Northern Cardinal Diet

The northern cardinal is the state bird in seven states, a sign of the popularity of this brilliantly colored species. The northern cardinal male, all red with black facial markings is always welcome at bird feeders. The diet of the northern cardinal depends on what foods are available as the seasons change, with seeds and insects making up the bulk of this bird's menu.

  1. Seeds

    • The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission website states that the northern cardinal will eat over one hundred varieties of seeds and fruit. In addition to the blossoms and buds of trees, like the elm, the cardinal will gobble up the seeds and fruit of species such as dogwood, grape, mulberry, tulip tree, hackberry and sumac. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology website reports that the cardinal's winter foods consist of about 90 percent seeds.

    Insects

    • In the summer, as much as a third of all things consumed by the northern cardinal will be insects. The cardinal will catch and gobble down beetles, cutworms, ants, aphids, termites, grasshoppers, caterpillars, moths, cicadas and dragonflies. Creatures such as slugs, snails and spiders complete the cardinal's warm weather diet.

    While Nesting

    • The female cardinal will incubate the eggs, while the male takes on the chore of feeding her. The female will often sing out to the male to alert him that she is hungry. After the eggs hatch, the male feeds both the female and the chicks, bringing them insects and seeds for the first few days, until finally the mother can leave the young long enough to help garner food. The Wild Bird Watching website says that the young sometimes eat as much as 11 times every hour before they finally have the ability to leave the nest. At this point, the male will stand watch as the young learn to fly and continue to bring them food, while the female begins her work with the next brood.

    At the Feeder

    • The northern cardinal prefers to eat seeds from the platform feeders and the hopper feeders, with dawn and dusk the times of day it is most likely to appear for a meal. The premiere type of seeds for attracting the cardinal are black oil sunflower seeds; it will gladly return repeatedly when these are in your feeders. Other cardinal staples include cracked corn, white proso millet and safflower seeds.

    Considerations

    • The male cardinal is particularly wary when at a bird feeder or feeding platform, especially in winter when its red color easily gives away its position to potential predators. The male will pick up seeds and pass them to the female on occasion. While the cardinal feeds by itself or in pairs during breeding season, the birds can form flocks of several dozens in the winter. Cardinals will join other birds in wintertime as they forage for food; the birds often mingle with titmice, sparrows and goldfinches.