Q: I'm enjoying seeing a male and female cardinal at my feeders and sitting in a nearby tree together. Are they a couple? A: Cardinal pairs don't separate after nesting season, as many songbirds do.

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.

With such bright and bold colors, especially against the new white snow, these birds are often depicted on greeting cards and holiday stationery. They seem to take on the role of a northern bird that ...