Writing Research: Cardinals

Instead of working on editing my debut novel LIKE I SHOULD BE, I stayed up way too late last night working overtime at the day job, and my overtired and over-caffeinated brain went into creative writer mode. I jotted down all the notes I needed for later comprehension, and today looked into one facet of those thoughts: cardinals!

A male Northern Cardinal

Cardinals are named after the red-robed religious figures; but in other countries they are also known as grosbeaks and buntings. The common species in my country are the bright red Northern Cardinals, as shown above. I have seen criminally few of these brilliant creatures in person, but the rare sightings were a treat! I learned today that only the males are bright red, and it's due in part to their diet and how the food reacts with the body chemicals. The females are more brownish, but they do get a red chest and neck.

For my purposes, I asked the question: but are there black cardinals? Specifically, black-headed?

Alas, there are 19 subspecies of cardinals. Surely one of them must come close?

I didn't have to go far. There are not one, but three black-headed versions!

The red-and-black grosbeak:

Red and Black Grosbeak by Nick Athanas

Not to be confused with the rose-breasted grosbeak with a range centered around the United States:

And the crimson-collared grosbeak:

Crimson-Collared Grosbeak by Lejun40

(Total side note but I also stumbled upon this fantastic reference site for birds: photographs, audio, locations, the works! https://ebird.org/]

It looks like my novel idea (see what I did there?) has supporting evidence! I can't expand further because...spoilers!