Birds of the CalendarR. J. D. B. companion
USA Limited Edition · January 2028

Northern Cardinal (Kentucky Cardinal)

Cardinalis cardinalis

Official bird of Kentucky. Crested red male — top kids coloring subject.

At a glance

HabitatVaries by state — see field guides for local habitats.
DietSee field guides for diet details.
RangeState bird of Kentucky
Coloring poseCrested red male — top kids coloring subject.

Hear this bird

Buttons open trusted public pages with playable recordings. We link out — we do not host or embed the audio on this companion site for these pages.

Mating / display: No separately labeled courtship recording was found on primary sources for this species — use the general calls page.

Play calls on All About BirdsMating / courtship callsWikipedia overview

How to know it

Fun facts

Kentucky

Joined the U.S.: 1792 (1792-06-01)

Kentucky joined the Union in 1792. This southern state's bird is the Northern Cardinal.

Admission order #15 · Limited Edition 4-year calendar (Nov 2026–Dec 2030).

State-bird note

KRS 2.080. First U.S. state bird (1926); statute recodified 1942 from earlier Ky. Stat.

Companion page for the Birds Coloring Calendar series by R. J. D. B. Fact summaries are original educational text. Call playback via outbound links only. Not affiliated with Cornell Lab, Audubon, or Xeno-canto.