Red Birds That Come to Your Backyard
Red Birds catch our eyes, whether they are hopping around our backyards or at our feeders. To help identify the "guests" coming to your feeders, here is a field guide to the most common "red-birds". If I had photos of both male and female of each species I included them. There are several woodpeckers in North America that have red on their bodies, also. You may want to check that page to identify your bird.
Cardinal (8 1/2 ")
Cardinal cardinalis
| Male: | completely red with crest on head; black around beak | | Female: | tan - olive color with red on wings, beak, top of crest, wings and tail | | Diet: | insects, spiders, seeds, fruits and berries | | Feeder foods: | prefers sunflower seed, safflower sed and cracked corn | | Nesting: | open cup chaped nest of twigs, grass etc. placed inshrub or small tree | | Birdhouse: | will not use bird house | | Voice: | a variety of clear whistled notes | | Note: | a southern bird that has steadily moved northward |
Photo credit: left -male U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service Digital Library - http://images.fws.gov/;right photo - female by Donna Long, 2007
Photo shows male
Ruby-throated Hummingbird (3 1/2")
Archilochus colubris
| Male: | iridescent red throat, upperparts green, dark head
| | Female: | no red on throat, throat is white, upperpartsgreen, green head
| | Diet: | sips nectar from flowers, insects, spiders, sap fromsap sucker holes | | Feeder food: | Drinks sugar water mixture from hummingbird feeder | | Nesting: | Female builds open cupped nest of twigs in trees or onledges of buildings | Birdhouse:
| no
| | Voice: | loud high squeaks | | Note: | only hummingbird in most of eastern NorthAmerica
|
Photo credit: Drawings of light-Paul, on Flickr - 7/12/07
Photo shows male
House Finch (5 1/2")
Carpodacies mexicanus
| Male: | plummage varies in color from yelow to bright red; redis present on chest and head | | Female: | streaked gray-brown plummage | | Diet: | buds, blossoms, fruits and weed seeds | | Feeder food: | sunflower and nyjer seeds | | Nesting: | cavity nester in a building; or feamle buildsa open cup nest of twigs in dense foliage particuarly evergreens | | Birdhouse: | no | | Voice: | clear, bright warblingsong | | Note: | Orignally a bird of western North America, introducedinto Eastern North America in 1940
|
Photo credit: Donna Long, 2007
Photo shows male
Purple Finch (6")
Carpodacus purpureus
| Male: | pale raspbeery red head, back and chest | | Female: | heavily streaked dark brown | | Diet: | seeds and buds of trees and weds, berries and insects | | Feeder food: | sunflower seed and millet | | Nesting: | female builds an open cup nest of twigs and grassesnear the tip of a conifer branch | | Birdhouse: | no | | Voice: | a continuous bubbly warbling song | | Note: | irruptive in some winters |
Photo credit: heyjules45 on Flickr 7/12/07
Photo shows male
American Robin (10")
Turdus migratorius
| Male: | rusty red breast with black head | | Female: | pale rustyred breast with darkgray head | | Diet: | earthworms, insects, fruit, and berries | | Feeder food: | fruit | | Nesting: | female builds open saucer shaped nest ogtwigs and grasess in tree, shrub of building ledge | | Birdhouse: | no | | Voice: | ringing whistle that sounds like cheerup, cheerup | | Note: | gathers in flocks after breeding season from fallthrough winter
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Photo credit: U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service Digital Library - http://images.fws.gov/
From Red Birds Return to Birds
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