What is "northern cardinal"

Cardinal \Car"di*nal\, n. [F. carinal, It. cardinale, LL. cardinalis (ecclesi[ae] Roman[ae]). See Cardinal, a.]

1. (R. C. Ch.) One of the ecclesiastical princes who constitute the pope's council, or the sacred college.

   The clerics of the supreme Chair are called Cardinals, as undoubtedly adhering more nearly to the hinge by which all things are moved.
   --Pope Leo IX.

   Note: The cardinals are appointed by the pope. Since the time of Sixtus V., their number can never exceed seventy (six of episcopal rank, fifty priests, fourteen deacons), and the number of cardinal priests and deacons is seldom full. When the papel chair is vacant a pope is elected by the college of cardinals from among themselves. The cardinals take precedence of all dignitaries except the pope. The principal parts of a cardinal's costume are a red cassock, a rochet, a short purple mantle, and a red hat with a small crown and broad brim, with cords and tessels of a special pattern hanging from it.

2. A woman's short cloak with a hood.

   Where's your cardinal! Make haste.
   --Lloyd.

3. Mulled red wine.
   --Hotten.

4. the cardinal bird, also called the northern cardinal.

   Cardinal bird, or Cardinal grosbeak (Zo["o]l.), an American song bird ( Cardinalis cardinalis, or Cardinalis Virginianus), of the family Fringillid[ae], or finches of which the male has a bright red plumage, and both sexes have a high, pointed crest on its head; -- it is also called the northern cardinal or eastern cardinal. The males have loud and musical notes resembling those of a fife. Other related species are also called cardinal birds.

   Cardinal flower (Bot.), an herbaceous plant ( Lobelia cardinalis) bearing brilliant red flowers of much beauty.

   Cardinal red, a color like that of a cardinal's cassock, hat, etc.; a bright red, darker than scarlet, and between scarlet and crimson.

The northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) is a North American bird in the genus Cardinalis; it is also known colloquially as the redbird or common cardinal. It can be found in southern Canada, through the eastern United States from Maine to Texas and south through Mexico. It is found in woodlands, gardens, shrublands, and swamps.

The northern cardinal is a mid-sized songbird with a body length of . It has a distinctive crest on the head and a mask on the face which is black in the male and gray in the female. The male is a vibrant red, while the female is a dull reddish olive. The northern cardinal is mainly granivorous, but also feeds on insects and fruit. The male behaves territorially, marking out his territory with song. During courtship, the male feeds seed to the female beak-to-beak. A clutch of three to four eggs is laid, and two to four clutches are produced each year. It was once prized as a pet, but its sale as a cage bird was banned in the United States by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.