Word Acts: The Cardinal, Northern
Lawrence Willson describes the bird that is the color of papal authority.
Redbird 20-23 cm long;
male, scarlet red, crested head
black face, thick red beak; female,
red-tinged on crest, wing & tail
Found year-round on our deck, this dandy’s
the color of papal authority;
given its name, you would think religious,
so regal it’s the state bird of seven;
yet in none does it vote, that we know of
Nests 2-4 whitish, greenish or
bluish eggs marked by brown, red-brown or purple
this bird seems to lay fickly;
feeds on seeds, fruit, grains, berries, assorted critters,
from the deck, sunflower seeds
Aggressive, territorial and yet
quite a melodic songster, regaling
the listener with loud varied tones of
what - cheer, cheer, cheer; purty, purty, purty
then wooiit wooiit wooiit wooiit, chew, chew, chew, chew;
mates are known for their duets,
dual males, for their duels
Puffed up in winter, it could be
an opera contender,
with slurred whistles, hope it’s not
on dope, like an odd rascal
pope
