Northern Cardinal Print - Male Perched

A flame on a bare branch. The male Cardinalis cardinalis sits perched and upright, crest raised, that famous crimson set against soft cream and quiet sage. The black mask draws you straight to the eye. No other bird in the eastern garden lands like this.

The red is not simple pigment. It is a carotenoid colour, built from compounds the bird absorbs through his autumn diet of berries and fruit. A well-fed male in October grows brighter plumage. The bird you see in March is the sum of what he ate the previous autumn. That depth of colour, the deep vermilion of a mature, territory-holding male, is what this plate holds.

He does not migrate. The cardinal is a year-round resident across the eastern and central United States and into Mexico, the same individual at the feeder in January as the one who sang from the rooftop in April. State bird of seven states, more than any other species claims.

The crest is not ornament. It is expression. A flat crest reads as calm; a raised crest signals aggression, courtship, or alarm. Here, fully raised, the bird is alert. Watching.

In the tradition of Audubon, this plate gives the bird its full weight in stillness.

Printed on Hahnemuhle Photo Rag 308gsm.