Cardinals are striking red songbirds found throughout North America. The bright red plumage of the males makes them easy to spot and identify. However, identifying a young cardinal can be more challenging as their plumage starts out grayish-brown and only turns red as they mature. This article will provide tips on how to identify baby cardinals based on their appearance, behavior, sounds, habitat, and range. Properly identifying young cardinals takes patience and practice as their features change rapidly in the first few weeks after hatching.
Distinguishing Features of Baby Cardinals
Here are some key ways to recognize a baby cardinal:
Size and Proportions
Baby cardinals are quite small at first, weighing just 15-18 grams when they hatch. Their bodies are round and plump. As they grow, their wings and tails lengthen so they become more proportionate in size. A young fledgling cardinal will be about half the size of an adult.
Coloration
Newly hatched cardinals have sparse gray down. At around 5 days old, their second coat grows in which is grayish-brown. Their coloring continues to change week by week. At one week old the brown darkens and feather tips are a dusky red. Between 2-3 weeks their wing and tail feathers start turning red. By one month their color is reddish-brown overall with some red feathers coming in on the face, wings, and tail. Male cardinals begin getting their vivid red feathers around 3 months old. Females also become red but with some brownish markings and a pale bill.
Beak Color
Baby cardinals start with a light pink beak that gradually turns orange, then reddish-orange, and finally bright red in mature males. Females end up with orange-red beaks. An orangish colored beak is a good indicator of a young cardinal.
Behavior
Because baby cardinals cannot yet fly, they hop around on the ground and may make short fluttering jumps from branch to branch or perch to perch. Young cardinals seem very tame and allow close observation and approach. They appear awkward compared to adult birds. Baby cardinals commonly pump their tails up and down while begging for food.
Cardinal Nestlings versus Fledglings
There are two main developmental stages to observe when identifying young cardinals:
Nestlings
Nestling cardinals are babies still in the nest being fed by their parents. They are mostly featherless at birth except for sparse gray down. Nestlings grow quickly and by two weeks already have juvenal plumage. Around 9-13 days old, their flight feathers and tail start emerging. Cardinals typically fledge from the nest at 13-16 days old.
Fledglings
Newly fledged cardinals leave the nest at two to three weeks old but cannot fly well. Fledglings hop around on the ground or make short flights from branch to branch. Parent cardinals continue caring for fledglings for several weeks as they learn to fly and forage on their own. Fledgling cardinals have brownish coloring with some red starting to show as they mature.
Cardinal Calls and Sounds
Learning the unique sounds young cardinals make can assist with identification:
Calls in the Nest
Baby cardinals make constant, loud cheeping sounds from inside the nest when begging for food. Nestlings can be very vocal, especially in the few days right before fledging.
Fledgling Call
Once outside the nest, fledglings follow their parents around and give a distinctive metallic chip call. They repeat this rapidly whenever the parents are nearby. The frequent chip note helps the parents locate the young birds in dense vegetation.
Immature Cardinal Song
Male cardinals begin practicing their songs while still in the nest. Young males develop normal whistled song by around 35 days old. However, their song may sound weak, incomplete, or choppy compared to adults.
Where to Spot Baby Cardinals
Baby cardinals remain in the vicinity of their nest for the first few weeks after hatching. Here are the best places to observe them:
Backyards
Cardinals readily nest in backyards with mature trees and dense shrubs. Watch for fledglings chasing parents around on the ground or utilizing porch railings and fence posts. Backyard feeders may attract newly independent juveniles.
Woodland Edges
Cardinals often nest along habitat edges like parks, suburbs, or woodland trails. Search the transitional zones between forests and open yards or fields. Fledglings will be sticking to thickets and bushes as they learn to fly.
Nesting Area
Approach any location where you’ve spotted adult cardinals carrying nesting material, food, or fecal sacks. Cardinals show high nest site fidelity, reusing the same territory over successive years. Old nests are compact, sturdy cups of twigs lined with grasses.
Breeding Range
Cardinals live year-round across eastern North America and into Mexico. The densest populations occur through the Midwest, Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. Focus on areas within this main breeding range to find young cardinals.
Cardinal Nesting Season
The timing of nests and young gives clues to birds’ ages:
Peak Breeding
Most cardinals raise their first brood from April to June. The majority of nestlings and fledglings will be observed during these months.
Second Broods
Cardinals can raise 2-3 broods per spring. Second nestings occur July through September, so juveniles are common in mid to late summer.
Overwintering Young
Cardinals that hatched in the previous summer may retain some brownish feathers through their first winter into early spring.
Common Lookalike Species
Several other backyard birds could be mistaken for young cardinals. Compare key identification features:
Species | Size | Shape | Beak | Plumage |
Northern Cardinal | 18-21 cm | Plump, crest | Heavy, orange to red | Grayish-brown to red |
House Finch | 13-17 cm | Small, no crest | More slender, yellow | Brown streaked |
Rose-breasted Grosbeak | 18-22 cm | Stocky, large beak | Thick, pale | Brown with bold head pattern |
Scarlet Tanager | 13-17 cm | Slim, pointed wings | Cone-shaped, pale | Yellow-green to orange-red |
Immature House Finches
Young House Finches have heavily streaked brown plumage. Their wing bars lack the red or orange seen on Cardinal fledglings. House Finch beaks are more slender and yellowish.
Juvenile Grosbeaks
Rose-breasted Grosbeak juveniles have large thick beaks adapted for crushing seeds. Their heads show bold black and white patterns very different from a cardinal.
First-Year Scarlet Tanagers
Young Scarlet Tanagers shift from greenish-yellow to orange-red plumage. Their pointed wings and pale conical bills differ from the Cardinals’ rounded silhouette.
Conclusion
Identifying a young Northern Cardinal requires you to look at the full picture of size, shape, colors, patterns, sounds, behaviors, location, and time of year. Cardinals pass through several distinct stages from hatchling to adult. Their appearance and habits change rapidly over the first few months. With practice, you can learn to recognize nestlings by their calls, fledglings by their chaotic flying, and juveniles by their imperfect song. Paying attention to the details of Cardinals’ development will prepare you to spot each life stage. Keep an eye on backyard feeders and nesting sites to witness baby Cardinals grow up before your eyes.