Old Rugged Fence

by Nava Thompson

Title

Old Rugged Fence

Artist

Nava Thompson

Medium

Photograph - Photograph

Description

A photo taken by Nava Thompson of a red male Cardinal flying over an old rugged fence. This photo was captured on a sunny morning in NW Arkansas................................................ The northern cardinal is a territorial song bird. The male sings in a loud, clear whistle from the top of a tree or another high location to defend his territory. He will chase off other males entering his territory. He may mistake his image on various reflective surfaces as an invading male, and will fight his reflection relentlessly. The northern cardinal learns its songs, and as a result the songs vary regionally. Mated pairs often travel together......................The male often feeds the female as part of their courtship behavior.Both sexes sing clear, whistled song patterns, which are repeated several times, then varied. Some common phrases are described as cheeeer-a-dote, cheeer-a-dote-dote-dote, purdy, purdy, purdy...whoit, whoit, whoit, whoit, what-cheer, what-cheer... wheet, wheet, wheet, wheet.............. and cheer, cheer, cheer, what, what, what, what...........The northern cardinal has a distinctive alarm call, a short metallic chip sound. This call often is given when predators approach the nest, in order to give warning to the female and nestlings.................. In some cases it will also utter a series of chipping notes. The frequency and volume of these notes increases as the threat becomes greater................ This chipping noise is also used by a cardinal pair to locate each other, especially during dusk hours when visibility wanes........................Northern cardinals are preyed upon by a wide variety of predators native to North America, including falcons, all Accipiter hawks, shrikes, and several owls, including long-eared owls, and eastern screech owls. Predators of chicks and eggs include: milk snakes, coluber constrictors, blue jays, eastern gray squirrels, fox squirrels, eastern chipmunks, and domestic cats...................................The diet of the northern cardinal consists mainly (up to 90%) of weed seeds, grains, and fruits. It is a ground feeder and finds food while hopping on the ground through trees or shrubbery. It eats beetles, cicadas, grasshoppers, snails, wild fruit and berries, corn (maize) and oats, sunflower seeds, the blossoms and bark of elm trees, and drinks maple sap from holes made by sapsuckers, an example of commensalism.[17] During the summer months, it shows preference for seeds that are easily husked, but is less selective during winter, when food is scarce. Northern cardinals will also consume insects and feed their young almost exclusively on insects.

Uploaded

July 8th, 2012

Colors

Embed

Share

Tags