# Northern cardinal (*Cardinalis cardinalis*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/northern-cardinal  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) is a bird in the songbirds and other perching birds subgroup, placed in the family Cardinalidae of the order Passeriformes. It is a small bird with an adult body mass of 42.6 g and a body length of 21.6 cm. Its diet category is omnivore, its trophic level is listed as herbivore, and it is a sedentary, perching bird of shrubland habitat. It lays 3.12 eggs per clutch with 2.5 clutches per year, and the IUCN lists it as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 41.8 g – 44.1 g |
| Length | 21.6 cm |
| Lifespan | 15.8 years |
| Diet | Omnivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 28.5 years |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | shrubland |
| Egg incubation | 12.5 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 3.12 |
| Age at maturity | 12 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 2.5 |
| Reproduction | Eggs |
| Lifestyle | Perching |
| Migration | Sedentary |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Passeriformes
- family: Cardinalidae
- genus: Cardinalis
- species: *Cardinalis cardinalis* (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms: *Cardinalis virginianus*, *Loxia cardinalis*, *Richmondena cardinalis*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the northern cardinal?

The northern cardinal is a bird in the songbirds and other perching birds subgroup, in the family Cardinalidae of the order Passeriformes.

### How big is the northern cardinal?

The northern cardinal weighs 42.64 g, with values from 41.83 g to 44.08 g reported, and has a body length of 21.59 cm.

### What does the northern cardinal eat?

The northern cardinal is classed as an omnivore, and its trophic level is listed as herbivore.

### Is the northern cardinal endangered?

No. The northern cardinal is listed as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

### How long does the northern cardinal live?

The northern cardinal has a lifespan of 15.8 years in our sources, with up to 28.5 years reported.

### How many eggs does the northern cardinal lay?

The northern cardinal lays 3.12 eggs per clutch, with 2.5 clutches per year and an incubation period of 12.5 days.

### What habitat does the northern cardinal use?

The northern cardinal uses shrubland habitat and is a sedentary, perching bird.

### Who named the northern cardinal?

The northern cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis, was named by (Linnaeus, 1758).

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), CC BY 4.0, v7. Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/northern-cardinal