Facts · Updated 8 Oct 2026
Baby Cardinals: Ages, Stages and Pictures
By the Birdfact teamChecked by
Nathan Cope
Baby Northern Cardinals hatch naked and blind after 11 to 13 days of incubation, leave the nest at about 9 or 10 days old, and are fed by their parents for weeks afterwards. When cardinals have babies, how many, what they eat, how long they stay in the nest and with their parents, and what to do if you find one on the ground.
On this page11 sections
This guide follows Northern Cardinal chicks from the egg to independence, with pictures of each stage. For how young cardinals look once they are out of the nest, and when they turn red, see juvenile cardinals.
When do cardinals have babies?
From spring to late summer. Females lay their first eggs in March or April: the earliest dates on record are 24 March in Texas, 30 March in Florida, 13 April in Ontario and 20 April in Michigan. The chicks hatch 11 to 13 days later. Nesting carries on into August, and in some places young birds are still leaving the nest in September.1
How many babies do cardinals have?
Baby cardinal stages
The table gives the ages for each stage. Days are counted from hatching unless the table says otherwise.
| Stage | Age | What you see |
|---|---|---|
| Egg | 11 to 13 days of incubation | Grayish to greenish white with brown speckles; the female incubates alone |
| Hatchling | Day 0 to 2 | Naked except for sparse gray down, eyes closed, yellowish skin, a red-orange mouth with a yellow edge |
| Nestling | Day 3 to 9 or 10 | Feathers break out of their sheaths from about day 6; loud begging by day 5 |
| Fledgling | Leaves the nest at 7 to 13 days, usually 9 or 10 | Short tail, small crest, dark bill; flutters short distances |
| Juvenile | Fed by the parents until 25 to 56 days after leaving the nest | Like a dull brown female with a dark bill; molts from June to November |
Food
Baby cardinals eat insects almost entirely: beetles, caterpillars, grasshoppers and cicadas. Adult cardinals eat mostly seeds and fruit, but four nestlings examined in a classic diet study had eaten 95% animal food.1
Both parents feed the chicks. For the first two days the male may pass food to the female, who feeds the young; after that he feeds them himself, and males often make more trips than females. In an Ohio study, males brought food 2.3 times an hour and females 1.8 times. The parents also carry away the chicks' droppings, packaged in a membrane called a fecal sac.
How long do baby cardinals stay in the nest?
Only 7 to 13 days, most often 9 or 10 if nobody disturbs them.2 They usually leave in the morning, and the parents coax them out by bringing food less often and offering it from nearby branches. By about day 8 the chicks are alert, and handling them or disturbing the nest can make them jump out early, so leave a nest alone in its last few days.
After they leave the nest
For about the first 11 days out of the nest, fledglings hardly move from the branch where they sit, and the parents feed each one about 8 times an hour. They fly well by about 8 days out of the nest, start moving around from about 12 days, and keep getting at least some food from their parents until 25 to 56 days after leaving the nest.
The female often starts the next nest within two or three weeks of a brood leaving, and the male takes over feeding the fledglings. Most young cardinals leave the area where they hatched between 35 and 55 days after fledging.
Why baby cardinals are hard to see
They hide, and they do not look like cardinals. Fledglings sit still in thick cover for their first days out of the nest, and when they do appear they are plain brown with a dark bill, easy to mistake for a dull female.
When do baby cardinals turn red?
In their first molt, between June and November. Young males show patches of red as their new feathers grow in, and by winter many look like adults. The bill turns orange 65 to 80 days after hatching. See juvenile cardinals for pictures of each stage.
If you find a baby cardinal on the ground
If it has feathers and hops or flutters, it is a fledgling and should be left alone: its parents are nearby and still feeding it. If it is naked or its eyes are closed, it is a nestling: put it back in the nest if you can, since the parents will not be put off by your scent. If it is injured, or you are sure it is orphaned, call a licensed wildlife rehabilitator.3
Cardinals, their nests and their eggs are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, so raising a wild baby cardinal yourself requires a permit.4
Survival
In Ontario, 80% of fledglings were still alive 28 days after leaving the nest; in central Ohio, where young birds were followed by radio, 44% survived to 71 days.1 Snakes, Blue Jays, squirrels, chipmunks and cats are among the predators. More on the nest and eggs: cardinal nesting.
Sources
- Halkin, S. L., Shustack, D. P., DeVries, M. S., Jawor, J. M., Linville, S. U. (2021). Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis), version 2.0. Birds of the World (P. G. Rodewald and B. K. Keeney, editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology. doi:10.2173/bow.norcar.02
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Northern Cardinal: Life History. All About Birds. Accessed 6 October 2026. Source
- Shaw, T.. What to do if you find a baby bird, injured or orphaned wildlife. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Accessed 6 October 2026. Source
- U.S. Government. 50 CFR 10.13: List of Birds Protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Electronic Code of Federal Regulations. Accessed 6 October 2026. Source
- Kaufman, K.. Northern Cardinal. Audubon Guide to North American Birds (text adapted from Lives of North American Birds, 1996). Accessed 6 October 2026. Source
- NestWatch. Common Nesting Birds: Northern Cardinal. NestWatch, Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Accessed 6 October 2026. Source
