Red Fody
Foudia madagascariensis
Sparrow-like weaver in which scarlet breeding males are distinctive, but females and non-breeding females very drab. Found in virtually all habitats except the interior of thick forest. Often found in flocks, sometimes mixed with other birds. Calls are high, silvery notes, given in long series as a song. Can be very similar to Forest Fody. Breeding male Red Fody has red on the back and belly, though molting males can match the pattern of Forest Fody. Females and non-breeding males very similar, but Red Fody is paler and less greenish, with a smaller bill. Unlike Forest Fody, not found in the rainforest interior. Separated from female and non-breeding male Sakalava Weaver by smaller size, smaller bill, and different facial markings.
Identification
The red fody is about 5 inches (13 cm) in length and weighs 14–19 grams (0.49–0.67 oz). The male of the species is bright red with black markings around each eye. Its wings and tail are brown. Its underparts are also red, which distinguishes it from other fodies in areas where it has been introduced. The female fody's upper parts are olive-brown and its underparts are greyish brown.
Taxonomy
In 1760, the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the red fody in his Ornithologie based on a specimen collected in Madagascar. He used the French name Le cardinal de Madagascar and the Latin Cardinalis Madagascariensis. Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition, he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson. One of these was the red fody. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Loxia madagascariensis and cited Brisson's work. This species is now placed in the genus Foudia that was introduced by the German naturalist Ludwig Reichenbach in 1850. The type species was subsequently designated as the red fody. The species is monotypic.
- Scientific name
- Foudia madagascariensis
- Authority
- (Linnaeus, 1766)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Ploceidae
- Genus
- Foudia
Range and habitat
It is a common bird found in forest clearings, grasslands and cultivated areas, but not in dense forest. In Madagascar it is regarded as a pest of rice cultivation. It has been introduced to other areas of the Indian Ocean, included the Amirantes, Comoros, Seychelles, Mauritius and Réunion.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The red fody feeds largely on seeds, especially grass seeds, and insects, but several other foodstuffs are also taken; these include fruit, nectar, household scraps and copra.<p>Outside the breeding season, this bird is gregarious. As the breeding season approaches, males establish territories, about 30 m (100 ft) in diameter. The birds are monogamous, and the male starts building the nest in the centre of the territory before courtship commences, with nests being clustered together in loose colonies. The nest is globular with a side entrance and porch or short tube. It is constructed, mostly by the male, out of rootlets, tendrils, grasses and other long strands of vegetation, woven together. The nest takes around eight days to build, and many get abandoned if the male fails to attract a mate.
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Cinnamon Bittern
Botaurus cinnamomeus
Small heron of wet and open grassy areas such as flooded meadows and paddy fields. Uniformly bright rufous upperparts of adult male unmistakable. Female and juvenile have pale streaked belly, dark streaks and spots scattered on the wings and back, and are dark brown with some rufous tones above. Females often have light spotting on the wings, potentially causing confusion with female Schrenck's Bittern, which has brighter and more solid white spots and a prominent dark crown lacking in Cinnamon. Gives dry croaking clicks.
Pilbara Grasswren
Amytornis whitei
Small, long-tailed bird with black mustache and rufous-brown upperparts, found only in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, where it scampers between large spinifex clumps in dry open habitats. Usually seen only with a dedicated search. Upperparts rufous-brown, with white throat and pale underparts. Formerly considered conspecific with Sandhill Grasswren, and together treated as “Rufous Grasswren”; also formerly lumped with Striated Grasswren. Its range overlaps only with Dusky Grasswren, which is darker and prefers rocky habitats.
Martial Eagle
Polemaetus bellicosus
A massive eagle with a short but prominent crest. The adult is uniformly brown on the head, back, and chest, with a pale belly covered in brown blotches. In flight the underwings are brown. Either solitary or in pairs, it inhabits woodland, plains, and semi-desert, where it hunts for vertebrates. Martial Eagles have extremely keen eyesight and can locate prey from six kilometers away. They hunt mostly on the wing and surprise prey from above. Juvenile Martial and Crowned eagles are similar, but Martial has whitish (not buffy) underparts, unspotted flanks, and narrower bars on the tail.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.