Paroaria dominicana
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5% in a week ~10%
The red-cowled cardinal (Paroaria dominicana) is a bird species in the tanager family (Thraupidae). It is not very closely related to the cardinals proper (Cardinalidae). It is endemic to Brazil. It occurs in a wide range of dry to semi-humid open to semi-open habitats in north-eastern Brazil, especially the Caatinga region. It has been introduced (probably by means of escaped caged individuals) to Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, being locally common even in urban areas.
The red-cowled cardinal was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae. He placed it with the crossbills in the genus Loxia and coined the binomial name Loxia dominica. The specific epithet alludes to the black and white habits of members of the Dominican Order. The red-cowled cardinal is now one of six species placed in the genus Paroaria that was introduced by Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1832. The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.
Red-cowled Cardinal videos on the Internet Bird Collection Red-cowled Cardinal photo gallery Archived 2011-05-16 at the Wayback Machine VIREO Photo-High... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chapada Diamantina National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | Tijuca National Park | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Natal | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 2 | Salvador | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | Vitória | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | Fortaleza | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 5 | Brasilia | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 6 | São Paulo | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 7 | Rio de Janeiro | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 8 | João Pessoa | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 9 | Goiânia | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 10 | Santos | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prague Zoo | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 2 | Parque das Aves | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | Parc des oiseaux | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 4 | Zoo Aquarium de Madrid | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 5 | London Zoo | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 6 | Zoo das Aves | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 7 | Rákosův pavilon | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 8 | Velemlokárium | 🇨🇿 Czechia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Red-cowled Cardinal sighting in Tijuca National Park on a given day, based on 39 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 146th most-seen of the 214 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, and over a week to about 10%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Red-cowled Cardinal in Tijuca National Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Red-cowled Cardinal sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Red-cowled Cardinal sightings, Tijuca National Park ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Chapada Diamantina National Park (Brazil, about 50%).
Same family: Thraupidae
The closest relatives of the Red-cowled Cardinal that you can see in Tijuca National Park (family Thraupidae, Tanagers and Allies) are Palm Tanager (about 80%), Bananaquit (about 80%) and Sayaca Tanager (about 60%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Red-cowled Cardinal is recorded against all the birds logged in Tijuca National Park (39 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
