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
Photo Courtesy of Bernard DUPONT / CC BY-SA 2.0
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.
Photo Courtesy of Bernard DUPONT / CC BY-SA 2.0
Both males and females look very similar.
Juveniles have a brown-orange head and brown upperparts.
Photo Courtesy of Andrew Lambeth / CC BY 2.0
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.
Photo Courtesy of Dominic Sherony / CC BY-SA 2.0
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.
Photo Courtesy of Bernard DUPONT / CC BY-SA 2.0
This bird has a wide range and stable population making it as of Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Photo Courtesy of Bernard DUPONT / CC BY-SA 2.0
You can watch this bird right here in the video below”
