Lady Jane Cardinal and the Crossbill

One of our female Northern Cardinals is easy to identify because of her color. She has much more gray and less reddish-brown than is typical. At our house, identification means the bird gets a name. This one is Lady Jane. She is also much less aggressive than most cardinals. On this particular day, she was eating at a feeder when a molting Red Crossbill flew up.


She paid no attention at all to the crossbill.

The crossbill felt obliged to challenge her, but Lady Jane was unfazed.

"Oh," said the crossbill. "So there!"

Lady Jane leans in as if to say she isn't bothered at all by crossbill.

Peace established, the two sat side by side eating.

I love watching the birds interact in the trees and at the feeders. While the results are often predictable, sometimes there can be big surprises.