Northern Cardinal

The male Northern Cardinal may be responsible for getting more people to open up a field guide than any other bird. Theyre a perfect combination of familiarity, conspicuousness, and style a shade of red you cant take your eyes off. Even the brown females sport a sharp crest and warm red accents. Cardinals dont migrate and they dont molt into a dull plumage, so theyre still breathtaking in winters snowy backyards. In summer, their sweet whistles are one of the first sounds of the morning.