Cardinals mating is an interesting phenomenon to witness. As a non-migratory bird, you can literally watch a cardinal couple live together with one mate for the entire duration of its life in one area. You can also watch their hatchlings grow into adults and find mates with whom they will live for the rest of their lives.
Beyond living with a single mate for the rest of their lives, how do cardinals mate? What ensures that they mate for life? What are their mating rituals? How and where do they even find their mating partners?
Read on to find out!
What is the Mating Ritual for Cardinals?
Cardinals begin mating in spring, just after winter. Before this time, they would have spent summer and fall trying to attract a mate. Once they attract one, they begin a series of rituals to convince the other that they’re now bonded for life.
These birds are considered socially monogamous but often mate outside their original pairings on the rare occasion. It’s believed that nine to 35 percent of cardinal broods are from cardinals mating with others who aren’t their original mates.
The males do the attracting (more on this later) and the females choose their mates – vainly, I must add. They look at how big and strong he is, how red his feathers are and the markings of black around his face.
Studies have backed the females’ behaviors, though. The markings have been revealed to be an indicator of the male’s (and even female’s) conditions.
For instance, females with a big face mask show that they are good defenders of nests but for males, this means that they are not highly successful in reproduction.
What follows after successfully choosing is ritual feeding, nesting, and breeding.
Is It True That Cardinals Mate for Life?
Cardinals are territorial. It is this trait of theirs that almost forces them to mate for life. Here’s what I mean:
Adult male cardinals see a spot and declare, “This is my spot!” using their calls. Any other male who trespasses gets beat up. They even attack their own reflections because they cannot recognize themselves through a reflective surface.
Once they establish territory, their next step is to call out to the ladies with their singing. The ladies in the area who love their songs come around, and the male cardinal picks one. Once he does, he begins the mating rituals as described above.
He never stops declaring to all who listen that his property is off limits, though. The female stays because she likes how she’s being treated, and since no male can come in to steal her with his charms, she stays for life with the mate she first found.
That’s the simplest explanation about why cardinals “mate for life”.
Some studies have shown that some pairs have been known to remain together for up to 15 years or more. Even if one mate dies, the surviving cardinal may not find a new mate, showing a strong bond.
It is worth noting that not all cardinals mate for life, though. Sometimes, things just don’t work out between couples.
How Do Cardinals Find Mates?
Every spring, adult cardinals who have come of age to mate engage in certain shows to attract mates. Most of the showmanship comes from the males, as is expected of several animal species.
The following are ways by which cardinals find mates with whom they pair for life.
Singing
Cardinals have different melodious calls, most of which are general. The gender-specific cardinal calls are mostly used during mating periods. When the time comes, they use their calls to attract females and establish territory.
Display of plumage
Males begin to flaunt their stuff for females to show that they’re strong and can take care of her and the broods. They flaunt their vibrant red plumage, crest, and long tail feathers to impress potential mates.
Feeding
When one female takes an interest in a male, he begins the process of feeding her as a courtship symbol. While she sits and looks pretty, he forgets for food and feeds her. This is known as the “kiss” and is really lovely to observe. They sometimes kiss without feeding, too, by just touching each other’s beaks.
How Cardinal Couples Stick and Survive Together?
Once two Cardinals decide to be a couple, you will be amazed by how much they can endure together.
Endured the long winter
Cardinal couples survive winter like every other living, breathing being that isn’t built for the harsh season: by staying warm.
Unlike other migratory birds that move to warmer regions when their primary habitat is experiencing winter, cardinals stay in theirs all year round.
To stay warm, they fluff their feathers to trap air and hide in dense trees, shrubs, and thickets in their habitats, staying close to keep warm. The air they trap within their feathers becomes warm and helps to maintain their bodies’ temperatures.
For food, they visit every bird feeder they can find because the snow prevents foraging.
Building the nursery
Immediately after the winter is the breeding season. This is where all their mating rituals as described earlier can be observed.
Towards April, both couples start building their nest where they will raise their babies. The female scouts for the location as the male flies around bringing the materials needed for the nest: twigs, mud, fallen leaves and small sticks.
The female then sets to the building while the male goes foraging to feed the female as she builds.
When this is done, the female lays the eggs with the male nearby, and incubation begins. The male continues to forage for food.
Hatchlings
Sometimes, something happens during incubation that both the male and female cardinals tend to miss. This bird overlaps with another bird called the cowbird. The cowbird monitors cardinal couples and swaps one of its eggs for its own when the female steps out to stretch her little feet once in a while.
Cardinal females who are unlucky to face this end up incubating both cowbird and cardinal hatchlings. Cardinals incubate for two weeks, after which the eggs hatch.
The hatchlings will then be fed by the father and mother for 10 days before being left alone to live their lives while the father and mother cardinals continue as mates in preparation for the next breeding nest.
Taking a Summer Rest
After the breeding season is over, life is back to normal for cardinals who take to yards to sing their songs, eat from bird feeders, and attack their reflections.
The male and female who just successfully raised two broods (cardinals build two nests and hatch two bróds every breeding season) will continue as mates, feeding each other and spending time with each other.
At this time, their broods are literally on their own. As they are, they find mates of their own to continue the cycle of cardinal mating that we so enjoy watching and studying.
A not so fun fact: Only four of them cardinal hatchlings make it to adulthood. The good news is that these numbers have been increasing, according to ornithologists, and it’s thanks to your bird feeders!
Final Thoughts
You can witness all of this happen right in your backyard. All you need to do is make a few changes to your yard, which will make it cardinal-friendly and rid it of annoying pests.
These beautiful birds will make their way to you, and you can see their mating rituals happen. Read our article on how to attract cardinals to learn more about this!
