Northern Cardinals Feeding In My Backyard

Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) -- more commonly known as red cardinals, or just cardinals -- are among the most frequent visitors to my backyard bird feeders throughout the year.

These lovely mid-sized perching songbirds can be found year-round throughout most of eastern and central North America from southeastern Canada across all parts of the United States east of the Mississippi River, as far west as Minnesota and Southern California, and south into Mexico and much of Central America.

The Northern Cardinal is the official state bird of various U.S States: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia.

The following are photo I've taken of these birds near the end of August 2024 in my back yard. The male cardinal is red with black and the female is brown and tan.

It should also be noted that the female has no problem sharing sunflower seeds with the other birds -- particularly the Chickadees that also frequent my feeder -- while the males seem to prefer eating alone.

Monday Meme: Saturday Mornings For Gen-X Kids

Brown Thrashers In My Backyard

Hello bird lovers!

Since the start of the summer months, these lovely Brown Thrashers (Toxostoma rufum) have been seen in my back yard digging through the grass, taking dirt baths in various patches of loose soil, and occasionally actually eating from my feeder. I've counted at least one adult and one juvenile since mid-July.

Brown Thrashers are a part of the family Mimidae, which also includes mockingbirds. They can be found throughout eastern and central North America in the eastern and central United States and southern and central Canada east of the Rocky Mountains.

These lovely birds live year-round in my home state of South Carolina and the rest of the American Deep South. The Brown Thrasher is also the official state bird of the State of Georgia.

Here are some of the photos I've taken since mid-July and early August of the pair that visit my back yard.

Juvenile Brown thrasher dust bathing.
This helps birds to rid mites and excess feathers during molting.