Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis) - HBW 16, p. 408

Taxonomy: Loxia cardinalis Linnaeus, 1758, South Carolina, USA.
Has in the past been placed in a separate genus, Richmondena. Forms a superspecies with C. phoeniceus; relationship of these two to C. sinuatus the subject of varying opinions. One documented example of a wild-bred hybrid between present species and C. sinuatus, and hybridization in captivity reported. In captivity has hybridized also with Red-crested Cardinal (Paroaria coronata) and Yellow Cardinal (Gubernatrix cristata), to neither of which species is it closely related, both being currently placed in family Emberizidae. Races fall into four groups based largely on colour of face mask of females, namely “cardinalis group” (comprising nominate, floridanus, magniros­tris and canicaudus), “coccineus group” (coccineus, littoralis, yucatanicus, phillipsi, flammiger and saturatus), “igneus group” (igneus, superbus, townsendi, affinis, sinaloensis, mariae, seftoni and clintoni) and single-species “carneus group”. In E Mexico, race coccineus intergrades with canicaudus in N coastal Veracruz and yucatanicus intergrades with phillipsi in S Yucatán Peninsula. Race carneus sometimes treated as a full species; conversely, sinaloensis treated by many authors as synonym of affinis, and floridanus sometimes subsumed into nominate. S USA populations in C Oklahoma, S Arkansas, SC Texas, all of Louisiana and SW Mississippi included in magnirostris, but some may belong with another race or represent as yet undescribed race(s). Nineteen subspecies currently recognized.