Conservation and Management

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Common to abundant over much of range in eastern and central North America. Between 1970 and 2014, Breeding Bird Survey data indicated that the population in Canada and the United States increased by an estimated 17% (364 Rosenberg, K. V., J. A. Kennedy, R. Dettmers, R. P. Ford, D. Reynolds, J. D. Alexander, C. J. Beardmore, P. J. Blancher, R. E. Bogart, G. S. Butcher, A. F. Camfield, A. Couturier, D. W. Demarest, W. E. Easton, J. J. Giocomo, R. H. Keller, A. E. Mini, A. O. Panjabi, D. N. Pashley, T. D. Rich, J. M. Ruth, H. Stabins, J. Stanton, and T. Will (2016). Partners in Flight Landbird Conservation Plan: 2016 Revision for Canada and Continental United States. Partners in Flight Science Committee. Close ).

Habitat Loss and Degradation

The Northern Cardinal has benefited from human alteration of environments throughout most of their range. By converting forests to agricultural and suburban areas (370 Suarez-Rubio, M., P. Leimgruber, and S. C. Renner (2011). Influence of exurban development on bird species richness and diversity. Journal of Ornithology 152(2): 461–471. Close ), and supplying food at winter feeders, human development has increased nesting habitat and enabled the species to remain during winter in areas not suitable in the past (371 Zuckerberg, B., D. N. Bonter, W. M. Hochachka, W. D. Koenig, A. T. DeGaetano, and J. L. Dickinson (2011). Climatic constraints on wintering bird distributions are modified by urbanization and weather. Journal of Animal Ecology 80(2): 403–413. Close ). Winter feeding stations appeared to be important to maintain a small population in Nova Scotia (171 Erskine, A. J. (1992). Atlas of Breeding Birds of the Maritime Provinces. Nova Scotia Museum, Halifax, NS, Canada. Close ). In Tucson, Arizona, data from the Winter Bird-Population Study and Breeding Bird Census reported densities of < 6–11 birds/km² in undisturbed to moderately disturbed paloverde–saguaro (Cercidium–Carnegia gigantea) habitat, 10–40 birds/km² in "exurban" and suburban habitat, and 5–42 birds/km² in urban habitat (368 Tweit, R. C., and J. C. Tweit (1986). Urban development effects on the abundance of some common resident birds of the Tucson area of Arizona. American Birds 40: 431–436. Close ). In Hawaii, after clearing of native rainforest, Northern Cardinal was among the first bird species to recolonize and occurred in higher abundances after disturbance than any native species (372 Sakai, H. F. (1988). Avian response to mechanical clearing of a native rainforest in Hawaii. Condor 90: 339–348. Close ).

This species occupies a variety of urban habitats, as long as appropriate shrubby habitat is present (373 Rousseau, J. S., J.-P. L. Savard, and R. Titman (2015). Shrub-nesting birds in urban habitats: Their abundance and association with vegetation. Urban Ecosystems 18: 871–884. Close ) and urban development is not too dense (374 Rega, C. C., C. H. Nilon, and P. S. Warren (2015). Avian abundance patterns in relation to the distribution of small urban greenspaces. Journal of Urban Planning and Development 141(3): A4015002. Close ). In a central Ohio woodlot, densities increased with urbanization of surrounding pastureland, concurrent with increasing canopy cover and reduced understory density in the woodlot interior (375 Horn, D. J. (1985). Breeding birds of a central Ohio USA woodlot in response to succession and urbanization. Ohio Journal of Science 85: 34–40. Close ). Long-term studies of a rural-to-urban transect of riparian forest sites in central Ohio provide useful comparative data on correlates and consequences of urbanization. Urban forests had greater densities of exotic shrub stems (9.5 ± SE 2.33 vs 3.8 ± SE 1.88 per 11.3 m radius plot) and more bird feeders (10.3 ± SE 2.75 vs 3.8 ± 2.10 SE) within 300 m buffers surrounding each study site (201 Leston, L. F. V., and A. D. Rodewald (2006). Are urban forests ecological traps for understory birds? An examination using Northern Cardinals. Biological Conservation 131: 566–574. Close ). Experimental removal of exotic shrubs in a subset of the urban forest study plots did not reduce density in the subsequent 3 breeding seasons (329 Rodewald, A. D., R. P. Rohr, M. A. Fortuna, and J. Bascompte (2015). Does removal of invasives restore ecological networks? An experimental approach. Biological Invasions 17: 2139–2146. Close ). Nest survival was not impacted by nearby bird feeders (376 Malpass, J. S., A. D. Rodewald, and S. N. Matthews (2017). Species-dependent effects of bird feeders on nest predators and nest survival of urban American Robins and Northern Cardinals. Condor 119: 1–16. Close ). Post-fledgling survival was not negatively impacted by urbanization (325 Ausprey, I. J., and A. D. Rodewald (2011). Postfledgling survivorship and habitat selection across a rural-to-urban landscape gradient. Auk 128: 293–302. Close ). A 7-year data set showed that individuals in both the urban and rural sites had negative population growth rates (lambda values [± 95% CI] of 0.871 ± 0.012 and 0.866 ± 0.021, respectively; as compared to a value of 1 for stable populations and > 1 for increasing populations; 55 Padilla, B. J., and A. D. Rodewald (2015). Avian metapopulation dynamics in a fragmented urbanizing landscape. Urban Ecosystems 18(1): 239–250. Close ); the authors suggest that forest fragmentation throughout the transect may contribute to the negative growth rates and that asynchrony in metapopulation dynamics may promote persistence. However, it remains unclear the extent to which movements (e.g., emigration) and other available urban habitats (e.g., neighborhoods and open parklands) are important in determining the overall population dynamics in urban systems. During the breeding season, riparian forests in urban sites supported adult densities 1.7 times greater than did rural riparian forests (2.6 ± 0.32 SE and 1.5 ± 0.21 SE individuals per 2-ha study plot, respectively). In the winter, on these same plots, total abundance decreased, and the difference between urban (2.0 ± 0.26 SE) and rural (0.5 ± 0.10 SE) abundance increased substantially (201 Leston, L. F. V., and A. D. Rodewald (2006). Are urban forests ecological traps for understory birds? An examination using Northern Cardinals. Biological Conservation 131: 566–574. Close ).

Habitat changes associated with urbanization and suburbanization could lead to anatomical and physiological changes in birds. For example, Miller et al. (103 Miller, C. R., C. E. Latimer, and B. Zuckerberg (2018). Bill size variation in Northern Cardinals associated with anthropogenic drivers across North America. Ecology and Evolution 8: 4841–4851. Close ) considered whether changing thermal environments through the urban heat island effect might impact Northern Cardinal bill size (Allen’s Rule). They used housing density as a metric for the urban heat island effect and the presumed amount of supplemental seed in the landscape. The relationship between bill size and housing density was not consistent across geographic locations or sex, suggesting that other ecological drivers (e.g., sexual selection and food sources) are also important determinants of bill size (103 Miller, C. R., C. E. Latimer, and B. Zuckerberg (2018). Bill size variation in Northern Cardinals associated with anthropogenic drivers across North America. Ecology and Evolution 8: 4841–4851. Close ).

Individuals nesting near recreational trails appear to mediate any potential impacts to nest survival and attendance due to trails and trail use by placing their nests higher in the nest substrate and farther from the vegetation edge of the nest substrate (296 Smith-Castro, J. R., and A. D. Rodewald (2010). Effects of recreational trails on Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) in forested urban parks. Natural Areas Journal 30: 328–337. Close , 297 Smith-Castro, J. R., and A. D. Rodewald (2010). Behavioral responses of nesting birds to human disturbance along recreational trails. Journal of Field Ornithology 81: 130–138. Close ). The nature of benefits associated with urbanization is not completely understood and may include habitat and other yet-unstudied alterations and factors associated with urbanization.

Shooting and Trapping

No information.

Pesticides and Other Contaminants/Toxics

Organophosphates applied to pecan (Carya illinoensis) orchards and row crops in southern Georgia resulted in lower egg and nestling survival for the total songbird population, including Northern Cardinal; nestling weight gain and parental behavior of cardinals were not affected (377 Patnode, K. A., and D. H. White (1991). Effects of pesticides on songbird productivity in conjunction with pecan cultivation in southern Georgia: A multiple exposure experimental design. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 10: 1479–1486. Close ). Pesticides reported to U.S. Geological Survey National Wildlife Health Center (unpublished data) as causes of Northern Cardinal deaths include carbamates (including carbofuran), famphur, parathion, and diazinon. Diazinon applications in orchards in Pennsylvania lead to detectable quantities of diazinon in gastrointestinal tracts of carcasses recovered from those orchards (378 Cobb, G. P., R. Mellott, L. W. Brewer, C. M. Bens, and R. J. Kendall (2000). Diazinon dissipation from vegetation, occurrence in earthworms, and presence in avian gastrointestinal tracts collected from apple orchards following D-Z-N registered trademark 50W application. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 19(5): 1360–1367. Close ).

One individual was poisoned at a site in Louisiana where the avicide DRC-1339 was applied to brown rice grains used to lure and kill blackbirds (Icteridae) that posed a depredation threat to rice seedlings (379 Cummings, J. L., J. F. Glahn, E. A. Wilson, and J. E. Davis Jr. (2002). Potential hazards of DRC-1339 treated rice to non-target birds when used at roost staging areas in Louisiana to reduce local populations of depredating blackbirds. International Biodeterioration and Biodegradation 49: 185–188. Close ). Northern Cardinals living adjacent to cotton fields treated with cholinesterase-inhibiting pesticides had lowered left-right body symmetry compared to individuals from untreated areas, suggesting these pesticides may affect development (380 Maul, J. D., and J. L. Farris (2005). Monitoring exposure of Northern Cardinals, Cardinalis cardinalis, to cholinesterase-inhibiting pesticides: Enzyme activity, reactivations, and indicators of environmental stress. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 24: 1721–1730. Close ). Low concentrations of residual organochlorine pesticides (including DDT) and of PCBs were detected in Northern Cardinal eggs in neighborhoods near Washington D.C., with concentrations higher in more urbanized neighborhoods, suggesting that eggs may be useful to monitor such contaminants (381 Schmitt, C. J., K. R. Echols, P. H. Peterman, C. E. Orazio, K. C. Grim, S. Tan, N. E. Diggs, and P. P. Marra (2018). Organochlorine chemical residues in Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) eggs from greater Washington, DC, USA. Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 100(6): 741–747. Close ). Elevated levels of lead, cadmium, and zinc were found in the blood and organs of wild-caught Northern Cardinals in the tri-state district of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri contaminated by mining, milling, and smelting activities; lead levels in some individuals were above the threshold for systemic toxic effects (382 Beyer, W. N., J. Dalgarn, S. Dudding, J. B. French, R. Mateo, J. Miesner, L. Sileo, and J. Spann (2004). Zinc and lead poisoning in wild birds in the Tri-State Mining District (Oklahoma, Kansas, and Missouri). Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 48(1): 108–117. Close , 383 Beyer, W. N, J. C. Franson, J. B. French, T. May, B. A. Rattner, V. I. Shearn-Bochsler, S. E. Warner, J. Weber, and D. Mosby (2013). Toxic exposure of songbirds to lead in the southeast Missouri lead mining district. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 65(3): 598–610. Close ).

Collisions with Stationary/Moving Structures or Objects

Some mortality has been reported from apparent collisions with windows in urban areas (buildings and bus shelters) and an academic building on a college campus (384 Hager, S. B., H. Trudell, K. J. McKay, S. M. Crandall, and L. Mayer (2009). Bird density and mortality at windows. Wilson Journal of Ornithology 120: 550–564. Close , 385 Hager, S. B., B. J. Cosentino, K. J. McKay, C. Monson, W. Zuurdeeg, and B. Blevins (2013). Window area and development drive spatial variation in bird-window collisions in an urban landscape. PLoS ONE 8(1): e53371. Close , 386 Barton, C. M., C. S. Riding, and S. R. Loss (2017). Magnitude and correlates of bird collisions at glass bus shelters in an urban landscape. PLoS ONE 12(5): e0178667. Close ). Individuals of both sexes may attack their reflection in windows or mirrors, but such behavior generally does not harm the attackers; in one case, copious feces deposited on reflective surfaces suggested that a female attacking a car mirror and window may have been aiming feces at her perceived rival (C. Godding, personal communication). In one case involving a female, attacks lasted from October through March in 2 years, occurring daily for average 2.5 hr/d (387 Perdue, C. T. (1979). Out-of-season breeding behavior of Cardinals. Jack Pine Warbler 57: 108. Close ). Three male deaths reported following attacking of reflections (278 Wanamaker, J. F. (1942). A study of the courtship and nesting of the Eastern Cardinal Richmondena c. cardinalis (Linnaeus). M.S. thesis, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA. Close ). Occasional deaths from tower collisions; e.g., 54 individuals found dead in a 25-year migration study at a TV tower in north-central Florida (216 Crawford, R. L. (1981). Bird casualties at a Leon County, Florida TV tower: a 25-year migration study. Bulletin of the Tall Timbers Research Station 22. Close ).

Research Impacts

During an assessment of the impacts radio-transmitters might have on adult cardinals, Barron et al. (388 Barron, D. G., P. J. Weatherhead, and J. D. Brawn (2013). A test of radio-transmitter effects on parental investment and productivity in the Northern Cardinal. Condor 115: 669–676. Close ) found that males carrying (mock) 1.6-gm transmitters had lower levels of nest defense behavior, experienced higher rates of nest failure, and had mates that brought more food to each nestling (n = 3 females at 4 surviving nests), when compared to uncaptured males in the same population. However, associated treatments experienced by males given transmitters (capture with mist nets, handling, banding, and blood drawn from the brachial vein twice, separated by 30 minutes spent in an opaque cloth bag), may have contributed to differences in behavior. Males given these same treatments, but not outfitted with transmitters, had intermediate levels of nest defense and reproductive success statistically indistinguishable from those of either uncaptured males or males given transmitters.

Abundant in central and eastern North America; no management efforts are needed to ensure survival.