Masked Cardinal

Sightings
This was the only sighting of Masked Cardinal during our time in Trinidad. It was standing in the road to the dockside where the boats departed for the trip into the Caroni Swamp. It came close to humans and appeared to be hoping for food.

Species
Masked Cardinal Paroaria nigrogenis is an attractive bird found in Trinidad, far north-eastern Colombia and northern Venezuela. It was previously considered conspecific with Red-capped Cardinal P. gularis, 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.

Status and Distribution
It is a species of least concern with an unknown but stable population in a range of some half a million square kilometres. It is an uncommon Trinidad resident mainly in west coast mangrove swamps and associated marshes and lagoons. It is not found on Tobago.

References
BirdLife; Wikipedia; World Bird Names; Kenefick, M., Restall, R., and Hayes, F. (2015) Birds of Trinidad and Tobago, Bloomsbury Publishing, page 232.

Photograph
Photographed at 1/1000th of a second, f5.6 and ISO 1250.