A Study of the Cardinal in Iowa

Authors

James Hodges, Davenport MuseumFollow

Document Type

Research

Abstract

One of the newer birds in the state of Iowa during the last half century is the Eastern Cardinal Richmondena cardinalis cardinalis. The Cardinal is a Carolinian form but has extended its range through most, if not all, of Iowa and has been recorded as a breeding bird in Minnesota and other northern states. This study was conducted from the spring of 1943 through October, 1947 in the area of Scott County, Iowa where the Cardinal is now a common resident. The Cardinal, because of its striking plumage, has attracted the attention of even the non-bird student and thus has received a variety of names: Cardinal Grosebeak, Cardinal Red-bird, Red bird, Red-headed Jay, Crested Red-bird, Cardinal bird, flame bird, and others. The purpose of this study is two fold. First of all it is to give a general history of the bird in Iowa and to present the results of preliminary investigations of its life history in this area and second is to compare the habits of Iowa birds to those studied by Mrs. Laskey in Tennessee (Laskey, 1947; 27-44).

Publication Date

1949

Journal Title

Proceedings of the Iowa Academy of Science

Volume

56

Issue

1

First Page

347

Last Page

361

Copyright

©1949 Iowa Academy of Science, Inc.

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

Recommended Citation

Hodges, James (1949) "A Study of the Cardinal in Iowa," Proceedings of the Iowa Academy of Science, 56(1), 347-361.
Available at: https://scholarworks.uni.edu/pias/vol56/iss1/49