It has a crest of feathers on its head. The males are mostly red with tints of gray on its back. The females are a brownish color with a little red in their wings, tails, and crests. Cardinals usually build their nests four to five feet above the ground in bramble thickets or in the lower branches in trees. The nests are made of dead leaves, grass, and weed stems.
Cardinals feed on insects, worms, and seeds of weeds and wild fruits.
In winter, they often go to bran yards and corncribs in search of corn. They are also fond of sunflower seeds and visit feeding station to get them. Young cardinals eat many harmful insects, including the boll worms, cotton worms, codling moths, and potato beetles.