red avadavat

The red avadavat was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Fringilla amandava.{{cite book | last=Linnaeus | first=Carl | author-link=Carl Linnaeus | year=1758 | title= Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis | volume=1 | edition=10th | page=180 | publisher=Laurentii Salvii | location=Holmiae (Stockholm) | language=Latin | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/727087 }} Linnaeus based his description on "The Amaduvads Cock and Hen" that has been described and illustrated in 1738 by the English naturalist Eleazar Albin.{{ cite book | last1=Albin | first1=Eleazar | author1-link=Eleazar Albin | last2=Derham | first2=William | author2-link=William Derham | year=1738 | title=A Natural History of Birds : Illustrated with a Hundred and One Copper Plates, Curiously Engraven from the Life | volume=3 | page=72, Plate 77 | location=London | publisher=Printed for the author and sold by William Innys | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/41131128 }} Linnaeus specified the locality as East India but this was restricted to Kolkata (Calcutta) by E. C. Stuart Baker in 1921.{{ cite journal | last=Baker | first=E.C. Stuart | author-link=E. C. Stuart Baker | date=1921 | title=Hand-list of the "Birds of India" Part III | journal=Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society | volume=27 | pages=692–744 [725] | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/30359388 }}{{ cite book | editor-last=Paynter | editor-first=Raymond A. Jr | year=1968 | title=Check-List of Birds of the World | volume=14 | publisher=Museum of Comparative Zoology | location=Cambridge, Massachusetts | page=348 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14481549 }} This species is now placed in the genus Amandava that was introduced in 1836 by the English zoologist Edward Blyth.{{ cite book | last=White | first=Gilbert | author-link=Gilbert White | editor-last=Blyth | editor-first=Edward | editor-link=Edward Blyth | date=1836 | title=The Natural History of Selborne, with its Antiquites; Naturalist's Calendar, &c. | location=London | publisher=Orr and Smith | page=44, Footnote | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/47719792 }}{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela Rasmussen | date=July 2021 | title=Waxbills, parrotfinches, munias, whydahs, Olive Warbler, accentors, pipits | work=IOC World Bird List Version 11.2 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/waxbills/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | accessdate=14 July 2021 }}

The red avadavat were earlier included in the genus Estrilda by Jean Delacour. This placement was followed for a while but morphological,{{cite journal| journal=Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club|year= 1962| volume=82|title=The affinities of the Red Avadavat, Amandava amandava (Linn.)|author=Harrison, C.J.O.|pages=126–132|url= https://archive.org/stream/bulletinofbritis82brit#page/126/mode/2up}} behavioural, biochemical{{cite journal| title= Biochemical systematics within Palaeotropic finches (Aves: Estrildidae) |author=Christidis, L|pages= 380–392| journal=The Auk| volume=104| issue = 3| year=1987| url=http://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v104n03/p0380-p0392.pdf| doi= 10.2307/4087534|jstor=4087534}} and DNA studies now support their separation in the genus Amandava.{{cite journal|title=An ethological comparison of some waxbills (Estrildini), and its relevance to their taxonomy|author=Harrison, CJO| year=1962| journal= Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London| volume=139| issue=2| pages=261–282| doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.1962.tb01830.x}}{{cite journal|last=Delacour | first=Jean|year=1943| title= A revision of the subfamily Estrildinae of the family Ploceidae| journal=Zoologica |pages=69–86 |volume=28 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/51008602 }}{{cite journal| year= 2007| journal= Proceedings of the Indiana Academy of Science| volume= 116| issue= 1| pages= 90–107| title= Skeletal characters and the systematics of Estrildid finches (Aves:Estrildidae)| last= Webster | first=J.D. | url= http://www.indianaacademyofscience.org/Documents/Proceedings/V116/Proc_v116_1_2007_pp90-107.aspx| url-status= dead| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110524004704/http://www.indianaacademyofscience.org/Documents/Proceedings/V116/Proc_v116_1_2007_pp90-107.aspx| archive-date= 2011-05-24}}

Three subspecies are recognised:

• A. a. amandava (Linnaeus, 1758) – Pakistan, India, Nepal and Bangladesh
• A. a. flavidiventris (Wallace, 1864) – Myanmar, south China, northwest, central Thailand and the Lesser Sundas
• A. a. punicea (Horsfield, 1821) – southeast Thailand, Cambodia, south Vietnam, Java and Bali

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.{{cite book|author=Whistler, Hugh|year=1949|title=Popular Handbook of Indian Birds|publisher=Gurney and Jackson|pages=216–217|url=https://archive.org/stream/popularhandbooko033226mbp#page/n259/mode/1up}}

Red avadavats are found mainly on flat plains, in places with tall grasses or crops, often near water.{{ cite book | last1=Rasmussen | first1=Pamela C. | author1-link=Pamela C. Rasmussen | last2=Anderton | first2=John C. | year=2012 | title=Birds of South Asia. The Ripley Guide | volume=2: Attributes and Status | edition=2nd | publisher=Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and Lynx Edicions | location=Washington D.C. and Barcelona | isbn=978-84-96553-87-3 | page=572 }} The species has four named subspecies. The nominate subspecies is called amandava and is found in Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan; the Burmese form is called flavidiventris (also found in parts of China, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam); the population further east in Java is called punicea and in Cambodia, decouxi.{{cite book|pages=192–193|title=Fauna of British India. Birds. Volume 2|author=Oates, EW|year=1890| publisher=Taylor and Francis, London |url=https://archive.org/stream/faunaofbritishin02oate#page/192/mode/1up/search/amandava}}{{cite journal|url=https://archive.org/stream/bulletinunitedst2261963unit#page/216/mode/1up/search/amandava|pages=216|year=1963| journal=United States National Museum Bulletin |volume =226| title=Checklist of the birds of Thailand| author=Deignan, H.G.}}{{cite book|author=Baker ECS |title=Fauna of British India. Birds. Volume 3|edition=2nd|pages=95–97| url=https://archive.org/stream/BakerFbiBirds3/BakerFBI3#page/n116/mode/1up/| publisher=Taylor and Francis|year=1926}}

Introduced populations exist in several locations worldwide: southern Spain,{{cite journal|title=Une nouvelle espèce à classer parmi les oiseaux de la Péninsule Ibérique: Estrilda (Amandava) amandava L. (Ploceidae, Passeriformes)|trans-title= A new species for the Iberian Peninsula: Estrilda (Amandava) amandava L. (Ploceidae, Passeriformes)|author1=De Lope F. |author2=Guerrero J. |author3=De La Cruz C. |journal= Alauda| year=1984| volume=52| issue=4}} Brunei, Fiji,{{cite journal|last=Langham|first=N.P.E.|year=1987|title=The annual cycle of the Avadavat Amandava amandava in Fiji|journal=Emu|volume=87|pages=232–243|doi=10.1071/MU9870232|issue=4|bibcode=1987EmuAO..87..232L }} Egypt,{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/stream/handlistofbirdso00nico#page/29/mode/1up|page=30|title=Handlist of the birds of Egypt|author=Nicoll, MJ |year=1919| publisher=Government Press, Cairo}} Malaysia, the United States, Bahrain, Guadeloupe, Iran, Italy, Réunion, Malaysia, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Martinique, Portugal, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore and Hawaii.{{cite journal|title=Oiseaux granivores exotiques implantés en Guadeloupe, à Marie-Galante et en Martinique (Antilles françaises)|trans-title= Seed eating exotic birds established in Guadeloupe, Marie Galante and in Martinique (French West Indies)|author1=Barre N. |author2=Benito-Espinal E. |journal=L'Oiseau et la Revue française d'Ornithologie|year=1985| volume=55| issue=3 |pages=235–241}}{{cite journal|last=Ticehurst | first=C.B. |year=1930 |title= The Amandavat (Aamandava amandava) in Mesopotamia| journal= Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society |volume=34|issue=2|page= 576|url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/48296085}}{{Cite journal|url=https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22719614/94635498|title = IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: Amandava amandava|journal = IUCN Red List of Threatened Species|date = October 2016}}

This finch is usually seen in small flocks,{{cite journal|doi=10.1016/0003-3472(70)90025-4 |journal=Animal Behaviour|volume=18|issue=4|pages=762–767 |year=1970| title=Some factors affecting the flock behaviour of red avadavats (Amandava amandava) with particular reference to clumping|author=Evans, SM}} flying with rapid wingbeats and descending into grass clumps where they are hard to observe. Pairs stay together during the breeding season.{{cite journal|author=Sparks, J.H. |year=1964|title= Flock structure of the Red Avadavat with particular references to clumping and allopreening| journal= J. Anim. Behaviour |volume=12|issue=1 |pages=125–126|doi=10.1016/0003-3472(64)90113-7}} These birds produce a distinctive low single note pseep call that is often given in flight. The song is a series of low notes.{{cite book|author1=Ali S |author2=SD Ripley |name-list-style=amp | year= 1999| title=Handbook of the birds of India and Pakistan|publisher= Oxford University Press|pages=106–108|volume=10|edition=2nd}} Birds of a flock will preen each other, ruffling their head feathers in invitation.{{cite journal|doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.1965.tb02024.x|title=On the role of allopreening invitation behaviour in reducing aggression among red avadavats, with comments on its evolution in the Spermestidae |year=1965|last1=Sparks|first1=John H.|journal=Journal of Zoology|volume=145|pages=387–403|issue=3}} They feed mainly on grass seeds but will also take insects such as termites when they are available.{{cite journal|author=Inglis, CM |year=1910|title= Note on the Spotted Munia (Uroloncha punctulata) and the Indian Red Munia (Sporaeginthus amandava)| journal= J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. |volume=20|issue=2|pages=517–518|url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/30166718}}

They build a globular nest made of grass blades. The usual clutch is about five or six white eggs.{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/stream/nestseggsofindia02humerich#page/147/mode/1up/search/amandava|author=Hume, AO |title=The Nests and Eggs of Indian Birds|volume= 2|year=1890 |pages=147–149|publisher= R.H. Porter | location=London}}

The beak begins to turn red in May and darkens during November and December. The beak then turns rapidly to black in April and the cycle continues.{{cite journal|author1=Thapliyal, JP |author2=BBP Gupta |name-list-style=amp |year=1984| title= Thyroid and annual gonad development, body weight, plumage pigmentation, and bill color cycles of Lal Munia, Estrilda amandava| journal= Gen. Comp. Endocrinology |volume=55|pages=20–28| doi=10.1016/0016-6480(84)90124-2|pmid=6745630| issue=1}} These seasonal cycles are linked to seasonal changes in daylength.{{cite journal|author1=Subramanian, P |author2=R Subbaraj |name-list-style=amp |year=1989|title=Seasonal changes in the timing of hopping and feeding activities of a tropical bird (Estrilda amandava) under natural photoperiod|journal=Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. (Anim. Sci.) | volume=98| issue=2|pages=89–93|url=https://archive.org/stream/indidanacademyof020238mbp#page/n95/mode/1up| doi= 10.1007/BF03179631|s2cid=83953707 }}

Two ectoparasitic species of bird lice (an ischnoceran, Brueelia amandavae, and an amblyceran, Myrsidea amandava) have been identified living on them{{cite journal|author=Gupta, N.|author2=Kumar, S.|author3=Saxena, A.K. |year=2007 |title=Prevalence and population structure of lice (Phthiraptera) on the Indian Red Avadavat| journal= Zoological Science |volume=24 |issue=4|pages=381–383|doi=10.2108/zsj.24.000|pmid=17867828|s2cid=19494524}} and a paramyxovirus has been isolated from birds kept in Japan.{{cite journal |title=A new paramyxovirus isolated from an Amaduvade Finch (Estrilda amandava) |author1=Matsuoka, Y |author2=H Kida |author3=R Yanagawa |name-list-style=amp |year=1980 |journal=Jpn. J. Vet. Sci. |volume=42 |pages=161–167 |doi=10.1292/jvms1939.42.161 |issue=2 |pmid=7382234 |doi-access=free }}{{cite journal|author1=Rékási, J. |author2=Saxena, A. K. |name-list-style=amp |year=2005| title= A new Phthiraptera species (Philopteridae) from the Red Avadavat (Amandava amandava)| journal= Aquila |volume= 112| pages=87–93|url=http://phthiraptera.info/Publications/46267.pdf}}

{{clear|left}}

Though the current conservation status of Red avadavat is Least Concern (LC), it has become increasingly uncommon in at least part of Southeast Asia. In Thailand, they are described an uncommon to rare resident.Round, Philip & Gardner, Dana. (2008). Birds of the Bangkok Area. In Cambodia, Red avadavats were already "exported by the thousands" to Vietnam in the 1920s, described as "uncommon and irregular" in the early 1960s, and populations are now considered to be low and of concern, yet significant numbers were still found in the merit release trade in 2012.{{Cite journal |last1=Gilbert |first1=Martin |last2=Sokha |first2=Chea |last3=Joyner |first3=Priscilla H. |last4=Thomson |first4=Robert L. |last5=Poole |first5=Colin |date=September 2012 |title=Characterizing the trade of wild birds for merit release in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and associated risks to health and ecology |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0006320712002066 |journal=Biological Conservation |language=en |volume=153 |pages=10–16 |doi=10.1016/j.biocon.2012.04.024|bibcode=2012BCons.153...10G |url-access=subscription }}

File:Finch for wiki.jpg|Red avadavat (male) from Dhaka, Bangladesh

Image:Red Avadavat (Amandava amandava)- Female in Kolkata W IMG 3311.jpg|Female with red rump visible

File:RedMunia.jpg|Male in non-breeding plumage

File:Red Avadavat AaaMSM1238.jpg|Male Amandava amandava amandava in breeding plumage

File:Red Avadavat at Ameenpur Lake, Hyderabad (49991153246).jpg

File:Beauty in read.jpg

File:Red avadavat female in its habitat.jpg|Red avadavat female in its habitat

File:Red Avadavat.jpg|Red avadavat amandava (male) in marshland habitat

{{Reflist|35em}}

{{Commons category|Amandava amandava}}

{{Wikispecies|Amandava amandava}}

• [http://ibc.lynxeds.com/species/red-avadavat-amandava-amandava Photos and videos The Internet Bird Collection]
• [http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=8663&m=0 BirdLife International species factsheet]

{{Taxonbar|from=Q73741}}

red avadavat

Category:Birds of Indomalaya

Category:Birds of the Dominican Republic

red avadavat

red avadavat