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Unveiling the Mystery: Are Blue Cardinals Real?

Have you ever seen a Blue Cardinal?

The Northern Cardinal is a very familiar bird to all. Seven states list the Northern Cardinal as their State Bird. Found mainly across the Northeastern, Midwestern, and southern areas of the Southwest, they are a bird that pretty much everyone can identify without needing a field guide or a birding app.

The male Cardinal is a brilliant red bird with a long tail and a crested head; the female is not as brightly colored (pale brown with reddish tinges). Both sexes have a heavy, brightly-colored red bill. They don’t migrate. They live in your garden year-round, catching your eye with their vivid coloring among the dark, bare branches in winter, and making you smile with their “Cheer, Cheer, Cheer” songs in spring.

Cardinals are also associated with the souls of loved ones, avian guides for the guardian angels visiting to let you know that they are always with you (“Cardinals appear when Angels are near”).

So…  do blue Cardinals exist? Sadly, the answer is no. While there may be leucistic, albino, and even yellow specimens of the Northern Cardinal, blue is not a color variant of this species. 

There are birds, however, that resemble Cardinals and are blue. We’ll give you an overview of the “Blue Cardinal” world in this article (hint: these birds will probably be as familiar to you as Northern Cardinals, depending on your geographic location). 

But first, let’s explore the Cardinal, red birds that resemble Cardinals, and Cardinal-looking birds that aren’t blue (or red).

Northern Cardinal

Both male and female cardinal sitting on a branch

Scientific Name:  Cardinalis cardinalis Size: 8.3-9.1 inches

The Northern Cardinal is one of the most common birds in the United States. It is a popular backyard bird that comes to feeders and nests locally, as they do not migrate.

Cardinals have a thick finch bill with black around their faces. The standard color of the Cardinal is red for males, with the females being pale brown with red tinges on their wings, tails, and crests. Hatchling birds molt into adult plumage. They look like adult females, with the adult male’s bright red feathers coming in by the end of their first year. 

Cardinals are frequent users of bird feeders and are attracted by wild bird seed mix, black-oil sunflower seeds, and safflower seeds. 

Facts, Tips & Fun Stuff

Cardinals have spiritual meaning to many. It is often said that when a “cardinal appears a loved one is near”.  The presence of a cardinal brings peace of mind to many, a sort of avian guardian angel.

The Northern Cardinal got its name from the Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church, who wear a bright red skullcap called a zucchetto, whose coloring is similar to the cardinal’s feathers.

Red-crested Cardinal

Scientific Name:  Paroaria coronata Size: 8.3-9.1 inches

A ground-feeding passerine of Brazil’s Rio Grande del Sul and southern Pantanal, Argentina, Bolivia, Uruguay, and Paraguay, the Red-crested Cardinal has also been introduced into the United States, Puerto Rico, and Chile.

Medium-sized white and gray birds with red heads, throats, and crests, the Red-crested Cardinal looks like a multi-colored cardinal but is not one at all. The red bird they are related to is the Scarlet Tanager.

Red-crested Cardinals were introduced into Hawaii, where a breeding population was established, and in a few areas of Southern California and Florida (where they are considered escapees). You can also find them in Puerto Rico. 

Facts, Tips & Fun Stuff

While they look like Northern Cardinals, Red-crested Cardinals are not related to them – they are part of the Tanager family.

White Cardinals 

There are such things as white Cardinals. If a bird is born without any pigmentation, it’s an albino. An albino bird will have an all-white plumage, and pale legs and feet. It will always have red or pinkish eyes. 

A bird born with a partial lack of pigmentation can be solid white or have white patches, spots, or splotches. This is called leucism. Leucistic birds will have normal-colored skin on their legs and feet. They will also have dark eyes. Think of an all-white bird with a distinct red crest and red tinges on its wings. This is genetic, so if you find one leucistic bird in your neighborhood, there is a good chance you’ll see another. 

Cardinals have been found in different colors – there is a genetic mutation that causes a yellow cardinal, there are albino (all-white) cardinals, and there are leucistic birds, (a combination of red and white).

Red Birds That Look Like Cardinals

Vermillion Flycatcher

Scientific Name: Pyrocephalus rubinus Size: 5.1 to 5.5 inches

A flycatcher of the desert southwest, the male Vermillion Flycatcher is a bright red bird with blackish wings, a black eye line, and a red crest.  Females are dull brownish with white chests and a reddish wash on their bellies. Female Vermillion Flycatchers rarely get mistaken for Cardinals.

This medium-sized Tyrant flycatcher has a short tail and is usually perched on low branches waiting for insects to fly by.

Facts, Tips & Fun Stuff

This bird has sometimes been called the “Vermillion Cardinal”. It is not related to the Northern Cardinal at all.

Non-Blue Birds That Look Like Cardinals

Pyrrhuloxia

Scientific Name: Cardinalis sinuatus Size: 8.3 inches

A close relative of the Northern Cardinal, you might call this bird the Southwestern or Desert Cardinal.

Pyrrhuloxia translates to “flame-colored with a crooked bill”, an apt description of this songbird of the American Southwest. It looks like a gray and red Cardinal, and that’s the easiest way to identify it from its all-red cousin, which inhabits the same areas.

The male Pyrrhuloxia is a gray bird with a distinctive red crest, red face and chest, and a red and gray tail and flight feathers. Females are mostly gray with reddish highlights on their crests, tails, and wings.   Both sexes have stubby, thick, bright yellow bills. 

Like Northern Cardinals, Pyrrhuloxias are attracted to bird feeders, especially if they contain sunflower seeds. Like Cardinals, Pyrrhuloxias are abundant visitors to your yards and patios.

Phainopepla 

Scientific Name: Phainopepla nitens Size: 7.1 to 8.3 inches

Found across the Southwestern US, the Phainopepla is not related to the Northern Cardinal, nor any other bird species. They are the only members of their family (Silky Flycatchers).

The male Phainopepla is an all-over glossy black with a shaggy crest and red eyes. The female is dark gray with white streaking on her wings. Both species have long, slender tails.

In flight, the male Phainopepla shows a slender, shiny black, slim-tailed silhouette, a crested head, and bold white wing patches.

These birds inhabit deserts in winter and can be found in desert washes. In summer they can be found among Arizona and California’s oak and sycamore woods.

The Phainopepla’s preferred food is mistletoe berries. Their digestive tracts have evolved to get sustenance from the nutrient-poor fruit, and they may have to eat over 1000 berries daily to survive.

Facts, Tips & Fun Stuff

The word “phainopepla” in Greek means “shining robe”, and this bird’s glossy plumage does shine when seen in the sunlight.

A desert bird for half of the year, Phainopepla rarely drink water; they obtain most of their hydration from the mistletoe berries they feed on.

The Titmouse Family

The Titmouse family is a group of small birds, most with crests, found across North America. While they have crests, they are much smaller than Northern Cardinals (think Chickadee-sized). For that reason, we’re going to leave them out of this article, but you can find them in our Backyard Birds series

Bohemian Waxwing

Scientific Name: Bombycilla garrulus Size: 7.5 to 9.1 inches

A cardinal-sized bird with a spiky crest on its head and a peachy blush on its face, the Bohemian Waxwing wanders over the northern parts of the United States in search of fruit and berries. Their nomadic food searches make them hard to find; they are never in the same place twice. 

Adult birds are gray with rusty undertails. They have a prominent crest on their heads, and black masks on their faces. Their tails have yellow tips with a yellow line and white rectangles on their wings. Juveniles lack the crests of adults but are similarly colored.

In the areas where their ranges overlap, Bohemian Waxwings can sometimes be found with Cedar Waxwings. Bohemians are social birds and form large flocks, especially in winter. Look for Bohemian Waxwings among flocks of American Robins and Cedar Waxwings.

Facts, Tips & Fun Stuff

Having a fantastic ability to locate fruit anywhere, Bohemian Waxwings have been known to sweep down on an isolated berry-filled bush, strip it bare of fruit, and move on to find another food source.

Bohemian Waxwing (and Cedar Waxwing too) songs are very high pitched and are often one of the first bird songs that people with hearing issues can no longer hear.

Cedar Waxwing

Scientific Name: Bombycilla cedrorum Size: 6 to 8 inches

Similar but slightly smaller than their cousins the Bohemian Waxwing, Cedar Waxwings are usually found in small groups at the tops of trees, feeding on berries and other tree fruits.

A good field mark for identifying these birds is the yellow band on the tip of their tails. Look for them in a group or mixed in with Robins, as they are social and like the safety of numbers.

Facts, Tips & Fun Stuff

Cedar Waxwings have a high-pitched call and are often heard before they are seen.

The “wax” in the Waxwing’s name comes from the red tips at the end of their wings, thought to be secretions from the berries that make up their diets. 

Blue Birds That Look Like Cardinals (Blue Cardinals?)

A Note on Feather Pigmentation

The red pigmentation in a Northern Cardinal’s feathers is truly red. If you crush a cardinal feather, the resulting dust will be red. If you were to do the same to a bird with blue feathers, like a Blue Jay or Blue Grosbeak, the results would be different. The dust from your experiment would be black or gray. 

No bird species can make blue pigments. The blue we see is a refraction of light interacting with the arrangement of protein molecules (keratin) in the feathers. Blue is a structural and not a naturally occurring color in birds.

Blue Birds Without Crests

There are birds with blue plumage, but most lack the Northern Cardinal’s distinctive crest. The majority fall into three categories: Bluebirds, Jays, and Scrub Jays, with three outliers – Blue Grosbeaks and Indigo and Lazuli Buntings.

There are also two Warblers – the Cerulean and Black-throated Blue warblers. They are both beautiful little birds – but much too small to be considered “blue cardinals”.

Bluebirds

Bluebirds are members of the thrush family, which includes American Robins. There are three Bluebirds in North America – Eastern Bluebirds, Western Bluebirds, and Mountain Bluebirds.

The dividing lines between Eastern and Western Bluebirds are the Rocky Mountains. The Mountain Bluebird is the only all-blue one of the three. Eastern and Western Bluebirds are blue on top with a rust chest and white belly. The Western Bluebird is brighter and the bluest of those two species.

Jays

Pinon Jay

A pale blue and gray jay without a crest, found in pinon-juniper woodlands, chaparral, sagebrush, and scrub oak of the western US. Their main food source is the pinon nut. 

Scrub Jays

The four species of Scrub Jays are found all over the United States. These birds are blue and gray but lack the crested head of the Northern Cardinal. 

Florida scrub jays are protected in their home state due to habitat loss and are considered a threatened species. These blue and gray birds are noisy (like all jays). 

Woodhouse’s Scrub-Jay is found in the southwestern parts of the country, being a dry-country dweller. They are blue, gray, and white but duller or dingier than the other members of their family. 

The California scrub jay was once considered the same species as the Woodhouse’s scrub jay but was made a separate species in 2016. Their ranges overlap in western Nevada and parts of eastern California, but this bird’s plumage is brighter, the blue is darker, and the white well, whiter than the Woodhouse’s scrub jay.

Grosbeaks and Buntings

The male Blue Grosbeak is a blue bird with a large head and a thick heavy bill. In breeding plumage, he is a rich blue with orange wing bars. At other times of the year, he is still blue, but with rusty-orange feathers mixed in. The females are rusty-orange all year. 

The Indigo Bunting is an all-over bright blue and is stunning when it’s seen in full sun.  The Lazuli Bunting is a sky-blue songbird with white and black wing bars.

While most of these are blue birds with long tails, they lack a head crest. They are not contenders for being Blue Cardinals.

Blue Cardinals (Not!)

Blue Jay

Blue Jay sitting on a branch

Scientific Name: Cyanocitta cristata  Size: 9.8-11.8 inches

Blue jays are easily identified by their blue feathers, white cheeks, and a large crest on top of their head. They are large birds with a wingspan of about 15 inches.

They are loud and noisy. Other birds trust Blue Jays to alert them when danger is around. They are one species that will mob hawks and owls and pin them down in trees, alerting all the birds that a predator is nearby.

Blue jays are intelligent and have a wide range of vocalizations. They are known to mimic other birds, animals, and even humans. I have heard them do an impression of a Red-tailed Hawk to scare a flock of smaller birds feeding on a huge berry bush. Once the little birds were scattered, the Blue Jay came to feast on the berries. 

Blue jays will also use their intelligence to solve problems like crows do.

Facts, Tips & Fun Stuff

Jays love whole peanuts (unsalted please!) Toss a handful on your lawn or patio and watch what happens. 

Steller’s Jay 

Scientific Name: Cyanocitta stelleri Size: 11.8-13.4 inches

The Steller’s Jay is a medium-sized bird songbird with a distinctive blue-black coloration on its head, neck, and upper body. Their head has a black crest that can be raised or lowered depending on their mood. They also have a long, sturdy bill, and their eyes are dark with a faint white stripe above the eye. The wings and tail feathers are blue with black bars and white spots on the tips.

Facts, Tips & Fun Stuff

Stellar’s Jays are the only crested jays west of the Rocky Mountains.

Conclusion

While there are a few different colored cardinals (red, yellow, albino, and leucistic), there are no Blue Cardinals. But there are some beautiful bluebirds, and some non-blue ones too, for you to get out and see.

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