With the leaves long gone, and a snowy white background, the Cardinal (cardinalis cardinalis) is easy to spot, and a a beautiful sight. We have several in the LipsYard.
The Cardinal can live up to 15 years in the wild. They forages on ground and in trees and bushes, feeding on seeds, grains, fruits, insects and snails. The male behaves territorially, marking out his territory with song. During courtship, he feeds seed to the female beak-to-beak. Males that have a brighter red color appear to feed at higher rates and have greater reproductive success than males that are duller in color.
Females don't get the pretty red coat.
Members of the Bush Administration continue to break the Cardinal Rule of Honesty. This time it's the CIA. The Central Intelligence Agency videotaped their extreme measures interrogation (torture) of 9/11 suspects in 2002, then "decided" to delete them in 2005. They claim it was to protect the identity of the interogators. This was the same time that their rendition of suspects to secret foreign prisons came to light, along with the Abu Ghraib incident. Where the lying part comes in is that the 9/11 commission had requested all materials in connection with interrogations of suspects, and were assured by the CIA that they had everything.Perhaps they should change their anagram to CYA.
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