Fauna Flora Photography

Northern Cardinal Cardinalis cardinalis

In the winter, the most colourful bird that can be found in woods and forests around Montreal. Northern Cardinal usually appears as couple. If you spot a male the female is not for away.

How to Identify

Both, male and female are easily identified. The male is completely red, the female brownish, light brown almost yellow on the breast, darker almost olive on the back and with partially red wings. Both have a black mask around the reddish beak.

Where and When to Spot

There is no park where I haven’t seen Northern Cardinals. Early in the morning, the male exposes himself by sitting on a branch performing his chant. Due to its intensive red color easily to spot. The female may not be for away, somewhere hidden in the bushes at lower ground.

Where and when a species has been observed, identified, and recorded.

Videos of Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)

Last updated on 2023-12-15. Written and regularly updated by Karl-Heinz Müller, Dipl. Natw. ETH, Biology. With 10 years of experience in wildlife photography, Karl-Heinz shares first-hand, on-site collected observations, photos and videos from his frequent visits to parks in the Montreal area.