At the end of January, I heard a northern cardinal sing. Birdy, birdy, birdy. What cheer, cheer, cheer. A crimson-red male sat at the top of the tree and sent out his advertisement to a nearby female.

Both male and female sing — and they do it a lot. Each has about 12 different songs. Females often, but not always, sing the same songs as their mates. Once the female is incubating the eggs, she will ...

Thump. Thud. Something was hitting our window! It was a bright red cardinal flying at his reflected image in the glass - which he perceived to be an intruder in his territory. The bird kept it up for ...