Tucson Audubon<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\nThis amazing desert-adapted bird can be a source of confusion for beginning birders. The male of this species is often mistaken for a female cardinal\u2014 and quite understandably, as they are very closely related. Once you know what to look for on this species, they are quite distinctive and a treat to encounter in their favorite habitat, desert washes. The name, almost as challenging to speak as to spell, is pronounced: \u201cpyro-locks-e-uh\u201d and in Greek refers to its flame-colored plumage and its \u201ccrooked\u201d beak. These two features are actually its most distinctive so perhaps its name is appropriate. Male Pyrrhuloxias are a slate gray with pinkish-red patches on their face, crest, tail, and in a stripe going down the center of their chest. The females are a warm brown with subtle steaks of red in the crest and wings and sometimes a little in the face. With a shape and song very similar to the more familiar Northern Cardinal, this bird is most easily distinguished by its bill, which is bright yellow and heavy with a squashed-in appearance instead of the dainty, coral pink beak of a Northern Cardinal. Also called the \u201cDesert Cardinal,\u201d this hardy bird thrives in the dry climate of the Sonoran Desert but will also venture into urban Tucson if there is a large patch of native vegetation. Next time you hear that familiar \u201ctink\u201d call you associate with cardinals, take a second look as it may be a Pyrrhuloxia<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This story originally appeared in the Jan-March 2014 issue of the Vermilion Flycatcher, the quarterly magazine of\u00a0Tucson Audubon. This amazing desert-adapted bird can be a source of confusion for beginning birders. The male of this species is often mistaken for a female cardinal\u2014 and quite understandably, as they are very closely related. Once you know […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":217,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Feathered Friends - Pyrrhuloxia - For The Birders<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.forthebirders.com\/feathered-friends-pyrrhuloxia\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Feathered Friends - Pyrrhuloxia - For The Birders\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This story originally appeared in the Jan-March 2014 issue of the Vermilion Flycatcher, the quarterly magazine of\u00a0Tucson Audubon. This amazing desert-adapted bird can be a source of confusion for beginning birders. The male of this species is often mistaken for a female cardinal\u2014 and quite understandably, as they are very closely related. 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