Migration Madness Bracket: Which Winged Winner Will Take it?

Last night, UConn men took home a third NCAA tournament title. Tonight, Notre Dame and Texas A&M battle it out to see which team will be crowned the women’s champs. But which bird’ll be dubbed March Migration Madness winner? Today’s match-up: Peregrine falcon (above, right) versus northern cardinal.

In Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s March Migration Madness bracket, the top seeds went to the dozen most popular species on the All About Birds species guide. Four wild cards—cedar waxwing, Lucifer hummingbird, house wren, and wood duck—rounded out the Tweet 16. Cornell Lab asked its Facebook followers to vote for the favorite in each head-to-head matchup.

Early in the tournament, the dark-eyed junco knocked out the blue jay. The wildcard wood duck took out fourth-seeded Cooper’s hawk. And in a surprise upset, the cedar waxwing removed the top-seeded red-tailed hawk from play.

The Airborne Eight have already been decided; now it’s on to the Feathered Four. In one half, the cedar waxwing takes on the white-breasted nuthatch. And the winner of tomorrow’s match pitting black-capped chickadee against Downy woodpecker will take on today’s champ.

Don’t miss your chance to vote! There’s a new matchup each weekday.

While you’re there, check out Audubon magazine’s Facebook page.

[Images by Phototim1 and Picture Taker 2, Flickr Creative Commons]