Expert: Roger Lederer - 3/13/2010

Question
Dear Roger,

I have read the posts concerning this behavior, but I need a little more information.  For three years straight, we have had one female cardinal that continually beats upon our windows.  It is loud enough to be heard throughout the house.  It is not so much annoying as it is absolutely perplexing to me.  I understand the territorial behavior, but there is no rhyme or reason to what she is doing.  In the morning, she beats upon the north side of my house which gets no direct sunlight and is covered by a porch.  She starts about 7:00 a.m. I can use her as an alarm clock if I chose, she is so consistent.  Later in the morning she will go to the basement level of my house and beat upon the south side windows. Then she will move up a level and beat upon my kitchen window which is also on the south side.  Late afternoon she will back to the front or north side of my house and beat away.  Right before this started three years ago, a cardinal got into our house and bloodied its head against the ceiling trying to get out.  I was not home when this occurred, but my husband was.  He insists this same cardinal is trying to get in.  Needless to say, he freaks out, if any door is left open. My question is how much can this bird endure.  I don't mind the mess or the noise.  I'm wondering if she will actually do physical harm to herself and why there is no consistency in what side of the house she bangs on.  Thanks for you input.  I look forward to hearing from you.  Suzie

Answer
If you have read the posts, then you know this is territorial behavior. There is rhyme and reason to what she is doing, believe it or not. She is defending her territory from any other cardinal she sees and as the sun moves, she see the reflections from different windows - that's why she moves around the house. The only way to stop it is to remove the reflections - not always easy to do. The Cardinal is not trying to get in the house - it just attacks the reflections. It is rare for a bird to fly into a house unless the house is as well lit as the outside or the bird makes a mistake. Birds do not like to fly from light to dark spaces. Birds rarely hurt themselves doing this. A bird trapped in the house might injure itself, as you discovered, but they will rarely do so when they are attacking a window from the outside.