The Northern Cardinal is one of the most distinctive and most admired backyard bird species. The male cardinal is a bright red bird with a pointed crest on the top of its head. The female is mostly buff brown in colour with some red on her head, wings, and tail. Both have small black masks on their faces that surround the bill and eyes. Their short stout red bills indicate that they are primarily seed eating birds and help to distinguish the female from other similar looking species, such as the Bohemian Waxwing. Immature cardinals lack the red colour of the adults in their plumage and bills, but their bills are just as stout.

Many people are unaware that Northern Cardinals have been steadily expanding their range and can now be seen in Nova Scotia every month of the year. The best months for seeing a Northern Cardinal are November and December when they often visit backyards and feeders. During the fall and winter, Northern Cardinals are secretive birds that prefer to stay under the protective cover of shrubs and bushes. The best way to lure one of these colourful birds to your yard is to plant bushes; they are especially fond of multiflora rose. During the winter months when birders go looking for Northern Cardinals, they almost always find them in a multiflora rose bush.

The last few winters have been exciting winters for cardinal watchers as the numbers of Northern Cardinals being seen has been well above normal. During most winters about a dozen Northern Cardinals are reported around the province. During the winter of 1994, between fifty and one hundred Northern Cardinals were sighted. In 1995 the numbers had dropped to normal but by 1996, they had risen again to about forty observations. During the winter of 1997, numbers were still above average with about twenty people reporting cardinals. Our warmer winters in recent years are favouring the Northern Cardinal and helping it to establish a permanent population base in the province. Every summer since 1994, we have seen a small increase in the numbers of Northern Cardinals breeding in Nova Scotia.