THE CARDINAL 
By WILLIAM DUTCHER 

The National Association of Audubon Societies 
Educational Leaflet No. 18 
1 
[ The Cardinal is one of that group of large finches called Grosbeaks, 
! that is, “great beaks”; and it is among the most brilliant of American 
birds. The name refers to its color, which is that deep red, somewhat 
! less vivid than scarlet, that distinguishes the cassock of a cardinal — 
; an ecclesiastic of high rank in the Roman Church. More generally, how- 
ever, the bird is called Redbird, or in some places Winter Redbird; and 
IN US i AINU iiUtjS UE I HE, UA KU1INAL 
Photographed in Central Park, New York City, by B. S. Bowdish 
it is known in Europe, and among dealers in cage-birds, as the Virginia 
Nightingale. James Lane Allen, by the title of his novel, “The Kentucky 
Cardinal,” has spread this grosbeak’s fame all over the English-reading 
world. 
The accompanying plate shows the Cardinal’s most prominent features 
^a very large, strong bill, a conspicuous crest, which may be erected 
or depressed at will, short, rounded wings, and a long tail. The female, 
while not so conspicuous as her mate, is clad in rich brown, with just 
enough red to light it up well. They are, indeed, a handsome pair. The 
plumage remains much the same at all seasons of the year. 
