Named for the male's bright red plumage, this species is native to the North American mainland. The race C. c. canicaudus was introduced to the Hawaiian Islands from the Texas or Oklahoma starting in 1929. They were established on the big island by 1933 increasing to a maximum by about 1990 after which they started to decline. We only encountered a few on our visit. The race C. c. canicaudus is characterized by shorter wings and slightly larger bill than nominate C. c. cardinalis from the Eastern United States. The male C. c. canicaudus are a more intense red and the black band across the forehead is narrower. Females are grayer above and paler below and have a less distinct face-mask compared to nominate cardinalis females. Like nominate the males have a dull red crest and the females have a gray (not black) face mask. Formerly placed in the genus Richmondena. Canon PowerShot SX60 HS.
References:
Brewer, D. (2020). Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/62186 on 11 February 2020).
Halkin, S. L. and S. U. Linville (1999). Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis), version 1.0. In The Birds of North America (A. F. Poole and F. B. Gill, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bna.440
Pratt, H.D., Bruner, P., and Berrett, D.G. (1987) A Field Guide to the Birds of Hawaii and the Tropical Pacific. Princeton University Press.
Pyle, R.L., and P. Pyle. 2017. The Birds of the Hawaiian Islands: Occurrence, History, Distribution, and Status. B.P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu, HI, U.S.A. Version 2 (1 January 2017) http://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/birds/rlp-monograph/