The Cardinal Family. 



the beautiful white breasts of the three first species 

 described to a dingy blackish-grey. 



The young require a large amount of food, and 

 after the first few days are very clamorous while 

 being fed. I found cockroaches, commonly known 

 as blackbeetles, a very convenient insect, and all 

 the young Cardinals I have had were reared on no 

 other diet. 



FIG. i. THE RED-CRESTED CARDINAL. 



THE RED-CRESTED CARDINAL, Paroaria cucullata 

 (illustrated at Fig. i), is a handsome, bold-looking bird, 

 of a delicate ashen-grey colour on the back, tail, and 

 wings; his face, chin, head, and upstanding crest are 

 red; a collar round his neck, and all his under- 

 parts, are pure white; his beak light horn-colour, 

 and his legs and feet leaden-grey. He is about the 

 size of a plump skylark, but a bolder-looking and 

 more upstanding bird, and has a very passable 

 song, which he is fond of rehearsing pretty well all 



