A Sleek Highly Streamlined Birds Classic Black And White Combination Is All Topped Off By A Startling, Very Eye-catching Red Hood!
A sleek rather streamlined bird with a gray back, white chest and collar, and a bright eye-catching red hood.
MEET THE YELLOW-BILLED CARDINAL
The yellow-billed cardinal (Paroaria capitata) measures 6 inches (15 cm) in length and has a yellow-orange bill and legs similarly colored. The head is bright red and the throat black while the underparts are white and the back, wings, and tail medium gray.
Both males and females look very similar.
Juveniles have a brown-orange head and brown upperparts.
This bird is found in Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia, Uruguay, and northern Argentina and has been introduced on the island of Hawai’i.
The yellow-billed cardinal is mostly found in moist scrublands, especially near swamps and marshes, as well as in wet grasslands and along the shores of rivers and lakes. They are present from sea level up to an altitude of around 500 meters.
They are omnivorous, eating various seeds, fruits, and invertebrates.
Yellow-billed cardinals breed from October through to February when they build a deep cup-shaped nest made of plant fibers and lined with rootlets and hair. It is placed fairly low in a small tree or scrub. The female then lays 2 to 4 white or cream-colored eggs with brown streaks within, which she incubates on her own for 13 to 15 days. The chicks fledge 10-15 days after hatching. Each pair can raise 2 to 4 broods per season.
This bird has a wide range and stable population making it as of Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
