America's northern cardinal bird

From the very English robin in my last post, to the very American sight of the brilliant red cardinal bird! In my time there I used to see these birds sitting in the trees in my backyard; the rich red color is glorious to behold.

Here is my first attempt at recreating this amazing bird - this is my prototype in-the-making. I usually wait until all knitting of the piece is complete before installing the eyes, but I couldn't resist adding them early just to see if the face works, and looks like a cardinal bird. I think it does, so far!

Knitting my prototype cardinal bird.