what does it look like?
The northern cardinal is a mid-sized songbird with a distinctive crest on the head and a mask on the face which is black in the male and gray in the female.
Northern cardinal
The northern cardinal is a mid-sized songbird with a body length of . It has a distinctive crest on the head and a mask on the face which is black in the male and gray in the female. 
how many times a year do cardinals mate Pairs may mate for successive years, but some also 'divorce' between seasons or choose a new mate when one dies.
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Northern cardinal [SEP] Introduction
The male is a vibrant red, while the female is a reddish olive color. The northern cardinal is mainly granivorous, but also feeds on insects and fruit. The male behaves territorially, marking out his territory with song. During courtship, the male feeds seed to the female beak-to-beak. A clutch of three to four eggs is laid, and two to four clutches are produced each year. It was once prized as a pet, but its sale as a cage bird was banned in the United States by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.