Culmen, .75; gonys, .41; depth of bill, .54. Feathers of dorsal region broadly margined with grayish. Wing, 4.05; tail, 4.50; crest, 1.80. Hab. Eastern Province of United States, south of 40°. Bermudas … var. virginianus.
b. Black of the lores not meeting across forehead; crest pure vermilion. Bill robust.
Culmen, .84; gonys, .47; depth of bill, .70. Feathers of dorsal region without grayish borders; red beneath more intense; wing, 3.60; tail, 4.20; crest, 2.00. Hab. Eastern Mexico (Mirador; Yucatan; “Honduras”) … var. coccineus.[15]
Culmen, .82; gonys, .47; depth of bill, .65. Feathers of dorsal region with distinct gray borders; red beneath lighter. Wing, 4.00; tail, 5.00; crest, 2.00. Hab. Cape St. Lucas, and Arizona; Tres Marias Islands. (Perhaps all of Western Mexico, north of the Rio Grande de Santiago.) … var. igneus.
B. Crest-feathers stiff, compact. Rump decidedly lighter red than the back.
Culmen, .75; gonys, .41; depth of bill, .57. Dorsal feathers without grayish margins; red as in the last. Wing, 3.40; tail, 3.80; crest, 2.00. Hab. Western Mexico; Colima. “Acapulco et Realejo.” … var. carneus.[16]
C. phœniceus.[17] Culmen much arched; commissure arched; upper mandible not as deep as lower, and with grooves forward from the nostril, parallel with the curve of the culmen. Bill whitish-brown. Black patch restricted to the chin, its posterior outline deeply concave.
Crest-feathers stiff and compact. No black above, or on lores; crest pure vermilion; rump light vermilion, much lighter than the back, which is without gray edges to feathers. Culmen, .75; gonys, .39; height of bill, .67; wing, 3.50; tail, 3.90; crest, 2.20. Female. Lining of wing buff; above ashy-olivaceous, becoming pure ash on head and neck, except their under side. Crest-feathers vermilion with black shafts; no red tinge on wings, and only a slight tinge of it on tail. Forepart of cheeks and middle of throat white; rest of lower part deep ochraceous. Black around bill as in the male. Hab. Northern South America; Venezuela; New Granada.
Cardinalis virginianus, Bonap.
REDBIRD; CARDINAL GROSBEAK.