The red-headed tanager is a medium-sized American songbird in the family Cardinalidae, the cardinals or cardinal grosbeaks. It is endemic to Mexico. The red-headed tanager is around 15 cm (5.9 in) long, the male has predominantly yellow-olive plumage with a red head and throat, while the female has a yellowish forecrown.

Cardinalidae is a family of New World-endemic passerine birds that consists of cardinals, grosbeaks, and buntings. It also includes several other genera such as the tanager-like Piranga and the warbler-like Granatellus. Membership of this family is not easily defined by a single or even a set of physical characteristics, but instead by molecular work. Among songbirds, they range from average-sized to relatively large, and have stout features, some species with large, heavy bills.