Northern Cardinal (male)

In this particular location cardinals travel deep in the brush where it's hard to get a photo without sticks and vines in the way. It's not hard to locate cardinals by their call and color, but the tougher part is getting close enough for a clear unobstructed view.  A bird feeder would make this easier!

The cardinal is the state bird of Illinois and six other states, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia.  Illinois schoolchildren selected the cardinal as the Illinois state bird in the 1920s.