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Converted from paper version of the Broad Ripple Gazette (v12n01)
Right in my Own Backyard - Test Your Cardinal IQ - by Brandt Carter
posted: Jan. 09, 2015

Right in my Own Backyard header

Test Your Cardinal IQ

Winter's landscape tends to be decidedly bleak and colorless - all the more cardinals are a welcome sight. The bright red of the male blazes on the drab tundra or white snow. To my thinking, these magnificent winged creatures are eye candy in our backyards. So to start the New Year, let's see just how much you know about our state bird. Here is some cardinal trivia; see how well you do. (Answers at bottom of page):

True or False 1. The female cardinal is a drab brown while the male cardinal is bright red.
True or False 2. The female cardinal sings more than the male cardinal.
True or False 3. A cardinal will attack its reflection in a window because it thinks this could be a new mate.
True or False 4. Although the colors of the male and female will differ, they do have the same black face and red-orange bill.
True or False 5. When the birds are courting, you may see a male cardinal feed the female cardinal.
True or False 6. Cardinals search out the best birdhouse to build their nest.
True or False 7. Cardinals can sing up to 32 different calls.
True or False 8. Cardinals were named after the red-robed cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church.
True or False 9. The first state to recognize a cardinal as its state mascot was in 1926.
10. What time of the day are you most likely to see cardinals at your birdfeeder ? ______________
11. What number is associated with the Northern Cardinal? ____________.
12. Name the states that have the cardinal is their official bird.

Yes, cardinals keep me interested in my backyard, especially during January. By offering black oil sunflower in seed or chips and safflower, they are constant diners at my birdfeeder. Their "cheer, cheer, cheer" or "purty, purty, purty" calls alert me to their presence. I have also appreciated the authors who have enjoyed these birds including Gene Stratton Porter in The Cardinal or Fannie Flagg's A Redbird Christmas.
Next time you see a cardinal in your yard, I hope you will know a bit more about our state bird.

Answers

1. T, the female has a red blush on its breast
2. F, the male sings more
3. F, they think their reflection is an intruder so they attack their refection to defend their territory
4. T
5. T, this is very tender behavior to watch
6. F, cardinals build their nests in low shrubs not houses
7. F, 16 different calls
8. T, originally they were called a Redbird
9. T, Kentucky was the first to name the cardinal as its state bird
10. First in the morning & last at night
11. 12
12. Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, & West Virgin


Brandt Carter, artist, herbalist, and naturalist, owns Backyard Birds at 2374 E. 54th Street. Visit her web site www.feedbackyardbirds.com. Email your bird questions to Brandt@BroadRippleGazette.com



brandt@broadripplegazette.com
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