Morning Bird Pic

The cardinal featured over the last two days I think of as the "scruffy cardinal." I see him as the stereotypical bad boy who attracts potential lovers because he's wild and and a little dangerous and unusual. We also have another cardinal who is the "GQ cardinal," because he's more classically arrayed. A pretty boy.

I've also noted, since we have more than one cardinal pair around our feeders (I think we may have three...) that cardinals are territorial. They don't like having other cardinals around. I've seen both male and female cardinals actively chase off other cardinals they consider interlopers. Don't know if they're protecting the feeder or their respective mates (because often if one gender shows up, often so will their mate), or if it's just that they won't tolerate other cardinals in the same immediate area, but it's interesting to watch when it occurs.

Here's GQ cardinal, showing off his cover pose with a male house finch and a goldfinch. Lots of color in this one!