A Moment of March Madness

This unusual incident happened on a chilly March morning. I was in my backyard, filling a feeder, when I casually looked across the fence into the neighbor’s yard. I spotted a female Northern Cardinal behaving oddly. She was reacting to her reflection in the sideview mirror of a parked car. I ran into the house and grabbed my camera.

She was still there when I returned. In the above photograph, she’s perched on top of the sideview mirror. She’s looking toward the driver-side window, where she perhaps caught a glimpse of her reflection. Cardinals are not capable of recognizing that this is a reflection of themselves. She must be interpreting it as another bird.

She hops down and perches on the edge of the driver-side window. From here, she can clearly see her reflection in the window. She lingers momentarily.

Turning her head, her eye catches a glimpse of what appears to be another female bird behind her (in the mirror).

She swings her body around toward the mirror. Her tail goes up. Perhaps that is some sort of warning position. This is my territory. You better leave!                                                                     

Although it’s only March, this female Cardinal and her mate have probably begun to search for a nest site. This particular backyard is likely part of their staked-out territory. The presence of another female, although not unusual, is something she must deal with. However, the other bird does not seem to respond as expected. She’s telling me to leave!

She leans forward for a closer look, peering intently at her own reflection. Is this eye contact perhaps a more serious challenge to her foe? She does not make contact with the mirror or act aggressively.

The Cardinal does know what to do. She hops to the top of the mirror, perhaps retreating.

Since she can’t seem to drive away the intruder, she seems perplexed and befuddled. Yet her curiosity pulls her back down toward the window to check again for the intruder. She’s caught in a loop, repeating the sequence of movements as she sees her reflection. The unfortunate bird is locked into a ritualized pattern of hopping back and forth between the top of the side-mirror and the edge of the driver-side window. She pauses to consider the reflections in both places, then retreats.

This behavior continued until she abruptly flew away after about fifteen minutes. Perhaps her mate was calling.

The next morning, I checked on whether the behavior happened again, but the car was gone. It was a one-time phenomenon.

Timing has always been a key element in my life. I have been blessed to have been in the right place at the right time.

Buzz Aldrin

Here are some other unusual photo-encounters to check out…

• Dumpster Divers >>
• Steeple Sitters >>
• Birds Perched on Gravestones >>
• A Young Owl’s Adventures >>