Red-crested cardinal

The genus name Paroaria comes from the Tupí people and can be translated as “small red, yellow, and gray bird“, while the Latin species name coronata means crowned.[3]

This species can be found mainly in Brazil's Rio Grande do Sul, southern part of the Pantanal, northern Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay.[1][3]

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.[4]

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.[1] It often occurs close to rivers, marshes and lakes.[3]

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.[3]

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.[3]

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.[3] Average lifespan is about 3.8 years.[1]

• 
  Fully displayed crest - Maui, Hawaii
• 
  Juvenile - Kapiolani Park - Oahu, Hawaii
• 
  Close-up
• Video clip

• Red-crested cardinal videos on the Internet Bird Collection
• Stamps (for Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay) with range map
• Red-crested cardinal photo gallery VIREO