The Red-crested cardinal was introduced to Oahu and Kauai in the late 1920’s – early 1930’s from South America. By the 1960’s the birds had spread to the islands of Maui and Hawaii. Today, the species is fairly well established on all the main Hawaiian islands.
This beautiful bird was photographed on the island of Maui.
The red-crested cardinal is easily mistaken for the abundant Yellow-billed Cardinal, which was also introduced to Hawaii.