The red-crested cardinal (''Paroaria coronata'') is a

songbird A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Passeri of the perching birds (Passeriformes). Another name that is sometimes seen as the scientific or vernacular name is Oscines, from Latin ''oscen'', "songbird". The Passeriformes contains 5000 ...

, the

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

belonging to the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

tanager The tanagers (singular ) comprise the bird family Thraupidae, in the order Passeriformes. The family has a Neotropical distribution and is the second-largest family of birds. It represents about 4% of all avian species and 12% of the Neotropica ...

s (

Thraupidae The tanagers (singular ) comprise the bird family Thraupidae, in the order Passeriformes. The family has a Neotropical distribution and is the second-largest family of birds. It represents about 4% of all avian species and 12% of the Neotropica ...

). Notwithstanding its similar name, this bird is not closely related to the true cardinal

(

Cardinalidae Cardinalidae (often referred to as the "cardinal-grosbeaks" or simply the "cardinals") is a family of New World-endemic passerine birds that consists of cardinals, grosbeaks, and buntings. It also includes several birds such as the tanager-lik ...

). It is sometimes known as the Brazilian cardinal.

Etymology

The genus name ''Paroaria'' comes from the

Tupí people A subdivision of the Tupi-Guarani linguistic families, the Tupi people were one of the largest groups of indigenous Brazilians before its colonization. Scholars believe that while they first settled in the Amazon rainforest, from about 2,900 ...

and can be translated as “small red, yellow, and gray bird“, while the Latin species name ''coronata'' means ''crowned''.

Distribution

This species can be found mainly in northern

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

, Brazil's

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, , ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative_units_of_Brazil#List, fifth-most-populous state and the List of Brazilian st ...

and southern part of the

Pantanal The Pantanal () is a natural region encompassing the world's largest tropical wetland area, and the world's largest flooded grasslands. It is located mostly within the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul, but it extends into Mato Grosso and p ...

. It has also been introduced to

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

and

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. In Brazil, it has been introduced to various places outside its historical range, as in the Tietê Ecological Park in

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

.Parque Ecológico do Tietê
/ref>

Habitat

Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

s are subtropical or tropical dry

shrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It m ...

and heavily degraded former forest, at an elevation up to above sea level. It often occurs close to rivers, marshes and lakes.

Description

''Paroaria coronata'' 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. 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.

Biology

This species mainly feed on seeds (of ''

Chloris virgata ''Chloris virgata'' is a species of grass known by the common names feather fingergrass feathery Rhodes-grass and feather windmillgrass. Distribution It is native to many of the warmer temperate, subtropical, and tropical regions of the world, ...

'', ''

Eleusine tristachya ''Eleusine'' is a genus of Asian, African, and South American plants in the grass family,Setaria parviflora ''Setaria parviflora'' is a species of grass known by the common names marsh bristlegrass, knotroot bristle-grass, bristly foxtail and yellow bristlegrass. It is native to North America, including Mexico and the United States from California to ...

'' and '' Spergula villosa''), fruits (of ''

Celtis tala ''Celtis tala'' (or ''Celtis ehrenbergiana''), known as tala, is a medium size deciduous tree, native to tropical and subtropical South America. With small to medium-sized spines, its one of the main components of the Gran Chaco prairies and cer ...

'', ''

Grabowskia duplicata ''Grabowskia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family, Solanaceae. Selected species * '' Grabowskia ameghinoi'' Speg. * '' Grabowskia glauca'' I.M.Johnst. * ''Grabowskia lindleyi ''Grabowskia'' is a genus of flowering pla ...

'', '' Holmbergia tweedii'', ''

Morus alba ''Morus alba'', known as white mulberry, common mulberry and silkworm mulberry, is a fast-growing, small to medium-sized mulberry tree which grows to tall. It is generally a short-lived tree with a lifespan comparable to that of humans, although ...

'', 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.

Gallery

File:Red-crested Cardinal Maui RWD.jpg, Fully displayed crest - Maui, Hawaii File:Red-crested Cardinal.jpg, Juvenile - Kapiolani Park - Oahu, Hawaii File:Starr-130601-4602-Eucalyptus sp-habitat with Red Crested Cardinal-Hawea Pl Olinda-Maui (24843621609).jpg, Close-up File: Thraupidae - Paroaria coronata (Red-crested cardinal).webm, Video clip

References

External links

Red-crested cardinal videos
on the Internet Bird Collection

(for

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

) with range map
Red-crested cardinal photo gallery
VIREO {{Taxonbar, from=Q720526 Paroaria Birds of Argentina Birds of Paraguay Birds of Bolivia Birds of Uruguay Birds of the Pantanal Birds described in 1776 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Articles containing video clips