Description
Red-capped Cardinal (Paroaria gularis nitrogenis) - Parque del Este, Caracas, Venezuela
Date 22 August 2008
Author http://www.birdphotos.com
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Red-capped_Cardinal.jpg

The masked cardinal (Paroaria nigrogenis) is a bird species in the tanager family (Thraupidae). It was formerly placed in the Emberizidae and is not very closely related to the cardinals proper (Cardinalidae). It is found in Trinidad, far north-eastern Colombia and northern Venezuela. It was previously considered conspecific with the red-capped cardinal, from which it differs by the black ear-coverts and the red (not black) lower throat and upper chest. Additionally, its lower mandible is typically whitish, but this is not entirely consistent, as it occasionally is pale flesh-coloured. Order: Passeriformes, Family: Thraupidae, Genus: Paroaria, Species: Paroaria nigrogenis (Lafresnaye, 1846), Synonyms: Paroaria gularis nigrogenis.