Red-crested Cardinal
Paroaria coronata
Unmistakable with its bright red crest and throat that contrasts with its gray back and white underparts. Note the pale horn-colored bill. Usually seen on the ground in semiopen habitat including agricultural lands and urban areas. In the nonbreeding season gathers in large flocks. The songs is a slow melodious whistle.
Identification
The red-crested cardinal is a medium-sized species showing a red head, with a red bib and a short red crest that the bird raises when excited. Belly, breast and undertail are white, with a gray back, wings, and tail. Wing coverts are gray, but the primaries, secondaries, and rectrices show a darker gray. Juveniles are similar to the adults, but they show a dull brownish orange head and bib.<p>This species is very similar to a close relative, the red-cowled cardinal (P. dominicana). It is also similar to the yellow-billed cardinal (P. capitata), but the latter bird has a black throat, darker upper parts and a bright yellow bill.
Taxonomy
In 1776 the English illustrator John Frederick Miller included a hand-coloured plate of the red-crested cardinal in his Icones animalium et plantarum. He coined the binomial name Loxia coronata. The type locality was subsequently designated as Rio Grande do Sul in southern Brazil. The red-crested cardinal is now one of six species placed in the genus Paroaria that was introduced in 1832 by the French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. The genus name is from Tiéguacú paroára, a name for a small yellow, red and grey bird in the extinct Tupi language. The specific epithet coronata is Latin meaning "crowned"
- Scientific name
- Paroaria coronata
- Authority
- (Miller, JF, 1776)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Thraupidae
- Genus
- Paroaria
Range and habitat
This species can be found mainly in Brazil's Rio Grande do Sul, southern part of the Pantanal, northern Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay. It has also been introduced to Hawaii, Puerto Rico and Chile. In Brazil, it has been introduced to various places outside its historical range, as in the Tietê Ecological Park in São Paulo.<p>Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry shrubland and heavily degraded former forest, at an elevation up to 500 metres (1,600 ft) above sea level. It often occurs close to rivers, marshes and lakes.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
This species mainly feed on seeds (of Chloris virgata, Eleusine tristachya, Setaria parviflora and Spergula villosa), fruits (of Celtis tala, Grabowskia duplicata, Holmbergia tweedii, Morus alba, and Sapium haematospermum), insects and small arthropods, generally searched for on the ground in pairs or small groups. Average lifespan is about 3.8 years.
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Adelie Penguin
Pygoscelis adeliae
The “classic” penguin, black above and white below. Also note stubby reddish bill and white eyering. Adults have an all-dark throat, whereas juveniles have a mostly white one. Largely restricted to Antarctica and its adjacent islands. Often rests on icebergs. Breeds in massive colonies, often favoring rocky areas. Gives hoarse barking, grunting, and braying calls, especially when at the colony.
Cassin's Flycatcher
Muscicapa cassini
Slim flycatcher that is mostly gray, with black wings and tail. Found along rainforest streams and rivers at low and moderate elevations. Usually perches on rocks or low on dead branches. The quiet song is a mix of rasps, trills, and high-pitched whistles. Water-loving habits usually separate this species from other gray flycatchers. Similar to Dusky-blue and Ashy Flycatchers, but plainer on the face than those species.
Bannerman's Sunbird
Cyanomitra bannermani
A medium-sized sunbird with an olive back and gray belly. Male has a metallic bluish (may appear green in some light) hood and breast; female appears plain-headed with limited metallic plumage on crown. Immature like female, but darker and duller. Singles and pairs are uncommon residents of riparian forest, forest-edge, and broadleaved Miombo woodland. Sings a series of short jumbled high-pitched notes. Compared to similar Green-headed Sunbird, smaller Bannerman’s Sunbird has a shorter, straighter bill, and mostly blue head (duller on female), lacking an obvious green crown.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.