The bird breeding season is in full swing now for many of central Florida’s small songbirds. Many of them have found partners and are working at building nests and laying eggs. Having reached this point, a lot of them are settling down and are being less aggressive towards each other than they were. Energies are now being spent on other things. That doesn’t mean it isn’t still important to protect their territories, but now that they have been established, it’s less work. It still means that a little caution isn’t a bad thing, though. This male northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) seems to understand this and although confident enough to go down to the ground to search for food, he has his ears and eyes wide open just in case. There is always danger from predators when down on the ground, but there is also danger from other male cardinals in the area. In fact, the latter is much more likely to happen than the former. When a bird is smart, they always show a degree of caution.