The red-crested cardinal (Paroaria coronata) is a songbird, the species belonging to the family of tanagers (Thraupidae). Notwithstanding its similar name, this bird is not closely related to the true cardinal family (Cardinalidae). It is sometimes known as the Brazilian cardinal.
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. 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.
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. This species can be found mainly in northern Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Brazil's Rio Grande do Sul and southern part of the Pantanal.
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.
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.
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