I can tell you without a doubt, HF welding gloves will NOT protect you from the jaws of a Cardinal bird. They can pinch right through them with a good amount of finger skin included.
When I used to grow grapes around the garden, I covered them in netting one year. One morning I found a Cardinal tangled in the net. I fetched my welding gloves and while trying to extract the bird from the net, he clamped down on a finger. I got him free and held my hand open palm so he could fly away. Noooooooo. He stayed there for a good 10-seconds administering punishment. I took the netting down and gave up on the grapes.
