Female Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)
Northern Cardinals are year-round residents in parts of Arizona, especially in desert riparian areas, mesquite thickets, and backyards with feeders (like the one in your photo). Wickenburg and surrounding areas in central Arizona fall within their range, though they’re more localized in the Southwest compared to the eastern U.S.
They are sometimes confused with the Pyrrhuloxia (a close relative sometimes called the “desert cardinal”), which is rarer in Arizona. You can tell them apart because female Northern Cardinals have a thicker, more reddish-orange bill and more blackish facial markings, while Pyrrhuloxias tend to have more gray tones and a different bill shape.
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- Image (cropped) Northern Cardinal Female on Seed Feeder
- Camera: Canon EOS R10
- Program Mode: Normal Program, 1/400sec, ISO 250, F 7.1
- Lens: RF-S55-210mm F5-7.1 IS STM @210mm
Image: Copyright(C) 2026, Click to view enlarged.
