The red-crested cardinal (Paroaria coronata) is a passerine bird in the tanagerfamilyThraupidae. Notwithstanding its similar name, this bird is not closely related to the true cardinal familyCardinalidae. It is sometimes known as the Brazilian cardinal.
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 nameLoxia coronata.[3] The type locality was subsequently designated as Rio Grande do Sul in southern Brazil.[4] The red-crested cardinal is now one of six species placed in the genusParoaria that was introduced in 1832 by the French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.[5] 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 coronataisLatin meaning "crowned"[6]
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.[7]
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.[7]
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.[7]
