Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)

Northern Cardinal [lateral view of adult male]. Photograph Credit: Stephen J. Stedman; City Lake, Putnam County, Tennessee; 13 February 2012.

Abundance: Common at all seasons throughout the Region, but more so in areas with fragmented habitats and less so in areas with unbroken forest, of which large areas present on the Cumberland Plateau; recorded in all Regional counties (Map of UCR Distribution); data from the Regional bird-monitoring efforts indicate the population residing in the Region is quite stable (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).

Status: Permanent Resident; specimen (8 June 1938; Rocky Branch, Wayne County, Kentucky; W. M. Perrygo; Wetmore 1940); photograph [ventral view of adult female perched] (Stephen J. Stedman; Putnam County, Tennessee; 26 December 2011); photograph [lateral view of adult female with wings spread] (Veronica Wright; Crossville, Cumberland County, Tennessee; 19 February 2011).

Regional High Count and SBC/SBB High Count: 652 (12 May 2007; Putnam County, Tennessee [SBC]; m. ob.); CBC/CBB High Count: 618 (29 December 2007; Pulaski County, Kentucky [Somerset CBC]; m. ob.); FBC/FBB High Count: 347 (20 September 2008; Putnam County, Tennessee [FBC]; m. ob.).

Breeding: Confirmed (Recent).

Habitat: The cardinal has benefited greatly from all the "edge" habitats created by the general fragmentation and suburbanization of Regional forests at sites within 10–15 km or more of population centers, as well as by the presence of such habitats in those portions of the Regional landscape dominated by agricultural activities.  It also does moderately well in unbroken forest, though noticeably less abundant at such sites than in the others mentioned.

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: Registered on 122 (of 125) monthly check-lists during 2003, the highest total obtained among all species, and on 203 (of 206) check-lists during 2004, tied for the second-highest total obtained among all species, testifying to the high frequency of occurrence of the cardinal in Regional yards and neighborhoods, a frequency that is quite comparable to its Regional abundance classification as measured by other types of bird surveys conducted in the Region.

Foray Results: A summary of data from UCR Forays follows (to view a map displaying foray data for a county or a sub-Region for this species, click on the name of an underlined county or state below):

* Because some foray blocks fall into two or three counties, the total of blocks in the Kentucky or Tennessee portions of the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the counties of each portion of the Region; similarly, because some blocks fall into both states, the total of blocks for the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the two states.

Remarks: Based on a considerable body of evidence, the state bird of Kentucky appears to be doing quite well in the Region.

    Cardinals exhibit fairly strong site fidelity, as evidenced by the following: A banded male transported c. 6.5 km from its territory in Cookeville, Putnam County, Tennessee, to a site adjacent to City Lake, Putnam County, Tennessee, returned to the former site within one year; however, when later transported c. 35 km to a site in DeKalb County, Tennessee, the same male did not appear to return to Cookeville (Stedman 2006–2011).  Most cardinals probably lead fairly sedentary lives, seldom moving more than 1 km from their hatching site.

    Albinistic or leucistic individuals appear from time to time, usually displaying a small degree of white plumage; no records of an albino within the Region.

Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.

Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.

Literature Cited