Tom DePuy Loc: Waxhaw, N.C.

Saw these two Cardinals on the loose at the Riverbanks Zoo....
And it was a male and a female, I wonder if they are a Mr. and Mrs....

(Download)


(Download)

Dave327 Loc: Duluth, GA. USA

Probably, Cardinals mate for life. They can raise 3 to 5 broods a year, building a new nest for each nesting.

kpmac Loc: Ragley, La

I agree. Probably a mated pair. Nice shots.

CaptainBobBrown

At this time of year on Hawaii Island many birds are starting into their mating cycles so if I find a male and female cardinal staying near each other it's likely that they are or soon will be a mating pair. It's interesting to watch a pair for a while because often another male will invade their territory and the defending male, usually within seconds, vigorously chases the invader away. If your two cardinals were separate but tending to move around the area together they were likely to be planning to be together for at least their next brood.

As each male gets an established mating territory he'll spend a lot of time announcing it to any competitors by sitting on a high point (tree top or whatever) singing in a particular way that they don't use out of 'season'. The size and shape of their territories tend to be similarly sized (limited by how much space they can defend in all directions) so if you can find a place where you can see a number of males making "This is my territory" calls you can get a good idea of which ones have been successful getting a mate. The others will be flitting amongst the trees trying looking for love in all the wrong places.

You'll know the breeding cycle is over when their territory calls stop, usually within just a few weeks from beginning to end.

I wonder from my observations of Northern red cardinals in the wild if they really do "mate for life" as Dave327 asserts. I suspect that it has more to do with availability of a receptive female at the beginning of the cycle because in between times I don't see the same obvious male/female proximity and the females seem to be moving around and feeding quite independently of any males. I can imagine that cardinals in captivity or scarce populations might tend to repeatedly have the same partners but in the wild, here at least, where there is a sizable population of cardinals all year around I'd be surprised if the mating pairs were a stable combination.

Maybe a better analogy is the difference in mating behavior between young humans in New York City vs. any small town in rural America?

FvS Loc: Netherlands

Very nice shots , specially the female , I had a male who landed in my backyard who had escaped from an aviary ...
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-571946-1.html#9741866

(Download)

Tom DePuy Loc: Waxhaw, N.C.

Yes I'm pretty sure they were probably mates, I did see them a couple of times during the day and they were together.

Tom DePuy Loc: Waxhaw, N.C.

Thanks

Tom DePuy Loc: Waxhaw, N.C.

Great story here CBB. I have noticed here with the Cardinals in my backyard that they seem to be behaving in the manners that you have described here.

Tom DePuy Loc: Waxhaw, N.C.

Thanks FvS, I had actually just finished looking at your post about the time you posted here.... Tom

FvS Loc: Netherlands

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

Nice ones, Tom--my favorite bird.

Tom DePuy Loc: Waxhaw, N.C.

Thanks John

Red Sky At Night

Very nice captures. 🤭

photophile Loc: Lakewood, Ohio, USA

Good ones. I've seen local ducks, chipmunks and geese in our zoo and turkey vultures flying overhead there and many other places.

DebAnn Loc: Toronto

Yes, you can be sure they are a pair. Sometimes in Toronto I have seen two males and a female feeding but probably the second female is close by. It's common to see one of a pair feeding on the ground while the other keeps watch on a tree branch.