Northern Cardinals are a vibrant presence in many landscapes, and their nests are equally captivating structures that blend seamlessly into their surroundings. Understanding their appearance, from construction to contents, offers insight into these common birds. Their carefully crafted homes are often subjects of curiosity.
Distinctive Features of the Nest Structure
A cardinal’s nest is a cup-shaped structure, typically measuring 2 to 3 inches tall and 4 inches across, with an inner diameter of around 3 inches. The female cardinal, the primary builder, constructs the nest in several layers. She crushes twigs with her beak to make them pliable, then uses her body to bend them into a cup shape.
The nest consists of four distinct layers. The outermost layer is coarse twigs, followed by a leafy mat. An intermediate layer features grapevine bark, which provides additional support. The inner lining is crafted from finer materials such as grasses, stems, rootlets, and pine needles, creating a soft, secure space for eggs and young. Cardinals may incorporate human-made materials like string or paper into their nests, particularly in urban environments.
Typical Nesting Locations
Cardinals build their nests in dense foliage, preferring locations that offer significant concealment and protection. They choose dense shrubs, small trees, and tangles of vines. Common plant choices include dogwood, honeysuckle, hawthorn, grape, redcedar, spruce, pines, hemlock, rose bushes, and blackberry brambles.
Nests are placed low to mid-level, ranging from 1 to 15 feet above the ground, with many found between 3 and 10 feet high. They are wedged into a fork of small branches or within a dense thicket, camouflaging them from potential predators. Cardinals are adaptable, found in various habitats like forest edges, overgrown fields, hedgerows, and suburban backyards, but they do not utilize birdhouses for nesting.
Appearance of Eggs and Young
A cardinal’s nest holds a clutch of two to five eggs, most often three or four. These small eggs measure approximately 0.9 to 1.1 inches (2.2 to 2.7 cm) in length and 0.7 to 0.8 inches (1.7 to 2 cm) in width. Their color varies, appearing as pale greenish-white, grayish-white, buffy white, or whitish to pale bluish or greenish white.
The eggs feature irregular blotches, spots, or speckles in shades of pale gray, brown, reddish-brown, or purplish-brown. These markings are more concentrated towards the larger end, providing camouflage that helps them blend into the nest’s environment.
Upon hatching, cardinal nestlings are nearly naked, with sparse tufts of grayish down, and their eyes are closed. They are initially clumsy and have translucent, yellowish skin. As they grow, pin feathers emerge, developing into brown-gray juvenile plumage, and their characteristic crest forms around 10 days to two weeks after hatching. Young cardinals leave the nest when they are between 7 to 13 days old.