northern cardinal

[nawr-thern kahr-dn-l]

noun

1. a distinctively crested songbird, Cardinalis cardinalis, the male of which is bright red: the most familiar cardinal in the eastern half of the United States and much of Mexico.

Word History and Origins

Origin of northern cardinal¹

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

It also had a thin, yellow bill like a chicken instead of the thick, orange bill of our northern cardinal—a trait that gynandromorphism wouldn’t alter.

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As the environment warms, southern species such as the grass wren and the northern cardinal spread further north in search of a suitable climate.

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Researchers found that two common songbirds, the Northern Cardinal and Carolina Wren, that live year-round in the urban core of San Antonio, Texas, had eyes about 5% smaller than members of the same species from the less bright outskirts.

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Then other birds, like the northern cardinal and the goldfinch.

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Shortly after a bright red northern cardinal winged into the Ohio feeder for the second time in two minutes and stuffed its beak, I sent its photo to the family text thread.

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