When most people think of a cardinal, the brilliant red of a Northern Cardinal flashing across a snowy backyard likely comes to mind—and for good reason. With their bold colors, expressive crests, and sweet whistled songs, cardinals are some of the most beloved and recognizable birds in North America. But there’s more to the cardinal family than one iconic species.
Cardinals belong to the family Cardinalidae, a group that includes not only the famous Northern Cardinal but also other striking species like the Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting, and the colorful Pyrrhuloxia of the desert Southwest. What ties them together isn’t just their beauty—though there’s plenty of that—but also their thick, conical bills adapted for seed-cracking, their rich vocalizations, and their preference for open woodlands, thickets, and backyard feeders.
These birds are mostly non-migratory, meaning once they move into your area, they’re likely there to stay. That makes them favorites among backyard birders, who often hear their sweet songs long before they spot the source in the branches. And while the males often steal the show with their color, females in this family are no less interesting – in fact, in many species, they sing too!
We’ll explore the cardinals of Alaska – from the familiar to the more regionally unique – highlighting how to identify them, where they live, and what makes each one special. Whether you’re filling a feeder, scanning a brushy trail, or just listening from the porch, you might be surprised by just how much cardinal charm is hiding in plain sight.
Cardinals in Alaska:
1. Western Tanager
Western Tanagers are not often seen in Alaska, but they have been occasionally spotted in the southeast of the state during summer.
Western Tanagers have a flaming orange-red head, yellow body, and black wings. Females have only red faces, and their bodies are yellow-green.
- Piranga ludoviciana
- Length: 6.3-7.5 in (16-19 cm)
- Weight: 0.8-1.3 oz (24-36 g)
Western Tanagers breed in western US states and western Canada. They can be seen during migration in the east and south of this range. Winter is spent in Mexico and Central America.
You can find Western Tanagers in open conifer forests, but they stay hidden in the canopy, despite their bright coloring. Their numbers are actually increasing in the last forty years.
They eat mainly insects in summer, such as wasps and grasshoppers, and in the fall and winter, they also eat fruit.
Western Tanager Song:
Nests of Western Tanagers are built by females in open areas of trees and are made from large twigs and then roots and smaller twigs to weave them into a sturdy cup shape. The nest is lined with soft grass, pine needles, hair, and other plant materials. They lay around four eggs which take around two weeks to hatch.
Attract Western Tanagers with dried fruit, cut oranges, and other fruits from bird feeders.
Fun fact: Western Tanagers’ red coloring probably comes from eating insects that produce a pigment that they cannot produce themselves.
