Red munia, Strawberry finch
The Red avadavat (Amandava amandava) is a seed-eating bird found in the open fields and grasslands of tropical Asia. It is popular as a cage bird due to the colorful plumage of the males in their breeding season. The species name of amandava and the common name of avadavat are derived from the city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat, India, from where these birds were exported into the pet trade in former times.
This small finch is easily identified by the rounded black tail and the bill that is seasonally red. The rump is red and the breeding male is red on most of the upper parts except for a black eye-stripe, lower belly and wings. There are white spots on the red body and wing feathers. The non-breeding male is duller but has the red-rump while the female is duller with less of the white spotting on the feathers.
Red avadavats are found in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan, in parts of China, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam, in Java, and in Cambodia. They inhabit flat plains, in places with tall grasses or crops, often near water.
Red avadavats are diurnal birds. Outside of the breeding season, they are usually seen in small flocks, flying with rapid wingbeats and descending into grass clumps where they are hard to observe. They produce a distinctive low single-note ‘pseep’ call that is often given in flight. The song is a series of low notes. Birds of a flock will preen each other, ruffling their head feathers in invitation.
These birds have a herbivorous (granivorous) and carnivorous (insectivorous) diets. They feed mainly on grass seeds but will also take insects such as termites when they are available.
Red avadavats are serially monogamous and form pairs that remain together only for a single breeding season. Their breeding season varies with location and lasts between January and April. During this time, males use their bright red to attract females. They dance in front of the female and then the birds sing and hop between bows together. The pair then builds a globular nest made of grass blades where the female will lay a clutch of about 5 or 6 white eggs. The incubation period lasts around 11 days and chicks take around 20 days to fledge.
These colorful birds don’t face any major threats at present.
According to IUCN Red List, the Red avadavat is locally common and widespread throughout its range but no overall population estimate is available. The national population size is estimated at less than 10,000 introduced breeding pairs in Taiwan and around 100-10,000 introduced breeding pairs in Japan. Currently, this species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List and its numbers today remain stable.
