Beautiful Northern Cardinals live across much of the Eastern half, middle and some southwestern areas of the country. The male is bright red; the female is brown with reddish on her wings.

1. Cardinals can only be attracted if you live in the right habitat for them. They prefer suburban, semi-urban and rural properties that have a mixture of shrubs, trees, open areas and dense tangles of shrubs in which to nest. They eat insects, fruits and berries and bird seed.

2. Cardinals like to eat on the ground or from a bird feeder. They prefer feeders that are platforms, hopper-style or screen feeders. They like to have ledges wide enough for them to perch. Cardinals will sometimes come to tube feeders.

3. Cardinals prefer black oil sunflower, or quality seed mixes that contain black oil sunflower. They also like safflower and will sometimes eat cracked corn.

4. Provide fresh water for bathing and drinking.

5. Cardinals breed in the spring and as part of their courtship ritual, the male will feed a morsel to the female as she quivers her wings. He may even give her a seed from your bird feeder!

6. Look for cardinals to bring their fledged young near your bird feeder and then feed them seeds from the feeder. Eventually the young will learn to feed on their own. Young cardinals are colored brown like the female and have dark bills. The young male will gradually change into the red color of the adult male.

7. Cardinals are resident on their territories, so you can enjoy them all through the year. Occasionally, in winter, they will form into a flock, especially near a good feeding area.