Cardinal Bird Painting

Although Cardinals are native to the east coast, they have become a vibrant sign of winter, especially when paired with a snowy background. Have kids learn about cardinals and their habitats and extend the lesson to learn about birds in your area. Go bird watching! The birds are out all year long. 

Children may also choose to paint the birds native to their area. In our areas we have blue birds such as the western and mountain blue birds, Steller’s Jays and scrub jays, black, white and red woodpeckers, and the gray, black and white Mountain Chickadee.

You will need:

tissue paper

white paper 

paint brush

oil pastels (black, brown)

red, orange, teal & white paint 

Cut tissue paper in small pieces. Use paint brush to paint glue on the paper. Place your tissue paper on top of the painted glue.

After the tissue paper and glue dry, draw tree branches with brown oil pastels. Use some black to create shading. 

Trace birds with pencil. Use black oil pastel for the beak. 

Paint the cardinal red and the beak orange. 

Paint some snow if you like. 

For the snow, children may dip the end of the handle 

of their paint brush into the paint to create dots on the page. 

Children may add snow on the branches, as well as snowflakes falling from the sky. 

Cardinals 

by Christine Kelley

Pair of cardinals

perched together in the snow,

one warm, beating heart.

Paint your bird blue and you have a gorgeous mountain blue bird.

The Bluebird

by Evaleen Stein

Today at dawn there twinkled through

The pearly mist a flash of blue

So dazzling bright I thought the sky

Shone through the rifted clouds on high,

Till, by and by,

A note so honey-sweet I heard,

I knew that bright flash was a bird!