How to differentiate different male cardinals in backyard (1 Viewer)

[Cardinals]

Total noob question here.

We have several bright red male cardinals in our back yard (Pennsylvania, U.S), and I’m wondering if there is are specific things to look for in order to keep track of “who’s who”? Googling this question was impossible because it kept trying to link me to articles about differentiating different species.

I just have four red male cardinals - we’ll call them Paul, John, George, and Ringo - and I want to be able to tell them apart at a glance. Should I be looking for differences in their Crests? Tailfeathers? The shape of the black coloration around their face? What features do cardinals have that are unique enough for me to quickly look for and say, “Oh, there’s Paul!”?

 

[KC Foggin]

Unless one or two have some kind of deformity you are hard hit with a way to figure each one out.

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[Kits]

Welcome to Birdforum. I hope you enjoy your visits.

 

[nartreb]

Yeah, you're pretty much out of luck. Humans just aren't any good at telling individual birds apart. The birds manage, but we really don't know how.

Birds can fluff or flatten their feathers (crest included), and feathers get worn and eventually replaced, so the same bird's feathers can look different at different times.

I expect the shape of the black "beard" has some tiny variations, and those feathers are short enough that fluffing them shouldn't make a huge difference, so if I were an optimist that's where Id try to look.

 

[qwerty5]

If you study their behavior and coloring long enough, you may be able to find something distinguishing. But I can't tell you anything that is regularly variable. Behavior might be a good thing to study, and you might be able discover which individuals do certain things, which one is more dominant etc. I can tell you for sure it will take a lot of study.

 

[D Halas]

Besides everything that's already been mentioned, you'd also have to watch out for the possibility of, say, Paul dying, and another look-alike cardinal coming in to replace him.

 

[jurek]

Look if all are of the same age:

Migration Research Foundation - McGill Bird Observatory - Photo Library - Northern Cardinal

Try also looking at the details of the bill, how it is colored and worn.

It is a good sport, especially that field guides try to convince you there is one idealized 'Northern Cardinal' but birds do differ individually.