Red avadavat: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 15:52, 28 January 2010

Revision as of 16:20, 28 January 2010

Line 15:

| binomial = ''Amandava amandava''

| binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1758

| synonyms = ''Estrilda amandava''<br/>''Sporaeginthus amandava''

| range_map =

| range_map_caption =

}}

[[ Image:Red Avadavat (Amandava amandava)- Female in Kolkata W IMG 3311.jpg|thumb|left| Female in [[Kolkata]], [[West Bengal]], [[India]].]]

The '''Red Munia''', ''Amandava amandava'' also known as '''Red Avadavat''' or '''Strawberry Finch''', (''Amandava amandava'') is a sparrow-sized bird of the [[Munia]] family. It is found in [[Souththe Asia]]open withfields anand estimated global extentgrasslands of occurrence[[South ofAsia]] 10,000,000 km². Theyand are popular as cage birds due to the colourful plumage of the males in their breeding season. TheirThey normalbreed habitatin isSouth openAsia grassland and paddy fields. They breed induring the monsoon[Monsoon]] season. The species name ''amandava'' and the common name of ''avadavat'' is derived from the city of Ahmedabad in [[Gujarat]] from where these birds were exported into the pet trade in former times.<ref>{{ cite journal|journal=Buceros|url=http://www.bnhsenvis.nic.in/pdf/Vol%209%20(2)dictionary.pdf |title=A dictionary of scientific bird names originating from the Indian region |author=Pittie A|volume=9 |issue=2|year=2004}}</ref> from the city of Ahmedabad in [[Gujarat]] from where these birds were exported into the pet trade.

==Description==

[[ Image:Red Avadavat (Amandava amandava)- Female in Kolkata W IMG 3311.jpg|thumb|left| Female in ([[Kolkata]], [[West Bengal]], [[India]].)]]

This small finch is easily identified by the rounded black tail and the bill that is red in all seasons. 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. 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.<ref name=pcr/>

==Distribution==

This species is found from the Indus valley of Pakistan to the plains of the Brahmaputra extending south to the peninsula of India. The are found mainly on the flat plains, mainly in places with tall grasses or crops often near water.<ref name=pcr>{{cite book|author=Rasmussen PC & JC Anderton|year=2005| title =Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide. Volume 2|page=572| publisher= Smithsonian Institution & Lynx Edicions}}</ref>

The species is native to [[Bangladesh]], [[Cambodia]], [[China]], [[Egypt]], [[India]], [[Sri Lanka]], [[Indonesia]], [[Burma]], [[Nepal]], [[Pakistan]], [[Thailand]] and [[Vietnam]].<ref>{{cite book|pages=192-193|title=Fauna of British India. Birds. Volume 2|author=Oates, EW|year=1890| publisher=Taylor and Francis, London |url=http://www.archive.org/stream/faunaofbritishin02oate#page/192/mode/1up/search/amandava}}</ref>

Introduced populations also exist in southern [[Spain]], [[Brunei]], [[Fiji]], [[Malaysia]], [[Portugal]], [[Puerto Rico]], [[Singapore]] and [[Hawaii]].{{cn}}

==Behaviour and ecology==

This finch is usually seen in small flocks, flying with rapid wingbeats and descending into grass clumps where they are hard to observe. They have a distinctive thin single note call that is given in flight.

They build a globular nest made of grass blades. The usual clutch is about 5 or 6 eggs.<ref>{{cite book|url=

http://www.archive.org/stream/nestseggsofindia02humerich#page/147/mode/1up/search/amandava|author=Hume, AO |year=1890 |pages=147-149|publisher= R H Porter, London}}</ref>

<gallery perrow="5">

Image:Red Avadavat (Amandava amandava)- Male in Kolkata W IMG 3315.jpg|Male in [[Kolkata]], [[West Bengal]], [[India]].

Line 28 ⟶ 43:

File:Red Avadavat (Amandava amandava) W IMG_0444.jpg|Male at [[Pocharam]] lake, [[Andhra Pradesh]], [[India]].

</gallery>

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.<ref>{{cite journal| author=Thapliyal, JP & BBP Gupta (|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}}</ref> These seasonal cycles are linked to seasonal changes in daylength.<ref>{{cite journal| author= Subramanian, P & R Subbaraj|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=http://www.archive.org/stream/indidanacademyof020238mbp#page/n95/mode/1up}}</ref>

Two species of bird lice (an ischnoceran, Brueelia amandavae, and an amblyceran, Myrsidea amandava) are known to infect them.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Gupta, N., Kumar, S., 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}}</ref>

The species is native to [[Bangladesh]], [[Cambodia]], [[China]], [[Egypt]], [[India]], [[Indonesia]], [[Burma]], [[Nepal]], [[Pakistan]], [[Thailand]] and [[Vietnam]].

Introduced populations also exist in southern [[Spain]], [[Brunei]], [[Fiji]], [[Malaysia]], [[Portugal]], [[Puerto Rico]], [[Singapore]] and [[Hawaii]].

== References ==

{{reflist|2}}

== External links ==

* [http://ibc.lynxeds.com/species/red-avadavat-amandava-amandava Photos and videos]

* [http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=8663&m=0 BirdLife Species Factsheet]

* [http://www.redlist.org/search/details.php?species=53312 IUCN Red List]