Rose-breasted grosbeak

Pheucticus ludovicianus

Photo by John Harrison (Wikipedia)

Common name:
rose-breasted grosbeak (en); bico-grosso-tricolor (pt); cardinal à poitrine rose (fr); picogrueso degollado (es); rosenbrust-kernknacker (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Cardinalidae

Range:
This species breeds in northern North America, from British Columbia in the west to the Atlantic coast of Canada in the east and as far south as New Jersey, the Appalachian Mountains through South Carolina, west to eastern Kansas, Nebraska, and the Dakotas. They migrate south to winter in the greater Antilles, coastal Mexico, and throughout Central America and northern South America to eastern Peru and the Guyanas.

Size:
These birds are 18-22 cm long and have a wingspan of 29-33 cm. They weigh 35-65 g.

Habitat:
Rose-breasted grosbeaks breed in deciduous and mixed forests in boreal and temperate areas, especially along forest edges, but also in second-growth woodlands, orchards, suburban parks and gardens. They winter in open tropical forests and rural areas.

Diet:
They eat seeds, berries, fruits and insects. They are known to take beetles, ants, bees, bugs and caterpillars, as well as the berries of elderberry, red-berried elder, blackberry, raspberry, mulberry, juneberry, and the seeds of various herbs such as smartweed, pigweed, foxtail, milkweed, sunflower and domestic crops such as peas, corn, oats and wheat.

Breeding:
Rose-breasted grosbeaks form monogamous pairs that last a single breeding season. They breed in May-July and the nest is a cup loosely woven of grasses and twigs, lined with shredded bark, pine needles and fine grasses. The nest is placed on a tree, scrub or vine, up to 17 m above the ground. The female lays 1-5 pale green or blue eggs with reddish brown blotches and speckles. The eggs are incubated for 11-14 days and the chicks fledge 9-12 days after hatching but only become fully independent 3 weeks later. Each pair typically raises a single clutch per year.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range. The population is considered large and, although there have been marginal declines in some areas, the overall population seems to be mostly stable.

Desert cardinal

Cardinalis sinuatus

(Photo from Wikipedia)

Common name:
desert cardinal (en); cardeal-do-deserto (pt); cardinal gris (fr); cardenal pardo (es); schmalschnabelkardinal (de)

Taxonomy:
Order Passeriformes
Family Cardinalidae

Range:
This species is found in the south-western United States and in northern Mexico.

Size:
These birds are 21 cm long and weigh 24-43 g.

Habitat:
Desert cardinals are found in desert scrublands and mesquite thickets, often along creek beds.

Diet:
These birds do most of their foraging on the ground, eating the seeds of bristlegrass, doveweed, sandbur, pancium, sorghum, and pigweed. They also eat cactus fruit and cottonwood catkins and various insects including grasshoppers, caterpillars, beetles, stinkbugs, and cicadas.

Breeding:
Desert cardinals breed in March-August. The nest is a small cup or bowl, made of grass, twigs or bits of tree bark, placed in the mesquite brush or on the ground against a tree trunk. The female lays 2-4 greyish-white eggs with grey or brown speckles, which she incubates alone for 14 days while being fed by the male. The chicks are fed by both parents and fledge 10 days after hatching, but may only become fully independent 1 month later.

Conservation:
IUCN status - LC (Least Concern)
This species has a very large breeding range and the global population is estimated at 8 million individuals. The population has undergone a small decline over the last few decades, mostly because of habitat loss due to human development.