(CARDINAL FINCH.)
+Paroaria cucullata+, _Burm. La-Plata Reise_, ii. p. 482 (Paraná,
Tucuman); _Scl. et Salv. Nomencl._ p. 30; _Durnford, Ibis_,
1877, p. 171 (Buenos Ayres); _Gibson, Ibis_, 1880, p. 19 (Buenos
Ayres); _White, P. Z. S._ 1882, p. 598 (Buenos Ayres); _Barrows,
Bull. Nutt. Orn. Cl._ viii. p. 129 (Concepcion).
_Description._--Above grey; wing- and tail-feathers blackish grey;
head all round, crest, and throat brilliant scarlet, the scarlet
extending downwards to the chest; below white, the white colour
extending up the sides of the neck; nape spotted with white: total
length 8·0 inches, wing 4·0, tail 3·5. _Female_ similar.
_Hab._ Bolivia, Paraguay, and Argentina.
This well-known species is perhaps the finest Finch the Argentines have.
The entire upper plumage is clear grey, the under surface pure white;
but its chief glory is its crest, which, with the anterior part of the
head and the throat, is of the most vivid scarlet. The song has little
variety, but is remarkably loud, and has that cheerful ring which most
people admire in their caged pets, possibly because it produces the idea
in the listener's mind that the songster is glad to be a prisoner. As a
cage-bird this Finch enjoys an extraordinary popularity; and a stranger
in Buenos Ayres, seeing the numbers that are exposed for sale by the
bird-dealers in the markets of that city, might fancy that a Cardinal in
a cage is considered a necessary part of the _ménage_ of every house in
the country. This large supply of caged birds comes from South Brazil,
Paraguay, and the north-eastern part of the Argentine country, where the
Cardinals are most abundant and unite in large flocks. Probably they are
not snared, but taken when young from the nest, as most of the birds
exposed for sale are in immature plumage.
The Cardinal in a wild state is found as far south as the province of
Buenos Ayres, but it is there a scarce bird. It breeds, Mr. Gibson
writes, at the end of October, and makes a shallow nest of twigs,
vine-tendrils, and horse-hair. The eggs are four; ground-colour white
or tinged with faint brown or greenish, and spotted with brown, more
densely at the large end.