March 9, 2008 - Cardinal Duets

Welcome to the Nature Notebook.

After a winter of relative quiet in our woodlands, hearing birds singing again is a real treat. One early songster is easily recognizable by its bright red plumage, dark mask, and crested head. You guessed it: a Northern Cardinal. Did you know that both male and female cardinals sing? In the early stages of courtship starting last month, males sing fragments of their song. By now courtship behavior begins to increase and countersinging takes place. This involves one cardinal singing a particular phrase and another matching that phrase. The first songster changes phrases with the second bird matching those changes. Countersinging occurs between rival males as an auditory sparing, but also takes place between male and female cardinals to cement the bond between them.

This is PPL's naturalist, Jon Beam, with the Nature Notebook for WVIA.