The Red-crested Cardinal, or Brazil Cardinal, was first introduced to Hawaii around 1930 from South America. It is native to Southern Brazil, Northern Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay. Personally, I think it is a more striking bird than the solid red Northern Cardinal of the mainland USA (which has also been introduced to Hawaii). But the Brazilian Cardinal is in reality not closely related to the true cardinals, but instead is a member of the tanager family. Below are more of my photos of this beautiful bird.
I definitely intend to paint from the bottom photo of the Red-crested Cardinal with the coconut. He was at Bellows Beach on Oahu and was quite content pecking away at whatever tidbits were in the coconut shell.
Here is a video (not mine) that you might enjoy of these birds on the island of Kauai :
The brown-headed "Cardinals" in the video are juvenile birds. The adult birds are about 7.5 inches in length and the sexes are similar. They feed on seeds and insects, as well as fruit.
Sometimes I wish there were more time in a day so I could paint everything I photograph ! But I enjoy photography almost as much as my time spent painting. I hope you enjoy these photographs as well.
