Northern Cardinals in Hawaii

Northern Cardinals live in Hawaii all year — introduced in the 1920s; now common on all main islands. No true winter; rain falls mainly November–March on windward sides. That makes the cold months the time your yard matters most to them: their winter diet shifts toward weed and grass seeds; sumac, hackberry and other persistent winter fruit; sunflower and safflower at feeders.

Tropical, with wet windward slopes, dry leeward coasts and cool upland forest above 3,000 ft.

Across Hawaii, cardinals typically nest from March–August. Nest site: open cup built by the female in dense shrubs, vine tangles or saplings, usually 1–15 ft up. Females lay 2–5 eggs, incubate for 11–13 days, and young leave the nest after 7–13 days.

Most backyard birds are introduced species; native honeycreepers persist mostly in high-elevation forest.

• Northern Cardinals don't use nest boxes. Keep dense native shrubs and trees such as naio, ʻūlei, pōhinahina for nest sites.
• Delay heavy pruning of shrubs until after August.

Of the regional native plants we track for Hawaii, these 3 provide food or cover cardinals use:

Cardinals feed most actively at dawn and dusk and rarely use small-perch tube feeders. Place feeders within 10–15 ft of dense shrub cover they can retreat to.

• Best foods: Black-oil sunflower, Safflower, Hulled sunflower chips, Cracked corn (sparingly).
• In Hawaii's winter: No true winter; rain falls mainly November–March on windward sides.

Full diet breakdown for cardinals · Best feeder for cardinals