MUNDANE MYSTERIES: Why are cardinals red?

Northern Cardinal male flying and landing on bright summer day

MUNDANE MYSTERIES: Why are cardinals red?

I thought of this one over the weekend after seeing what was probably the brightest red cardinal I’ve ever seen. But what makes these amazing birds that color?

It’s actually pretty interesting. Their diet is so much fruit and berries that it impacts the color of their feathers/wings to turn that red shade. In turn it helps for the male cardinals to attract a female partner when mating.

Nature!

Photo credit: Getty Images