This morning I decided as I was leaving for work to stop in the driveway 
and listen/scan the adjacent field at Mt Calvert, which was recently 
plowed and seeded.  While I was scanning the field with my binoculars for 
horned larks or other less common field species (for here - P.G. County), 
I listened to see if I could hear anything unusual.  It was covered with 
birds, mostly with ~125 robins, 7-8 savannah sparrows, and a couple of 
kildeer and flickers.  No luck with uncommon species, but I must say that 
generally, the amount of birdsong (all over) was impressive.

Surprise: There was a cardinal blasting away with song from the mid height 
of a tall tree next to me, and when I finished scanning the field, I 
looked up at it and was surprised to see it was a FEMALE.  I know that 
some if not many bird species have female vocalizations, but I thought 
they are generally used for warning, scolding, assembly, or other such 
communication.  However, this female was singing the typical cardinal 
repertoire used for territorial singing.  She repeated it over and over 
for ~4-5 minutes while I was standing there, but did stop when I moved to 
get a different view of her.  I wonder how many times have I heard the 
cardinal's territorial song and assumed it is from a male; I generally 
never think to confirm whether it is a male.  As I watched, I thought 
maybe I had mis-sexed it and maybe it was a singing male that was somehow 
still in hatch year plumage.  No, it was clearly an adult female, an easy 
identification, and I wondered if I was just plain wrong in thinking that 
only males will sing on territory.  Or, if I am right - was this a very 
odd occurrence?

Any thoughts?

Jeff Shenot
Croom MD