and songs are, they sing to establish territory. In fact, the male cardinal’s song is basically them announcing, “This is my spot! Trespassers will be dealt with!” to other cardinals.
Attracting Mates
Males sing to showcase their health, fitness, and ability to sire broods. Females sing to choose their mate and tell other females to keep off their chosen mating partners.
Warning Calls
The males are susceptible to predators while foraging so females sing to warn them of incoming threats.
Breeding Calls
When it’s time for breeding, both birds sing to alert each other so they can be in sync about the start of their duties during this time.
Can a Cardinal Bird be Both Male and Female?
The condition that makes animals exhibit both male and female characteristics is called “bilateral hermaphroditism.”
Cardinals, like several other birds, have been discovered to exhibit this condition. It is rare in cardinals, however, so you shouldn’t have your hopes up when searching for one that’s both a male and a female.
To identify such a cardinal, however, look for one that has one side of its body covered in full red plumage and the other side covered in yellowish-tan plumage. The masks of cardinals that are both male and female are also as dark as the ones of a male cardinal.
These birds are considered sterile, but they still engage in cardinal mating rituals. Scientists are studying the possibility of them being able to reproduce.
Final Thoughts
The female cardinal is not as spectacular to look at as the male cardinal, that’s for sure. The need for camouflage and the fact that the male cardinal’s bright red plumage is indicative of his health and ability to sire broods means that the female doesn’t need to stand out.
However, you cannot deny their beauty, especially how the colors blend on her body. You can spot a female cardinal anywhere in the eastern and central U.S., in the desert Southwest, across Mexico, and in northern Guatemala and Belize.
