Female northern cardinal

This bird of the week entry is unusual in two ways.  First, because I didn't get a chance to post one last week, this will be the first of two birds this week.  Second, it's actually a bird we've seen before, the northern cardinal, but this time it is the dramatically different female.

Completely different colours, apart from the beak, from the male.

The scarlet male is much more flashy than the female.  Alas it is usually the way in the bird world.  Still, the beak does make the female cardinal stand out.  If it is facing you there is no mistaking what kind it is.

Both of these cardinals (plus another male) have been constant visitors to our deck since the late winter.  They are delightful to watch, because part of their courtship routine involves the male taking the female little pieces of food and putting them in her beak, which makes them look very much like they are kissing.  They were at it this afternoon, the female sitting on our bird feeder pecking away and the male scratching in the ground underneath, every so often flitting up to give her some tasty morsel he had found.  Meanwhile in the trees the other male was lurking ominously...love is never simple, eh?