Cardinal or Redhird. 151 



CAEDINAL OE EEDBIED. 



One of the birds of the bushes certain to attract notice 

 in this section is the splendid cardinal or redbird. If we 

 see him flitting about during the winter, his vermilion 

 red plumage, trimmed with black and surmounted by a 

 showy crest, forms an agreeable contrast to the dreary 

 scenes about him, and the rich whistle he utters fills the 

 frosty air with unaccustomed vibrations. When he invites 

 our attention in the summer, his splendid colors are only 

 seen to better advantage amid their verdant setting, and 

 his rich, mellow notes seem fully in accord with the beauty 

 of the warmer season. Indeed, his beauty of plumage is 

 a challenge to those persons who regard our native birds 

 as lacking in ornate coloration, for nowhere do we find a 

 bird more gayly robed than the brilliant cardinal. More- 

 over, the sub-family to which the cardinal belongs includes 

 the handsome towhee and the beautiful rose-breasted 

 grosbeak, and the three species are worthy of places 

 beside the bird beauties of the world. They are eminently 

 gifted, and their individual qualities of ornate plumage, 

 sweet voice, and engaging manners are seldom found so 

 happily combined. We are particularly interested in the 

 cardinal because he is one of the few birds whose presence 

 adds cheer to the winter season, being a permanent resi- 

 dent throughout most of Illinois and corresponding lati- 

 tudes. As an additional claim upon our regard, he does 

 not hesitate to take up his summer quarters in town, 

 establishing his home in the honeysuckle clambering over 

 the trellis almost within reach of the door or window, or 

 elsewhere in the vicinity of our dwelling; and his full, 

 sympathetic notes are frequently a feature of the bird-life 

 of a given neighborhood in the cities. 



The most of the summer birds of Illinois tend toward 

 the north in their habitat, but the cardinal belongs more 

 to the avi-fauna of the south. It is a resident of the east- 

 ern States, living regularly south of the fortieth or forty- 

 first parallel, but is a casual visitor to the southern and 

 southwestern border of Ontario. In " Birds of Michigan" 



