Red-capped Cardinal

Red-capped Cardinal

Paroaria gularis

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible
at Yasuní National Park

In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%

853 Verified sightings at Yasuní National Park From 2019 to 2026
3,527 In all 8 parks
September Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Red-capped Cardinal

The red-capped cardinal (Paroaria gularis) is a small species of bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is found in South America. In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the red-capped cardinal in the supplement to his Ornithologie based on a specimen collected in "America". He used the French name Le cardinal d'Amérique and the Latin name Cardinalis americanis. Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson in his Ornithologie. One of these was the red-capped cardinal. Linnaeus included a terse description, coined the binomial name Tanagra gularis and cited Brisson's work. The specific name gularis is Latin for "of the throat". The type locality has been restricted to French Guiana. This species is now placed in the genus Paroaria that was introduced by the French ornithologist Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1832.

The genus Paroaria is classified... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:18

Brazil · 2025

© JAYRSON ARAUJO DE OLIVEIRA · XC1045196 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song0:11

Colombia · 2021

© Mauricio Cuellar Ramirez (@Birding.travel) · XC636111 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song0:29

Brazil · 2016

© GABRIEL LEITE · XC340168 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve 🇪🇨 Ecuador
~60%
2 Manu National Park 🇵🇪 Peru
~40%
3 Yasuní National Park 🇪🇨 Ecuador
~30%
4 Anavilhanas National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~20%
5 Tambopata National Reserve 🇵🇪 Peru
~10%
6 Amacayacu National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
<5%
7 Sierra de la Macarena National Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
<5%
8 Parque Estadual Encontro das Águas 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Santa Cruz de la Sierra 🇧🇴 Bolivia
~10%
2 Lima 🇵🇪 Peru
~10%
3 Manaus 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 North Carolina Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
2 Brookfield Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
3 Sedgwick County Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
4 Louisville Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
5 Woodland Park Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
6 Memphis Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
7 Houston Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
8 San Antonio Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
9 Sapporo Maruyama Zoo 🇯🇵 Japan In captivity
10 Lincoln Park Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
11 Topeka Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
12 Henry Vilas Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
13 Reid Park Zoo 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
14 Tracy Aviary 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
15 Texas State Aquarium 🇺🇸 United States In captivity
16 National Aquarium 🇺🇸 United States In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Red-capped Cardinal in Yasuní National Park?

Possible

About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Red-capped Cardinal sighting in Yasuní National Park on a given day, based on 853 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 49th most-seen of the 533 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Red-capped Cardinal in Yasuní National Park?

September

In that month about 50% of wildlife watchers report a Red-capped Cardinal in Yasuní National Park on a given day, against about 20% in April–May, July and November–February, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Red-capped Cardinal?

Between 3 and 6 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Red-capped 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.

Is Yasuní National Park the best place to see a Red-capped Cardinal?

3rd of 8

Of the 8 parks where we can rate Red-capped Cardinal sightings, Yasuní National Park ranks 3rd at about 30%. The best odds are in Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve (Ecuador, about 60%) and Manu National Park (Peru, about 40%). All parks ranked.

Which relatives of the Red-capped Cardinal live in Yasuní National Park?

Same family: Thraupidae

The closest relatives of the Red-capped Cardinal that you can see in Yasuní National Park (family Thraupidae, Tanagers and Allies) are Blue-gray Tanager (about 40%), Palm Tanager (about 40%) and Opal-rumped Tanager (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Red-capped Cardinal sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Red-capped Cardinal is recorded against all the birds logged in Yasuní National Park (853 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.

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