Most people searching for “red birds” are thinking of the Northern Cardinal, and these familiar backyard birds nest in dense, low shrubs and vine tangles, typically 1 to 15 feet off the ground. But several other red-plumaged species across North America have their own distinct nesting preferences, from high forest canopies to porch light fixtures.
Where Northern Cardinals Build Their Nests
Cardinals are ground feeders that prefer to nest close to where they eat. They look for thick, tangled vegetation in shrubs, saplings, or vine clusters, and they wedge their nests into a fork of small branches where dense foliage hides them from predators. The average nest height in places like Tennessee is about 5 feet, though nests have been found as low as 1 foot and as high as 15 feet.
The habitats they choose share one feature: a mix of open ground and dense low cover. Woodland edges, streamside thickets, hedgerows, swamps with thick understory, and the landscaped shrubs around homes and parks all fit the bill. Cardinals don’t nest deep in mature forest or out in open grassland. They want that boundary zone where they can hop on the ground to forage, fly up to a tree branch to sing, and duck into a tangle of branches to incubate eggs.
The nest itself is a cup shape built from twigs, bark strips, grasses, and rootlets, lined with finer materials. The female does most of the construction, typically finishing in 3 to 9 days. Cardinals breed between March and September and usually raise two broods per year, the first starting around March and the second from late May into July. Each clutch contains 2 to 5 eggs, and incubation lasts 11 to 13 days. Chicks leave the nest after another 7 to 13 days.
Other Red Birds and Their Nesting Habits
Scarlet Tanager
If the cardinal is a low-nesting suburbanite, the Scarlet Tanager is its opposite. These brilliantly red songbirds nest high in the forest canopy, typically 20 to 30 feet above the ground, sometimes higher. They strongly prefer deciduous forest dominated by oaks, though they’ll also use maple, beech, and occasionally mixed pine-oak woods. The nest sits on a horizontal branch well out from the trunk, making it extremely difficult to spot from below. You’re far more likely to hear a Scarlet Tanager than find its nest.
Summer Tanager
The Summer Tanager, the only entirely red bird in North America (males are red all over, with no black wings like the Scarlet Tanager), nests at mid-canopy heights in open woodlands. Eastern populations build in a clump of leaves or a fork on a horizontal branch, well away from the trunk and often overhanging an open area like a clearing or road. Their nests are notably flimsy, constructed of dried plant material by the female alone. Some are so loosely woven that eggs are visible from below, with loose fibers dangling 8 inches beneath the nest.
Vermilion Flycatcher
In the desert Southwest, the Vermilion Flycatcher is the red bird you’re most likely to encounter. These small, vividly red-and-black birds nest in riparian corridors, the strips of green that follow water through arid landscapes. They build in the fork of a horizontal branch in cottonwood, willow, or mesquite trees, usually near irrigated fields, ditches, or other moist open areas. Their range in the U.S. is limited to parts of southern California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.
House Finch
House Finches (males sport a red head, chest, and rump) are perhaps the most adaptable nesters on this list. In natural settings, they use deciduous and coniferous trees, cactus, and rock ledges. But they’ve become famous for nesting on and in human structures: porch lights, hanging planters, building vents, ledges, street lamps, and wreaths on front doors. If you’ve found a red bird nesting in an unlikely spot on your house, it’s almost certainly a House Finch.
How to Attract Red Birds to Nest in Your Yard
Since cardinals nest in dense, low vegetation, the single best thing you can do is plant thick shrubs and vines. Several native plants are particularly effective. Wild grape produces dense greenery that provides both nest sites and nesting material from its shredding bark. Virginia creeper offers similar dense cover. Dogwood species (red-osier dogwood, gray dogwood) provide nest sites, cover, and berries that cardinals eat. Staghorn sumac and winterberry holly round out a native planting that offers food and shelter year-round.
The key is density. A single ornamental bush in the middle of a lawn won’t attract nesting cardinals. A cluster of shrubs that creates a thicket, or a vine-covered fence with tangled growth at its base, mimics the natural woodland edge habitat cardinals seek. Leave leaf litter and some messy undergrowth beneath your plantings. Cardinals forage on the ground, and a too-tidy yard removes both their food sources and nesting material.
If you want to help with nest construction, stick to natural materials placed loosely outside: small twigs, dry grass clippings (untreated with chemicals), moss, and rootlets. Avoid dryer lint, yarn, or synthetic materials, which can absorb water and chill eggs or trap tiny legs.
Nesting Heights at a Glance
- Northern Cardinal: 1 to 15 feet, in dense shrubs and vine tangles
- Scarlet Tanager: 20 to 30 feet or higher, on outer branches of tall oaks
- Summer Tanager: mid-canopy, on horizontal branches overhanging clearings
- Vermilion Flycatcher: variable heights in cottonwood, willow, and mesquite along desert waterways
- House Finch: variable, from trees and cacti to porch lights and hanging planters
The species you’re seeing depends heavily on where you live. Cardinals are year-round residents across the eastern U.S., parts of the Southwest, and into Mexico. Scarlet Tanagers breed in the eastern U.S. but spend winters in South America. Summer Tanagers range across the southern states. Vermilion Flycatchers stick to the arid Southwest. House Finches are found nearly everywhere in North America, and they’re the red bird most likely to set up house literally on your house.