The Northern Cardinal have effectively captured the human consciousness. As a mascot of multiple major sports teams and a go to mascot for the bird itself, the cardinal does not need much of an introduction.
The male Northern Cardinals have a remarkable deep red plumage while the females sport a less fabulous browner color.
The Northern Cardinal is obsessed with maintaining its own breeding grounds and will defend it at all costs. This is why Northern Cardinals will often attack their reflections in the windows of human homes. This explains the sad massacre of cardinals against my giant kitchen room window.
“Northern Cardinal Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology.” Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Cardinal.