Red Avadavat Life History

Habitat

Red Avadavats inhabit grasslands, reedbed edges, rice and sugarcane fields, tamarisk scrub, and grassy clearings near villages. They also occur in wetlands along rivers and canals.

Food

Red Avadavats feed on small grass seeds, including rice and millet. They forage both on the ground and by clinging to grass stems to pluck ripening seeds. They also eat insects on occasion.

Nesting

Nest Placement

Placed in bushes, grasses, or reeds within 1 meter (3 feet) of the ground.

Nest Description

A hollow ball with a side entrance. Made of coarse grass and lined with fine materials.

Nesting Facts

Behavior

Red Avadavats are social birds that often forage in flocks of up to 30 individuals. During the nonbreeding season, these flocks can grow to more than 100 birds and may include other species of finches (Estrildidae), sparrows (Passeridae), and buntings (Emberizidae). During the breeding season, males perform an elaborate courtship display that includes holding a feather or plant stem in the bill, bowing towards a female, and singing between bows. A typical Red Avadavat clutch contains 4–6 eggs, which are incubated for 11–13 days. The chicks leave the nest after 17–21 days, and parents feed them regurgitated seeds for an additional 10–14 days.

Conservation

The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists Red Avadavat’s conservation status as Least Concern. The population size is unknown, but this species has an extremely large range, suggesting that the population, which appears stable, is greater than the Vulnerable threshold of 10,000 mature individuals.

Credits

BirdLife International. 2024. Amandava amandava. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2024: e.T22719614A263861023. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2024-2.RLTS.T22719614A263861023.en.

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Floyd, T. (2025). Field Guide to the Birds of the United States and Canada. Eighth edition. National Geographic Society, Washington, D.C.

Grimmett, R., C. Inskipp, and T. Inskipp (2011). A Guide to the Birds of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and the Maldives. Second edition. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ, USA.

Payne, R. B. (2020). Red Avadavat (Amandava amandava), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.redava.01

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Raine, H. and A. F. Raine (2020). American Birding Association Field Guide to Birds of Hawai'i. Scott & Nix, Inc. New York, NY, USA.

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