The Cardinal

Rating:
Summary: A tribute to the Cardinal
Review: This book is a definite 'must read' for cardinal lovers. It will bring you closer to these very special winged angels as it provides the reader with season by season fact-filled details about their habits and rituals. I was awed by the colorful photos of the cardinals captured in all phases of their everyday activities. Since I've read the book, I've witnessed many rituals I would have never noticed before - the cardinal kiss, feeding the young, anting, preening, pecking order, gathering nesting material, building the nest, etc. Now, I devote special time each day to watch the family of cardinals in our backyard and cannot believe all that I'd missed over the years. I credit this book for opening my eyes and ears to the phenomenal miracles of nature and God's wondrous creative process. It also provided the groundwork for a most fascinating hobby - birdwatching. I now have become involved watching and studying other birds as well.

Rating:
Summary: For the love of cardinals
Review: This book nicely blends the author's careful observations with published studies to present a good picture of the cardinal's year. The beautiful photographs by Barbara Garland add color to the book and complement the text; a good example is the picture of the male cardinal presenting a seed to the female. Sometimes in my rush for rarities I may neglect my own local birds, and this book will help me be more aware of my backyard. As a fan of both the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team and the Louisville Cardinals basketball team I appreciated the chapter on "Cardinal as Icon". The author can be forgiven for her occasional anthropomorphism. One theory I have heard of the Cardinals early expansion into the Midwest was the following of grain in rails and boats along the Mississippi and is now expanding westward.