Saturday, 16 March 2019

Red Avadavat (Amandava amandava)

OTHER NAMES: Strawberry Finch, Red Munia
Latin Etymology: Amandava (derived from city of Ahmedabad) amandava (from city of Ahmedabad)
Adult male Red Avadavat (subspecies A. a. punicea) at Florican Grasslands, Cambodia - February 2019

Featured Subspecies: Amandava amandava punicea
Weight: 7g  /  Length: 9.5cm  /  Wingspan: ?
NO UK STATUS IUCN Red List: Least Concern

This is really a case where the alternate name feels like it belongs so much more than the actual one; this species looks as much like a strawberry as it's likely a bird can be: it's small, vaguely strawberry shaped and even has little flecks of white that make it look like it has strawberry seeds on it.  Perhaps because of this exotic appearance, it is a reasonably popular bird in captivity, which has lead to feral populations establishing themselves in various locations around the world as far away as Spain, Puetro Rico and Hawaii.

Related Species:
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Estrildidae
Genus: Amandava
SUBSPECIES: A. a. amandava, A. a. flavidiventris, A. a. punicea 

 - Sighting Locations -
CAMBODIA - Khmer - ចាបមាស ឬចាបចង្ក្រង់ក្រហម ("Gold sparrow" or "red sparrow")
A resident
SINGAPORE / CAMBODIA 2019 TRIP - Two seen at Florican Grassland Reserve

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto

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