Hawks do eat cardinals, and this interaction is common in backyards across North America. The Northern Cardinal, a beloved and visually striking songbird, is a frequent prey item for certain raptors, especially in suburban and urban environments. This interaction is most often observed when cardinals congregate at backyard bird feeders, which inadvertently creates a predictable hunting ground for avian predators.
The Primary Hawk Species Involved
The hawks most frequently responsible for preying on cardinals belong to the genus Accipiter, which includes the Cooper’s Hawk and the Sharp-shinned Hawk. These raptors are considered “bird-eating specialists” due to their unique physical structure optimized for navigating dense woodlands and catching fast, agile prey. Accipiters are characterized by relatively short, rounded wings and long tails, which provides superior maneuverability in cluttered environments like suburban tree canopies.
The Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii), the larger and more common of the two, often targets medium-sized songbirds such as cardinals, robins, and doves. In contrast, Buteo hawks, like the Red-tailed Hawk, are built for soaring high above open country and typically prey on small mammals. When a hawk is sighted taking a cardinal from a backyard, it is almost certainly the work of an Accipiter using an ambush technique, often drawn by the abundance of songbirds at feeders.
Cardinal Habits that Increase Risk
Several characteristics and behaviors of the Northern Cardinal make it a particularly vulnerable target for Accipiter hawks. The male cardinal’s brilliant red plumage, while attractive to mates, makes it highly conspicuous against neutral backgrounds like winter foliage or suburban lawns. This high visibility essentially acts as a beacon for a hunting hawk, breaking the camouflage that protects many other songbirds.
Cardinals also have a strong preference for foraging on the ground, often scratching through leaf litter to find seeds and insects. Their habit of lingering near or under stationary bird feeders to pick up spilled seeds further increases their risk of ambush. These ground-level activities put them far from the safety of dense cover, allowing a quick-striking hawk an unobstructed approach. Additionally, cardinals are medium-sized songbirds with a relatively slower flight speed compared to smaller, more erratic fliers, making them an easier target to intercept.
Protecting Backyard Birds
Homeowners concerned about protecting cardinals can implement several strategies to reduce the hawk’s hunting success. One of the most effective measures is ensuring that any feeding station is located within ten feet of dense, protective cover, such as thick evergreen shrubs or brush piles. This close proximity allows cardinals to immediately dive into safety upon detecting a threat, significantly decreasing the hawk’s strike window.
Proper feeder placement also involves avoiding open areas and placing feeders away from reflective surfaces like large windows, which can cause fatal bird strikes during a rapid escape maneuver. If a hawk establishes a regular presence in the yard, temporarily removing all feeders for one to two weeks can encourage the raptor to move its hunting territory elsewhere. Utilizing feeders with built-in trays or placing wire mesh underneath them can also limit the time cardinals spend exposed while foraging on the ground.