I have never seen a wild Cardinal as we do not have them in California. But they are so often pictured on Christmas cards and winter scenes that they are one of my favorite images. Some day I hope to vacation and see one! According to the National Geographic website, the birds are monogamous and the females sing as do the males. Here is the territory of the Northern Cardinal~
I have a dainty glass teapot and cups with winter branches and cardinals on them. I display them right after Thanksgiving and leave them out until Valentine's Day. Here is the size relation of an adult male Cardinal to a standard teacup~
This set greets me every day when I go into the living room~
It was a gift from a friend. I do not know the manufacturer. The set is handpainted and has golden trim and handles.
The branches are brown with red berries and green leaves. Little drifts of snow sparkle on the cups.
And these Cardinals will have to do until I take a trip outside California and see one for myself!
A day and then a week passed by:
The redbird hanging from the sill
Sang not; and all were wondering why
It was so still—
When one bright morning, loud and clear,
Its whistle smote my drowsy ear,
Ten times repeated, till the sound
Filled every echoing niche around;
And all things earliest loved by me,—
The bird, the brook, the flower, the tree,—
Came back again, as thus I heard
The cardinal bird.
When maple orchards towered aloft,
And spicewood bushes spread below,
Where skies were blue, and winds were soft,
I could but go—
For, opening through a wildering haze,
Appeared my restless childhood's days;
And truant feet and loitering mood
Soon found me in the same old wood
(Illusion's hour but seldom brings
So much the very form of things)
Where first I sought, and saw, and heard
The cardinal bird.
by W. D. Gallagher
The redbird hanging from the sill
Sang not; and all were wondering why
It was so still—
When one bright morning, loud and clear,
Its whistle smote my drowsy ear,
Ten times repeated, till the sound
Filled every echoing niche around;
And all things earliest loved by me,—
The bird, the brook, the flower, the tree,—
Came back again, as thus I heard
The cardinal bird.
When maple orchards towered aloft,
And spicewood bushes spread below,
Where skies were blue, and winds were soft,
I could but go—
For, opening through a wildering haze,
Appeared my restless childhood's days;
And truant feet and loitering mood
Soon found me in the same old wood
(Illusion's hour but seldom brings
So much the very form of things)
Where first I sought, and saw, and heard
The cardinal bird.
by W. D. Gallagher
For more information on these bright red birds visit this site:
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_cardinal/id/ac
I am sharing this post with~
Marthas Favorites
Terri at Artful Affirmations
Sandi's Rose Chintz Cottage
