The red avadavat, red munia or strawberry finch, is a sparrow-sized bird of the family Estrildidae. It is found in the open fields and grasslands of tropical Asia and is popular as a cage bird due to the colourful plumage of the males in their breeding season. It breeds in the Indian Subcontinent in the monsoon season. The species name of amandava and the common name of avadavat are derived from the city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat, India, from where these birds were exported into the pet trade in former times.
Region
South and Southeast Asia
Typical Environment
Occurs widely from the Indian Subcontinent through parts of Myanmar, Thailand, and Indochina, favoring open fields, grassy scrub, and agricultural edges. It frequents rice paddies, fallow plots, and reedbeds near water, where seeding grasses are abundant. The species adapts well to human-modified landscapes and roadside grasslands. In some places it forms large post-breeding flocks that roam locally as food resources shift. Small introduced populations exist outside its native range in a few subtropical regions.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1500 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 4/5
Also called the strawberry finch, males turn a vivid crimson with white spotting during the breeding season, while females and non-breeding males are brownish and more cryptic. They often breed in the monsoon, weaving ball-shaped nests low in dense grasses. The name comes from Ahmedabad, India, historically a hub for the cage-bird trade. Flocks can swell after rains when grasses seed profusely.
Temperament
social and active
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats
Social Behavior
Highly gregarious outside the breeding season, often forming chattering flocks that feed and roost together. Pairs are monogamous and build ball-shaped nests hidden low in tall grasses or reeds. The male performs courtship displays while holding nesting material and offers it to the female.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Calls are thin, high-pitched tsip and tsee notes given frequently in flight and while feeding. The song is a soft, tinkling twitter delivered from a perch, often interwoven with call notes.
Plumage
Breeding males are bright crimson with white spots on the flanks and rump, blackish wings with white speckling, and a dark tail; non-breeding birds are warm brown above with buff underparts and limited red. Feathers are smooth, giving a neat, glossy appearance in males.
Diet
Primarily consumes small grass seeds, including those of Setaria and other seeding grasses, and will readily take paddy in rice-growing areas. During the breeding season it supplements the diet with small insects such as aphids and termites for added protein. It also nibbles on tender grass inflorescences and seedheads.
Preferred Environment
Feeds low in dense grasses, along field margins, and in rice paddies where seedheads are accessible. It often forages on the ground or clings to stems to strip seeds, frequently in loose, noisy groups.
