The Pyrrhuloxia or Desert Cardinal (Cardinalis sinuatus) is a medium-sized North American song bird found in the American southwest and northern Mexico. This distinctive species with a short, stout bill, red crest and wings, closely resembles the Northern Cardinal and the Vermilion Cardinal, all of which are in the same genus. The Desert Cardinal is one of three birds in the genus Cardinalis and is included in the family Cardinalidae, a group of passerine birds found in North and South America. Its name of Pyrrhuloxia – once part of its latin name – comes from Greek terms describing its coloration (πυρρος = pyrrhos = reddish or orange) and the shape of its bill (λοξος = loxos = oblique).[2][3] The common name, Desert Cardinal, refers to it inhabiting the southwest, and often arid regions, of the North American continent. Wikipedia – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desert_cardinal