the.com/cardinal
a bird so red it dares the snow to do something about it
means Cardinal means most important or central, as in the principal point on which everything else depends — and it's also the name of a high-ranking Catholic clergyman and the bright red bird named for his robes.
from From Latin cardinalis, meaning 'serving as a hinge,' from cardo, 'a hinge.' The idea is that the most essential things are the ones everything else turns on — like a door on its hinge. The Church's cardinals took the name as the 'hinge men' of the faith, and their scarlet vestments later lent both their color and their title to the vivid red bird.
- no migration
- stays put all winter, defiant against the cold
- diet pigment
- red feathers come from eating certain berries
- window war
- males attack their own reflection for weeks
- seven states
- official bird of more states than any rival
- both sing
- females sing too, rare among songbirds
arizona cardinals — nfl team founded in 1898, oldest professional sports franchise in north america
louisville cardinals — university of louisville athletic program, 3 ncaa men's basketball championships