It is said that cardinals symbolize hope, joy, health, rejuvenation and celebration. There are also those who believe that when a cardinal appears then an angel is near. The male is the most colorful one of the couple. Both male and female sing all year round. It is through a song that females sing from their nest that informs the male when to bring food. The pair shares some melodic phrases but the female has a more elaborate song, which is unusual in singing birds. The melody is pleasant and it resembles a whistle, but sometimes they make more mechanical “clinks”. As cardinals do not seem to need a lot of sleep, you may hear them singing in the morning well before sunrise. Cardinals are good parents. The male cardinal shares in the duties of parenthood with his mate, feeding and caring for the mother during and after incubation. His fatherly instincts direct him to protect and care for the mother and babies until they are safely out of the nest. Young cardinals frequently follow their parents on the ground for several days after leaving the nest. They tend to remain with their parents until they are able to find food on their own.
It is interesting to note that while the male is caring for his family his bright red color will change to a duller shade of brown and his appearance will be more like that of his female counterpart. This transformation of color occurs as a camouflage helping him to fulfill his duties as a dedicated parent. http://www.thecardinalexperience.com
Northern cardinals appear to have a longer-lasting marriage than most songbirds. During winter, the two are not very nice to each other, but come spring, the male’s fancy takes a new direction. Instead of chasing the female away from the bird feeder, as he did all winter, he offers her a sunflower seed and the courtship starts again. Whether they are the same male and female as last spring, we can’t be sure, but most of us would like to think so. After all, it’s nice to have the ending, “and they lived happily ever after.”
http://www.birdsandblooms.com/birding/birding-basics/birds-mate-life
The reference for these two again came from Rodney Campbell.
This is an 8" x 10" on stretched linen. $100 + $5 shipping...email me if interested in giving this couple a home. paintingbythelake@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment