I really like the subdued beauty of female Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis), although this one that I spotted last week at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge was such a messy eater that I wanted to pass her a napkin. The red coloration of male cardinals make them much easier to spot than females, but sometimes the red seems so bright that it is almost garish. The female has delicate accents of red that I find more refined and at least equally appealing.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
so cute! very sweet little bird.
😂She does need a napkin! 😂 great photo!
Blue Rock Horses Frederick County, Virginia bluerockhorses.com
You are right about cardinals being messy eaters!
Great catch light 👏👏👏
Nice image Mike! Maybe a small napkin would help! Like the eye detail!
Thanks, Reed. The light shining in the eye was a real bonus, given the fact that there were shadows falling on other parts of the cardinal’s body.
Love her red eye shadow! Very hip. Lol.
Seriously I often feel I can trace back human behavior (and things humans have “made”) – to behavior and things in nature. Could eye shadow be one of them?!?
Though perhaps eyes being so important, it’s natural to accentuate them. Even without copying directly. So many questions!
Most people in the general public wouldn’t recognize a female cardinal as a cardinal.