{{short description|Species of bird}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}} {{Speciesbox | image = Pyrrhuloxia (34152495333) (cropped).jpg | image_caption = Male | image2 = Pyrr-juvenile.jpg | image2_caption = Female | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 11 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2016 |title=''Cardinalis sinuatus'' |volume=2016 |article-number=e.T22723825A94835938 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22723825A94835938.en |access-date=11 November 2021}}</ref> | genus = Cardinalis | species = sinuatus | authority = Bonaparte, 1838 | range_map = Cardinalis sinuatus map.svg | synonyms = ''Pyrrhuloxia sinuatus'' }}
The '''pyrrhuloxia''' {{IPAc-en|ˌ|p|ɪr|ə|ˈ|l|ɒ|k|s|i|ə}}<ref>{{dictionary.com|Pyrrhuloxia}}</ref> or '''desert cardinal''' ('''''Cardinalis sinuatus''''') is a medium-sized North American songbird found in the American southwest and northern Mexico. This distinctive species with a short, stout bill, red crest, and red wings closely resembles the northern cardinal and the vermilion cardinal, which are in the same genus.
==Taxonomy== The desert cardinal is one of three birds in the genus ''Cardinalis'' in the family Cardinalidae, a group of passerine birds found in North and South America.
Its name of pyrrhuloxia was suggested as a new genus by ornithologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte. He conceived it as portmanteau of the bullfinch genus ''Pyrrhula'' and the crossbill genus ''Loxia'' as he imagined the bird was an intermediate between the two <ref>Bonaparte, Charles Lucien (1850) ''Conspectus General Avium'' E.J. Brill, Lugdunum Batavorum, New York</ref>. The common name, desert cardinal, refers to it inhabiting the southwest, and often arid regions, of the North American continent.
==Description== The desert cardinal is a medium-sized song bird; the length for both sexes is about 8.3 in (21 cm), while the typical weight is 0.8–1.5 oz (24–43 g).<ref name="Birds of North America"/>
The most obvious differences between the male desert cardinal and the northern cardinal are in their coloring. The desert cardinal is predominantly brownish-gray with a red breast, a red mask, and a yellow, parrot-like bill that is stout and rounded.<ref>{{cite web | author =Cornell Lab of Ornithology | title =''Pyrrhuloxia'' | publisher =Cornell University | url =http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Pyrrhuloxia/id | access-date =2011-02-25 }}</ref> The females of the two species resemble each other much more closely, but the shapes of their bills are diagnostic. The songs of the two species are identical, though the pyrrhuloxia's is not quite as loud. This cardinal retains the distinctive long, pointed, red crest present in all species.
==Distribution and habitat== The pyrrhuloxia is a year-round resident of desert scrub and mesquite thickets, in the U.S. states of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas and woodland edges in Mexico. It occupies the southwestern half of Texas, roughly the southern third of New Mexico, and southeastern region of Arizona. Its range includes areas from the west to east coast of Mexico north of the Sierra Madre del Sur, Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, and Isthmus of Tehuantepec, while excluding the Sierra Madre Occidental. An individual of the species has reportedly been seen as far away from its dominant range as Costa Mesa, California, in Orange County.<ref>{{cite web | last =Morlan | first =Joseph | title =''Pyrrhuloxia'' | publisher =Morlan | url =http://fog.ccsf.edu/~jmorlan/pyrr.htm | access-date =2011-02-25 }}</ref>
This cardinal is relatively nonmigratory, though it may occasionally stray slightly north of its usual range. The pyrrhuloxia prefers habitat along stream beds. In areas where the range of the pyrrhuloxia and northern cardinal overlap, hybridization may occur between them.<ref name="Birds of North America"/>
==Ecology== In breeding season, songs are used to establish and defend territories. One song has a sharp, clear, "wha-cheer, wha-cheer", while another is characteristic of a metallic "quink". Females also sing, but they use softer and duller notes. A short "cheep" or "chip" is a regular contact call given by both sexes while foraging.
===Diet=== The pyrrhuloxia's diet consists of seeds, fruits, and insects. While foraging, the desert cardinal snatches insects from trees and picks seeds predominantly from the stalks of grasses and similar plants. It also seeks out cactus fruit for consumption. This bird is a benefit to cotton fields, as it assists in eating populations of cotton worms and weevils.<ref name="Owls">{{cite web | author=The Aviary at Owls.com | title=''Pyrrhuloxia'' | url=http://aviary.owls.com/pyrrhuloxia/pyrrhuloxia.html | access-date =2011-02-25 }}</ref> This species of cardinal also visits bird feeders and in the winter forages in huge flocks, sometimes numbering in the thousands.<ref name="Birds of North America"/>
===Reproduction=== The breeding season for this cardinal usually begins in mid-March, ending in mid-August. As the breeding season approaches, territories are established and defended by the male.<ref name="ADW">{{cite web |author=University of Michigan Museum of Zoology: Animal Diversity Web | title= ''Cardinalis sinuatus: pyrrhuloxia'' | publisher=University of Michigan | url=http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Cardinalis_sinuatus.html | access-date =2011-02-25 }}</ref> The male defends the territory by chasing away intruders and from a good vantage point, singing. Where both the desert and northern cardinal breeding territories overlap, no interspecific conflicts have been observed.<ref name="Birds of North America">{{cite web | author=The Birds of North America – Online | title=''Pyrrhuloxia'' | publisher=NHPTV | url =https://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/391/articles/introduction | access-date =2011-02-25 }}</ref>
The desert cardinal places its nest in dense shrub, often concealed. The nest is small and forms a bowl or cup-like shape made up of grass, twigs, or bits of tree bark. Clutches of two to four eggs are most common, while the eggs are whitish with specks of green or gray. During an incubation period of two weeks, the male brings food to the female. At hatching, the chicks are helpless and have a bright yellow bill with red lining around the mouth. The chicks fledge around 10 days old, while both the male and female tend to the young.<ref name="NatureWorks">{{cite web | author=New Hampshire Public Television: NatureWorks | title=''Pyrrhuloxia – Cardinalis sinuatus'' | publisher=NHPTV | url =http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/pyrrhuloxia.htm | access-date =2011-02-25 }}</ref> The young bird can wait for up to a month before fully fledging, becoming independent and feeding in large flocks. During this period, the bird achieves complete growth.<ref name="Birds of North America"/>
==Relationship with humans== As large areas of the pyrrhuloxia's habitat in its northern range have been lost to humans, unlike with the northern cardinal, the former's populations appear to be in a slight decline.<ref name="ADW"/>
==Photo gallery== <gallery class="center"> Image:pyrr.jpg|Male in Tucson, Arizona File:Pyrrhuloxia 4249a.jpg|Female in southern Arizona Image:Cardinalis_sinuatus_-Tuscon,_Arizona,_USA_-male-8.jpg|Male in Tucson Image:Cardinalis sinuatus.jpg|Male in Roma, Texas Image:Pyrr-seedblock.jpg|Feeding male Pyrrhuloxia_by_Langhorne.jpg|Male in Columbus, New Mexico </gallery>
==References== {{Reflist}}
<!-- ==Further reading== ===Book===
* Tweit, R. C., and C. W. Thompson. 1999. ''Pyrrhuloxia (Cardinalis sinuatus)''. In ''The Birds of North America'', No. 391 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.
===Theses===
* Kirkpatrick CK. M.S. (1999). ''Trends in grassland bird abundance following prescribed burning in southern Arizona''. The University of Arizona, United States, Arizona. * Lloyd JD. M.S. (1997). ''Large-scale vegetation features affecting the distribution and abundance of grassland birds''. The University of Arizona, United States, Arizona.
===Articles===
* Aspinall SJ, Taverner JH & Wiseman EJ. (1993). ''History of Black-headed Gull colonies in Hampshire and neighbouring counties''. British Birds. vol '''86''', no 3. pp. 103–114. * Clark GAJ. (1974). ''Foot Scute Differences among Certain North American Oscines''. Wilson Bulletin. vol '''86''', no 2. pp. 104–109. * Dobbs RC & Martin PR. (2000). ''Winter nocturnal roost sites and behavior of some desert passerines in western Texas''. Western Birds. vol '''31''', no 2. pp. 120–122. * Hellack JJ. (1976). ''Phenetic Variation in the Avian Subfamily Cardinalinae''. Occasional Papers of the Museum of Natural History University of Kansas. vol '''57''', pp. 1–22. * Hinds DS & Calder WA. (1973). ''Temperature Regulation of the Pyrrhuloxia and the Arizona Cardinal''. Physiological Zoology. vol '''46''', no 1. pp. 55–71. * Lemon RE & Herzog A. (1969). ''The Vocal Behavior of Cardinals and Pyrrhuloxias in Texas USA Richmondena-Cardinalis Pyrrhuloxia-Sinuata''. Condor. vol '''71''', no 1. pp. 1–15. * Lloyd J, Mannan RW, Destefano S & Kirkpatrick C. (1998). ''The effects of mesquite invasion on a southeastern Arizona grassland bird community''. Wilson Bulletin. vol '''110''', no 3. pp. 403–408. * Mc Caskie G. (1971). ''A Pyrrhuloxia Wanders West to California''. California Birds. vol '''2''', no 3. pp. 99–100. * Patten MA. (2006). ''Dispersal and vagrancy in the Pyrrhuloxia''. Western Birds. vol '''37''', no 1. pp. 37–44. * Patti ST. (1976). ''Another New Bird for Oklahoma Pyrrhuloxia''. Bulletin of the Oklahoma Ornithological Society. vol '''9''', no 4. pp. 28–30. * Pence DB & Casto S. (1975). ''2 New Species and New Records of Nasal Mites of the Genus Sternostoma Acarina Rhinonyssinae from Birds in Texas USA''. Journal of Parasitology. vol '''61''', no 2. pp. 360–368. * Tamplin JW, Demasters JW, Remsen JV & Jr. (1993). ''Biochemical and morphometric relationships among some members of the Cardinalinae''. Wilson Bulletin. vol '''105''', no 1. pp. 93–113. -->
==External links== {{Commons}} *[http://ibc.lynxeds.com/species/pyrrhuloxia-cardinalis-sinuatus Pyrrhuloxia videos] on the Internet Bird Collection *[http://vireo.acnatsci.org/search.html?Form=Search&SEARCHBY=Common&KEYWORDS=pyrrhuloxia&showwhat=images&AGE=All&SEX=All&ACT=All&Search=Search&VIEW=All&ORIENTATION=All&RESULTS=24 Pyrrhuloxia photo gallery] VIREO *[http://www.greglasley.net/pyrrhuloxia.html Pyrrhuloxia photo gallery] at Greg Lasley nature photography
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Category:Cardinalis Category:Native birds of the Southwestern United States Category:Birds of the Rio Grande valleys Category:Birds of Mexico Category:Fauna of the Chihuahuan Desert Category:Birds described in 1838 Category:Taxa named by Charles Lucien Bonaparte