FIT-N-WISE - Wise County Messenger
FIT-N-WISE - Wise County Messenger
FIT-N-WISE - Wise County Messenger
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By CLAIRE CURRY<br />
It’s a cardinal time of year.<br />
Cardinals are everywhere<br />
outside: in the woods, in<br />
the brush and in our yards.<br />
Plus, they are a popular bird<br />
on greeting cards this time<br />
of year. There’s nothing like<br />
a bright red cardinal on a<br />
snowy landscape.<br />
Only the adult male cardinal<br />
is bright red. There<br />
is a black area around the<br />
brown eyes and large, bright<br />
orange beak. Females have<br />
the same crest and massive<br />
seed-cracking beak, but are<br />
colored in modest but lovely<br />
shades of brown with red accents<br />
on the wings and tail.<br />
In summer and early fall<br />
you will also see juvenile<br />
cardinals begging from their<br />
parents. They have the same<br />
brown coloration as females,<br />
but have dark gray beaks<br />
that gradually turn orange.<br />
If you see a bald cardinal,<br />
don’t be alarmed. In late<br />
summer this happens quite<br />
a bit. It is not known for<br />
sure why this happens, but<br />
it mostly likely that they<br />
just molted all their head<br />
feathers at once. It is also<br />
possible that they have an<br />
infestation of mites and this<br />
is their way of getting rid<br />
of them from their hard-toscratch<br />
head feathers. This<br />
can happen to other birds<br />
too, such as grackles or jays.<br />
Another funny thing that<br />
cardinals do is attack their<br />
refl ection in windows and<br />
car mirrors. Both males<br />
and females will attack<br />
what looks to them like an<br />
intruder on their territory.<br />
They never seem to fi gure<br />
out that the bird in the mirror<br />
never quits. You can try<br />
covering up the refl ection or<br />
scaring them away, but usually<br />
they just keep coming<br />
back. Eventually they lose<br />
the urge to fi ght their untir-<br />
BIRDS AND BEYOND<br />
ing rivals.<br />
A pair of cardinals can<br />
have up to four successful<br />
broods per season. Sometimes<br />
the pair stays together<br />
through the winter, while<br />
others pair up in winter<br />
fl ocks. Some may keep the<br />
same mate over the whole<br />
season or fi nd a new partner<br />
between nesting attempts.<br />
You may have seen the cardinals’<br />
cute courtship display.<br />
The male cracks a seed<br />
and then feeds it to the female<br />
of his choice.<br />
Once the birds are paired,<br />
they build a nest of twigs,<br />
leaves, and grasses. The female<br />
incubates up to fi ve<br />
speckled eggs for less than<br />
two weeks. Both parents<br />
feed the young for one or<br />
two weeks before fl edging<br />
and then for several weeks<br />
after fl edging. The male<br />
brings food to the female<br />
during incubation and after<br />
the nestlings hatch. Apparently,<br />
parents with brighter<br />
colors are better providers<br />
for their young.<br />
Our cardinal is called the<br />
Northern Cardinal because<br />
it is the only cardinal species<br />
in the northern hemisphere.<br />
In southern hemisphere<br />
there are several more species,<br />
such as the Vermilion<br />
Cardinal. Cardinals are<br />
found over most of the eastern<br />
United States and Mexico<br />
and in the southwest. Out<br />
west you won’t fi nd any cardinals.<br />
Cardinals have also<br />
been introduced into California,<br />
Hawaii, and Bermuda.<br />
There are many subspecies<br />
of the cardinal, but the differences<br />
in the shade of red,<br />
“Providing premier, preschool & school-age services for children 6 weeks – 12 years.”<br />
The Early Learners make cornbread<br />
with Miss Beth when learning about<br />
pilgrims & Native Americans!<br />
Rhett had a great time at our<br />
birthday party for Jesus!<br />
NORTHERN CARDINAL<br />
Alexandra Rodarte has been working as<br />
an English as a Second Language assistant<br />
in Decatur’s Carson Elementary for some<br />
time now, and she’s working just as hard<br />
now at the WC Education Center at<br />
Decatur, taking classes full time.<br />
“I want to become an elementary school<br />
bilingual teacher to help further educate<br />
the Hispanic community,” she said. “And<br />
everyone here at WC is so helpful. If<br />
they don’t know the answers, they find<br />
someone who can. That’s the kind of<br />
teacher I want to be.”<br />
Buena suerte y mucho éxito, Alexandra!<br />
Grady reviews the “fruits of the spirit”<br />
while making his fruit kabob!<br />
Come learn & grow with us as we<br />
discover<br />
WINTER’S WONDERS<br />
in January!<br />
For more information on our<br />
premier program & themed<br />
curriculum visit<br />
www.pettitprivateschool.com!<br />
940-627-8393 Decatur • 817-489-2318 Aurora<br />
ALL AROUND <strong>WISE</strong>, Decatur, Texas, Thursday, January 15, 2009 13<br />
amount of black around the<br />
beak and shape are slight.<br />
Songs also vary by region.<br />
I have noticed this even in<br />
other parts of Texas; their<br />
cardinals have an accent!<br />
A closely related bird in<br />
the same genus (Cardinalis),<br />
the Pyrrhuloxia, lives<br />
in desert and arid habitats<br />
in the southwestern United<br />
States. It has similar vocalizations,<br />
but where their<br />
ranges overlap, cardinals<br />
prefer less arid habitats.<br />
Both male and female Pyrrhuloxias<br />
are similar to female<br />
and juvenile cardinals,<br />
but have a more parrot-like,<br />
rounded yellow beak, and<br />
they lack the black around<br />
the beak. This species does<br />
not occur in our area, but<br />
you might see them in south<br />
and west Texas, southern<br />
New Mexico, southern Arizona<br />
or Mexico.<br />
So, keep your eyes peeled<br />
for cardinals, whether bald<br />
or fully-feathered, in Texas<br />
or elsewhere. You are sure to<br />
see many of these beauties<br />
this winter and through the<br />
coming year. May your New<br />
Year be fi lled with cardinals<br />
and our many other wonders<br />
of nature!<br />
■<br />
The next monthly fi eld<br />
trips on the Lyndon B. Johnson<br />
National Grasslands<br />
will be Jan. 7, 2009, and Feb.<br />
4, 2009. We will depart at 9<br />
a.m. from the Forest Service<br />
District Offi ce in Decatur.<br />
For more information, contact<br />
Mary Curry (see below)<br />
or the Forest Service District<br />
Offi ce, (940) 627-5475.<br />
■<br />
Claire and Mary Curry<br />
are nature enthusiasts based<br />
in Greenwood. If you would<br />
like to contact them, please email<br />
them at larksparrow@<br />
eeclaire.com, or call them at<br />
(940) 466-3299.<br />
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LAW OFFICES OF<br />
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• Criminal Law<br />
• Family Law<br />
• Personal Injury & Accidents<br />
• Civil Litigation<br />
• Oil & Gas Law<br />
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