Male Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) are featured in photographs much more frequently than their female counterparts. In fact, last week a male cardinal was the star of my blog entry entitled Cardinal Directions. The male cardinal is so bright and conspicuous that he is hard to miss, like a song played with the volume cranked up.
Sometimes, though, my eyes prefer a more delicate, refined beauty and at those moments I find the look of the lady cardinal more to my tastes. There is still some bright red coloration, but it serves as a tasteful accent against the warm brown tones of the rest of the body.
I usually have trouble getting clear shots of female cardinals, who seem to prefer the inside parts of bushes. In this case, I managed to get a mostly unobstructed view and the green of the background blurred out pretty well.
The position of her body is interesting too. It looks like she was facing forward and turned her head to look at me. Perhaps, though, I caught her in the midst of her morning exercise routine—the pose looks like the trunk twists that are done in aerobics classes. Cardinals (like most of us) are not immune to putting on some extra weight during the holiday season, it seems, and she may be trying to stay toned and fit.
Lady Cardinal
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved
She certainly is all puffed up. It must have been cold that day!
I think I took the photo one cold morning when it was in the low thirties. I guess that puffing up like that helps them maintain body heat?
That’s what my grandmother always used to say, but I don’t know how scientifically accurate that is.I do know that birds always look fatter to me when it’s cold.
Terrific post..
very nice shot! It’s not common to see the female cardinals..
Thanks. The bright color of the male makes them really easy to spot. I think the females are around much, but we just don’t see them.