Northern Cardinal

male

Northern Cardinal aka. Common Cardinal aka. Redbird (colloq.)
Chicago, Illinois, USA
November 2014
Member of the Cardinals and Piranaga Tanagers (whatever that means) family
§A Conclave of Cardinals§
★State bird of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia. More state bird titles than any other bird★

~true bird fact~ One of the more territorial birds, Cardinals will aggressively attack their own reflections in windows and other reflective surfaces. These imaginary battles can last for hours. 

female

Male
Totally buff (and a big showoff about it)
Both starts and resolves conflicts very easily
Drove girlfriend's car into a ditch recently

Female
The brains of the relationship
Coffee aficionado
Kind of a nag, but it's really for his benefit

Trumpeter Swan

Trumpeter Swan
Lincoln Park, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Member of the Duck, Goose, and Swan Family
★Largest Waterfowl★
★Heaviest North American Bird★
§A Regatta of Swans§

~true bird fact~ Trumpeter Swans are one of the few birds to come back from the brink of extinction. By 1900 it was believed that they had been hunted to extinction for their meat, skin, eggs, and feathers (which were believed to make the best possible quill for a quill pen). However, small populations still survived in sparsely inhabited and hard to reach places like Alaska, central Canada, and small mountain valleys in middle America. Efforts to preserve the remaining swans and reintroduce them began, and at first populations remained dangerous small. Recently however, populations have begun to rebound, quadrupling in the past 35 years. Today Trumpeter Swans are again beginning to live in some of the places they were once hunted out of. An inspiring and hopeful story for your holiday season!

A mind like a steel trap
Finds weird things to be fun or entertaining, like doing her taxes
Gets stressed out on long trips. Not a good travel companion
Introvert