10 U.S. NATIONAL MUSEUM BULLETIN 237 part i 



As further evidence of its pugnacity, the cardinal occasionally in- 

 dulges in "shadow boxing," fighting its own image in a window pane 

 or mirror, as if it were a rival. Both sexes do this. 



Chapman (1912) refers to the cardinal as "rather a clumsy fellow. 

 His body appears to be stiff, as if it were made of wood, different in 

 every way from the pliant, lithe body of the Catbird, for example. 

 He hops about on the ground with tail held well up out of harm's 

 way, and comes heavily down upon his feet, as if his body were really 

 very solid. In fact, he is not at all a graceful bird." 



Thomas S. Roberts (1932) says: "It is a rather restless, uneasy 

 bird, moving constantly about, and when disturbed, registers its 

 annoyance by elevating the crest to the fullest extent and accom- 

 panying its rather feeble chij) by quick jerks of the long tail." 



Some observers have stated that cardinals seldom bathe, or that 

 the male rarely does so. But there is considerable evidence that both 

 sexes bathe, and in all sorts of weather. Mrs. W. W. Dickinson, of 

 Bluefield, W. Va., writes to Mrs. Laskey (MS.) that she has many 

 records of both male and female cardinals bathing. She has several 

 records for December, January, and February. On Dec. 23, 

 1945, with a foot of snow on the ground, she observed five males 

 and two females bathing that day, all separately, as she has never 

 seen more than one cardinal bathing at a time. On Mar. 5, 1947, a 

 male bathed with two house sparrows about noon when there was 5 

 feet of snow, and there was ice in the water. 



Mrs. Laskey says in her notes: "January 5, 1946, about noon, 

 with a steady rain falling, a male cardinal stood on our driveway, 

 shaking wings and tail, going through the motions of bathing as the 

 driving rain came from the southwest. Once he flew to a tree, but 

 returned to the driveway to resume bathing in the rain." 



Cardinals, like some other birds, are sometimes addicted to the 

 curious habit of "anting"; this consists of picking up ants, crushing 

 them and rubbing them through the plumage, under the wings, 

 about the thighs, and at the base of the tail; the object of it may 

 not be fully understood, but it is supposed to be for the purpose of 

 anointing the plumage with formic acid to discourage vermin; after 

 thorough "anting," the plumage appears wet, as though the juice 

 had been squeezed out of the ants. 



Referring to the gregarious character of the cardinal, Nuttall 

 (1832) says: 



But though they usually live only in families or pairs, and at all times disperse 

 into these selective groups, yet in severe weather, at sunset, in South Carolina, 

 I observed a flock passing to a roost in a neighboring swamp and bushy lagoon, 

 which continued, in lengthened file, to fly over my head at a considerable height 

 for more than 20 minutes together. The beautiful procession, illumined by the 

 last rays of the setting sun, was incomparably splendid as the shifting shadowy 



