Pyrrhuloxia Gallery

Cardinalis sinuatus

eBird describes the Pyrrhuloxia like this:  Cardinal-like denizen of brushy, desert areas of the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico. Gray and red with a long crest. Males grayer with red stripe down breast. Yellowish, rounded bill with curve where mandibles meet. Song also similar to Northern Cardinal, but higher-pitched and more piercing.  All About Birds has this to say about the Pyrrhuloxia:  Dapper in looks and cheerful in song, the Pyrrhuloxia is a tough-as-nails songbird of baking hot deserts in the American Southwest and northern Mexico. They’re closely related to Northern Cardinals, but they are a crisp gray and red, with a longer, elegant crest and a stubby, parrotlike yellow bill. During breeding season Pyrrhuloxias are fiercely and vocally territorial, but in the winter they forget their disputes and join together in large foraging flocks.

I was delighted to finally see several Pyrrhuloxia, both male and female,  during my August 31, 2020 visit to Christmas Mountains Oasis.  What a beautiful bird!

Male Pyrrhuloxia at Christmas Mountains Oasis, August 31, 2020. The red stripe down the breast identifies a male bird.
Female Pyrrhuloxia at CMO, August 31, 2020. Absence of a red stripe down the breast denotes a female.
A beautiful male Pyrrhuloxia at CMO, August 31, 2020.


“Cool Facts” about the Pyrrhuloxia from All About Birds…

  • Foraging winter flocks of Pyrrhuloxias may number as many as 1,000 birds.
  • The name “Pyrrhuloxia” is a combination of the genus names Pyrrhula (bullfinches) and Loxia (crossbills). The roots mean “flame-colored” and “crooked,” and aptly describe the reddish bird with the crooked bill.
  • The Pyrrhuloxia has very similar vocalizations and behaviors to the closely related Northern Cardinal, which is found in the same range but tends to live in wetter habitats. When a male Pyrrhuloxia’s and a male cardinal’s territories overlap, each defends its territory vigorously from members of its own species, but they don’t seem to fight with each other.
  • On a day when outdoor temperatures reached 118°F, a Pyrrhuloxia was seen sitting on a terrace in the air-conditioned breeze coming out of a house. This canny behavior has also been observed in Cactus Wrens and Loggerhead Shrikes.
  • Though they will drink at pools of water when possible, Pyrrhuloxias seem to get most of their water from their insect food in spring and summer.
  • The oldest Pyrrhuloxia on record was a male, and at least 8 years, 1 month old when he was recaught and rereleased during banding operations in Arizona.