Forest Fody
Foudia omissa
Sparrow-like weaver in which red-hooded breeding males are distinctive, but females and non-breeding females are drab. Madagascar endemic that is found in and adjacent to rainforest, sometimes in flocks that may include other birds. Calls are high, silvery notes, given in long series as a song. Can be very similar to Red Fody. Breeding male Forest Fody lacks red on the back and belly, though molting male Red Fody can match this pattern. Females and non-breeding males very similar, but Forest Fody is darker and more greenish, with a larger bill. Hybrids are also common and further confuse identification. Unlike Red Fody, found in the rainforest interior.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Foudia omissa
- Authority
- Rothschild, 1912
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Ploceidae
- Genus
- Foudia
Range and habitat
The forest fody ranges across eastern Madagascar from the northern to the southern ends of the island. There are a few outlier populations in the southwest of the island, including on the Isalo and Analavelona massifs.<p>Its natural habitat is lowland rainforest and humid and subhumid montane forests up to 2,000 meters elevation.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
The species has a large range, and is considered fairly common across it. The population of the species is decreasing, principally from habitat loss. Its conservation status is assessed as least concern.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
White-throated Rock-Thrush
Monticola gularis
Uncommon throughout most of its range, this elusive rock thrush breeds in rocky hill forest in northeastern China and Russia and migrates down the East Asian coast to winter in southern China and mainland Southeast Asia. Beautiful and distinctive male has a blue crown, orange underparts, and black wings marked with a bright white patch; small white patch on throat is not obvious and difficult to see. Female is brown with scaly markings on her back and breast; she lacks a pale crescent behind the eye. Usually stays low in shrubbery, but male will sing from an exposed perch.
Bronze-winged Parrot
Pionus chalcopterus
A medium-sized parrot that usually looks all dark. With a good view, note the deep bluish-purple color overall with bronzy wings, messy pink splotches on the upper breast, and red undertail coverts. In flight, the bright blue underwings often stand out. Also look for the very deep wingbeats that seem to almost touch on the downstroke and barely come above horizontal on the upstroke – this helps separate members of the Pionus genus from the larger Amazona parrots. Bronze-winged is fairly common in forest and adjacent clearings in lowlands and foothills, up to around 2,500m. It is usually found in small flocks, most often seen in flight but also perched in the canopy or around fruiting trees.
Black Harrier
Circus maurus
A striking, mostly dark harrier with large white panels in the underwings, a white rump, and bands on the tail. The juvenile is brown with white flashes in the underwings and has a heavily-streaked chest. It quarters low over heath-like fynbos, semi-desert Karoo, and dune brush hunting for small birds and mammals. Regularly disperses irruptively north into grasslands and steppe from January to July.
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