A Father Cardinal Doing his Fatherly Duties on Father's Day
I was watching a Northern Cardinal in my yard as he dipped into some greenery and popped up with a mouthful of something. From my vantage point, it looked like a bunch of blades of grass, or leaves, or something similar. I assumed he might have wanted that green vegetation for a nest. It was only when I processed the photos that I realized something else had happened.
A close-up of the photo above reveals a Creosote Bush Katydid in the Cardinal's bill. (Thank you Jeff Babson for the ID.) For more on this insect, see http://www.arizonensis.org/sonoran/fieldguide/arthropoda/insara_covilleae.html
The fact that the Cardinal did not instantly eat this insect meant it had other plans for it. But what was on its mind?
The Cardinal flew to the other side of the small flower bed and passed the Katydid on to a female Cardinal.
Once she had a good grip on the Katydid, the male's job was done for now.
The female did not instantly consume the insect either. So she must have had other plans. I've been seeing young fledged Cardinals in the yard. They have grown enough so that their Dad is no longer feeding them. That means the female has already begun her second brood of the season. There likely is a new set of hatchlings in the nest, waiting to be fed.
The male Cardinal's job is done for now. The female has a job to do.
She flew to the close side of the flower bed and then, with the male watching from a distance, she flew off into the desert towards her nest. Cardinals may have two to three broods per year. Once the young leave the nest, for about 10 days after fledging, Dad continues to feed them. While he's doing that, the female has begun the process for her second brood. By the time those next eggs hatch, the male Cardinal is free again to help feed the female and her newer hatchlings. Because 'Mom' is now doing the feeding, her young must be almost ready to leave the nest too.
And so the cycle of life continues in the desert.