The male Northern cardinal is really striking as it perches in the bare branches of a crepe myrtle tree.

Thanks to my pal, Maria Dryfhout, for supplying this poem which fits so well with this image:

Red on white… he’s hard to miss
Against a snow-filled tree.
To view the paint box scene is bliss
How did he come to be?
Why is the cardinal colored so
On these cold and wintry days?
Red on white… a bird and snow;
God works in wondrous ways.
As bright as any wreath’s red bow,
I’m sure I know the reason.
The cardinal is a gift… I know,
To cheer us through the season.

By Eleanor Thayer