ILLINOIS PERMITS
DALE’S MAILBAG
“I saw this cardinal near Beck Lake. It seemed more red than normal. Does the color of the bird change in winter?”
Ray Adams
A: Color is an interesting side to male cardinals. From NestWatch on allaboutbirds.org (Cornell Lab of Ornithology), “The intensity of a cardinal’s redness is related to what he’s been eating. So when females see a bright male, it’s a signal that he’s healthy and holds a good territory.”
Cardinal near Beck Lake.
BIG NUMBER
5: Members of the 2021 of the Illini Muskies Alliance’s 2021 Hall of Fame Class