- Where to see one
- 5 U.S. zoos in our directory hold red-capped cardinal, confirmed against each zoo's own animal list.
Conservation status
Not Evaluated
This species has not been assessed for the IUCN Red List, so it sits outside the threat scale entirely.
About the red-capped cardinal
The red-capped cardinal is a small South American bird, about 16.5 cm long and weighing around 22 g. Adults have a crimson head, black upperparts and white underparts. Despite its name it belongs to the tanager family, not the true cardinals. It lives in the lowlands of the Guianas, Venezuela, eastern Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and the Amazon basin of Brazil, in swamps, mangroves, várzea and other semi-open areas near water, even in lightly wooded wet habitats in towns and cities. It feeds on insects, rice and fruit and is usually seen in conspicuous pairs or family groups, building a shallow open cup nest.
Red-capped Cardinal facts
- Despite its name, it is a tanager (family Thraupidae) rather than a true cardinal.
- Its species name gularis is Latin for "of the throat".
- It occurs in towns and cities such as Manaus and Puerto Maldonado.
- In Ecuador an adult was seen feeding a fledgling shiny cowbird, a brood parasite.
Where to see red-capped cardinal in the U.S.
5 zoos across 5 states
Find the closest one
Rank the 5 zoos holding red-capped cardinal by how far they are from you. Your location is used in your browser to sort this list and is never sent to us.
AZAThe Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Accredited members have passed an independent inspection of animal care and welfare, safety, conservation and education, repeated every five years. Many smaller facilities never apply, so “not accredited” isn't a verdict on its own. What accreditation means · How we check this
Built from each zoo's own published animal list.
