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The Red-crested cardinal (Paroaria coronata) is a bird found in Argentina, United States, Uruguay, Brazil and Paraguay. Open woods and gardens in southern South America. It eats insects and other small invertebrates, fruit and leaves and other plant parts. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

🏡 Where the Red-crested cardinal lives

Open woods and gardens in southern South America.

🍽️ What it eats

• 🐛 Insects & bugs60%
• 🍎 Fruit20%
• 🌿 Leaves & plants20%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

Hear the Red-crested cardinal

Recorded by Niels Krabbe (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC687818. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Red-crested cardinal

Where does the Red-crested cardinal live?

The Red-crested cardinal lives in Argentina, United States, Uruguay, Brazil and Paraguay. Open woods and gardens in southern South America.

What does the Red-crested cardinal eat?

insects and other small invertebrates (about 60%), fruit (about 20%), leaves and other plant parts (about 20%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Red-crested cardinal endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from South America

• Cundinamarca antpitta
• Jocotoco antpitta
• Urrao antpitta
• Buff-throated purpletuft
• Chestnut-capped piha
• Colombian mountain grackle

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.