The Red Munia, Amandava amandava also known as Red Avadavat or Strawberry Finch, is a sparrow-sized bird of the Munia family. It is found in South Asia with an estimated global extent of occurrence of 10,000,000 km². They are popular cage birds due to the colourful plumage of the males in their breeding season. Their normal habitat is open grassland and paddy fields. They breed in the monsoon season. The species name amandava and the common name of avadavat is derived[2] from the city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat from where these birds were exported into the pet trade.
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| Red Munia | |
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| Male in breeding plumage | |
| Scientific classification | |
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| Species: | A. amandava
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| Binomial name | |
| Amandava amandava Linnaeus, 1758
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| Synonyms | |
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Estrilda amandava | |
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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.[3] These seasonal cycles are linked to seasonal changes in daylength.[4]
Two species of bird lice (an ischnoceran, Brueelia amandavae, and an amblyceran, Myrsidea amandava) are known to infect them.[5]
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
- ^ Template:IUCN2006
- ^ Pittie A (2004). "A dictionary of scientific bird names originating from the Indian region" (PDF). Buceros. 9 (2).
- ^ Thapliyal, JP & BBP Gupta (1984) Thyroid and annual gonad development, body weight, plumage pigmentation, and bill color cycles of Lal Munia, Estrilda amandava. Gen. Comp. Endocrinology 55:20-28
- ^ Subramanian, P & R Subbaraj (1989). "Seasonal changes in the timing of hopping and feeding activities of a tropical bird (Estrilda amandava) under natural photoperiod". Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. (Anim. Sci.). 98 (2): 89–93.
- ^ Gupta, N., Kumar, S., Saxena, A.K. (2007). "Prevalence and population structure of lice (Phthiraptera) on the Indian Red Avadavat". Zoological Science. 24 (4): 381–383.
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External links
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