Red fody

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Red fody
Tsimanampetsotsa National Park, Madagascar
Toliara, Madagascar

Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Ploceidae
Genus: Foudia
Species:
F. madagascariensis
Binomial name
Foudia madagascariensis
(Linnaeus, 1766)
Synonyms

Loxia madagascariensis Linnaeus, 1766

The red fody (Foudia madagascariensis), also known as the Madagascar fody in

least concern
".

Taxonomy

In 1760, the French zoologist

monotypic.[7]

Description

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.[8]

Distribution 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

Ecology

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.[8]

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.[8]

Impact on native birds

In different parts of its introduced range, this species show different impacts on native birds. Both the endangered Mauritius fody (Foudia rubra) and the Rodrigues fody (Foudia flavicans) have been affected by the competition for resources on their respective islands.[9]

Gallery

  • Male, start of transition plumage , La Réunion
    Male, start of transition plumage , La Réunion
  • Male, transition into breeding plumage, Madagascar
    Male, transition into breeding plumage, Madagascar
  • Male on La Réunion
    Male on La Réunion
  • Male on La Réunion
    Male on La Réunion
  • Female
    Female
  • Eggs MHNT
    Eggs
    MHNT

References

  1. . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^ Brisson, Mathurin Jacques (1760). Ornithologie, ou, Méthode contenant la division des oiseaux en ordres, sections, genres, especes & leurs variétés (in French and Latin). Vol. 3. Paris: Jean-Baptiste Bauche. pp. 112–114, Plate 6 fig 2. The two stars (**) at the start of the section indicates that Brisson based his description on the examination of a specimen.
  3. ^ .
  4. ^ Linnaeus, Carl (1766). Systema naturae : per regna tria natura, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis (in Latin). Vol. 1, Part 1 (12th ed.). Holmiae (Stockholm): Laurentii Salvii. p. 300.
  5. ^ Reichenbach, Ludwig (1850). Avium Systema Naturale. Das natürliche System der Vögel. Dresden: Expedition der Vollständigsten Naturgeschichte. Plate 79.
  6. ^ Mayr, Ernst; Greenway, James C. Jr, eds. (1962). Check-list of birds of the world. Vol. 15. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 62.
  7. ^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2018). "Old World sparrows, snowfinches, weavers". World Bird List Version 8.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  8. ^ .
  9. .

External links