Desert Cardinal | Pyrrhuloxia | Saguaro National Park 

Desert Cardinal | Pyrrhuloxia | Saguaro National Park
Family
Cardinals, Grosbeaks and Buntings
Habitat
Mesquites, thorn scrub, deserts. Present at all
seasons in dense brush in very dry country, including
mesquite groves, desert washes, lower stretches of
arid canyons, dry plains with mesquite and acacia scrub,
streamside brush in desert regions. In winter, also
wanders into open woods, forest edges, hedgerows in
farm country.
This "Desert Cardinal" is common in dry country of the
Southwest. It is similar to the Northern Cardinal in its
song and behavior, and the two overlap in many desert
areas. However, the Pyrrhuloxia can tolerate drier and
more open habitats; it is less sedentary and more social
than southwestern Cardinals, with flocks often wandering
away from nesting areas in winter. The odd name
"Pyrrhuloxia," formerly part of this bird's scientific name,
combines the Latin term for the Bullfinch with a Greek
reference to the bird's bill shape.
Feeding Behavior
Forages mostly while hopping on ground; also does some
foraging up in shrubs and low trees. Except when nesting,
often forages in small flocks.
Eggs
3-4, sometimes 2-5. Pale grayish white to greenish
white, spotted with brown and gray. Incubation is
by female only, about 14 days. Male often feeds
female on nest during incubation period. Young:
Both parents bring food for the nestlings. Young
leave the nest about 10 days after hatching.
Young
Both parents bring food for the nestlings. Young
leave the nest about 10 days after hatching.
Diet
Mostly insects, seeds, berries. Diet is varied.
Feeds on many insects, including beetles, caterpillars,
grasshoppers, and many others, also other arthropods.
Eats many seeds, including those of weeds and grasses,
and also frequently eats mesquite seeds. Feeds on
berries and wild fruits, including cactus fruits. Will
come to feeders for sunflower seeds.
Nesting
Male sings in spring to defend territory; at
beginning of breeding season, both male and
female may actively chase intruders of their own
species. In courtship, male often feeds female.
Nest: Placed 4-15' above the ground, usually in a
thorny shrub or low tree, sometimes within a clump
of mistletoe. Nest (built mostly or entirely by female)
is an open cup made of thorny twigs, weeds, grass,
strips of bark, lined with rootlets, plant fibers,
fine grass.