Why so red, Mr. Cardinal?

The flamboyant male Northern cardinal sings from high perches when courting, and unlike many other birds, when fall rolls around, doesn’t trade in his red breeding plumes for a drab winter coat. While this might seem to make him an obvious target for a hawk looking for a meal, there’s a scientific basis for both his bright coloring and enthusiastic singing: to advertise what a good mate he will make.

According to Birds of America Online, brighter males have a higher rate of reproductive success, hold better territories, and offer more parental care. By responding to the male’s redness in her mate selection, females encourage the evolution of bright coloring in males. At the same time, the female’s muted colors provide her and her nest with a protective camouflage that the male lacks.

Despite its low rate of nesting success (typically, fewer than 40 percent of nests fledge at least one young), their long breeding season (often producing two broods), the fact that they are adaptable and can live almost anywhere, and do not migrate (which is risky business, at best), cardinals are a successful and common species—so it’s safe to assume that Nature knows what she’s doing with the male’s bright red plumage!

Mourning doves all winter

In years past, we’ve always had a couple of mourning doves that were regular visitors, eating the sunflower seeds off the ground that fell from the feeders. We see and hear them during the rest of the year, but this is the first time they came to feed as a flock and stayed all winter.

Earlier in the season, they were very flighty. taking off into the woods at the slightest sound. But as the weeks went by, they grew more trusting, flying into the nearby trees when we went outside, returning to feed after only a brief time away.

Maybe since they found a reliable food source, they’ll return next winter. Meanwhile, I look forward to hearing their soft cooing when breeding season rolls around…which should be soon!