Cardinal (bird)

Cardinals
Male northern cardinal
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Aves
Order:Passeriformes
Superfamily:Passeroidea
Family:Cardinalidae
Ridgway, 1901
Genera

Periporphyrus
Caryothraustes
Rhodothraupis
Cardinalis
Cyanocompsa
Passerina
Pheucticus
Spiza

An American male cardinal feeds on a sunflower seed.

Cardinals, in the family Cardinalidae, are passerine birds found in North and South America. They are also known as cardinal-grosbeaks and cardinal-buntings. The South American cardinals in the genus Paroaria are placed in another family, the Thraupidae.

Biology

They are robust, seed-eating birds with strong bills. The family's smallest member is the 12-cm (4.7-in), 11.5-g (0.40-oz) orange-breasted bunting. They are typically associated with open woodland. The sexes usually have distinctive appearances. The northern cardinal type species was named by colonists for the male's red crest, reminiscent of a Catholic cardinal's biretta.[1]

The "North American buntings" are known as such to distinguish them from buntings of the Old World family Emberizidae. The name "cardinal-grosbeak" can also apply to the cardinalid family as a whole.

Most species are rated by the IUCN as being of least concern, though some are near threatened.[2]

Human benefits

A study conducted in 2016 in Atlanta, Georgia, on West Nile virus (WNV) transmission in the United States, found that unlike other species, cardinals biologically suppress the disease upon infection.[3]

Species list

(1) "Masked" clade:

A Cardinalis sinuatus in Tucson, Arizona
A female northern cardinal
Male Northern Cardinal - Manhasset, New York
A male cardinal in Texas
Newly hatched cardinals in Texas

(2) "Blue" clade:

(3) Ant tanager clade:

(4) "Chat" clade:

(5) "Pheucticus" clade:

References

  1. ↑ Duchesne, Bob (September 21, 2012). "Proliferation of cardinals a fairly recent event". Bangor Daily News. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014.
  2. ↑ Search "cardinalidae" at IUCN Red List Archived June 27, 2014, at the Wayback Machine. for more info.
  3. ↑ Levine, Rebecca S.; et al. (9 June 2016). "Supersuppression: Reservoir Competency and Timing of Mosquito Host Shifts Combine to Reduce Spillover of West Nile Virus". The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  • Stiles and Skutch, A guide to the birds of Costa Rica ISBN 0-8014-9600-4
  • Hilty, Steven L (2003) Birds of Venezuela London: Christopher Helm, ISBN 0-7136-6418-5
  • ffrench, Birds of Trinidad and Tobago ISBN 0-7136-6759-1
  • "National Geographic" Field Guide to the Birds of North America ISBN 0-7922-6877-6
  • Klicka, John; Burns, Kevin; Spellman, Garth M. (December 2007). "Defining a monophyletic Cardinalini: A molecular perspective". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 45 (3): 1014–1032. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2007.07.006. PMID 17920298.
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