Description

John Cassin (1813-1869)
Plate 33, TheTexan Cardinal Bird
From: Illustrations of the Birds of California, Texas, Oregon, British and Russian America
Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co., 1856
Chromolithograph
Paper dimensions: 6 x 10 “
Framed dimensions: 12 x 21

With text below image:
Northern Cardinal, the state bird of 7 states, is a familiar sight at bird feeders throughout the eastern United States. The activities of humans, from forest clearing to bird-feeding, have enabled this adaptable bird to expand its range northward from the mid-Atlantic states to New York, New England and Southern Canada. Similar northward expansions have occurred in other parts of the United States. Where their ranges overlap, male cardinals and Pyrrhuloxias (C. sinuatus) are easily distinguished by plumage differences, but the plumages of females and immatures are more similar. Bill shape and color are the best clues. Vocalizations of these two species are very similar.