Red Avadavat

Scientific Name: Anhzndava amandava

Origin: India, Sri Lanka and Malaysia

This bird is an excellent choice for a novice fancier. It is attractive and pleasantly disposed to other birds. It is willing to breed in an aviary, away from aggressive birds. The cock bird's song is delightful though short.

Description:

Size: 10 to 13 cm (4 to 5 in)

COCK:

Beak: red. Wings: dark brown. Sides and breast spotted with white. Body: bright red. Tail: black. Legs: brown. This is the only waxbill that has an eclipse plumage outside the breeding season, when the brightly colored cock bird molts to resemble the drab colored hen.

HEN:

Beak: red. Body: dark brown with beige on abdomen. Wings: spotted with white. Upper tail coverts: red. Black stripe on ear coverts. Legs: brown. (Immature cocks look like hens.)

Diet: (Seedeater)

Mixed millets and spray millet are enjoyed. Plain canary seed should be provided in a separate container. Green food and seeding grasses are also relished, and grit and cuttlefish bone must be available. This waxbill winters successfully outside without heat, needing only a frost-proof shelter. It survives healthily for many years outside in a planted aviary where the plumage retains its beautiful red color better than if housed inside.

Breeding:

The cock bird performs a prancing courtship dance displaying his spread tail. This bird makes use of a wicker basket or builds its own nest in dense shrubbery. It does not like to breed in enclosed boxes as much as other small finches. The hen lays between four and six eggs which she incubates, without assistance from the cock, for around 12 days. When the chicks hatch, the parents should be given small live insects, sprouted seeds and seeding grasses to feed them with. This specie shows a strange preference for using black chicken feathers to line the nest, arranged in the form of a screen. The provision of such feathers by a thoughtful owner encourages nesting, as do Lim bushes. This bird builds its hanging, pouch-shaped nest inside the bush sometimes with two entrances.

Breeding Tips Red Avadavat

• The bird should be kept in a flight. The aviary where it would be kept must have arrangements of full spectrum indoor light. If not dense, the aviary should be planted with few trees at least.
• Per aviary keep one pair of this specie of bird. The bird is aggressive towards birds that are of its size and resemble in color. So, select the right breed of birds that should be included in the flight along with the red avadavat.
• The courtship is initiated by both the sexes. The birds fluff their feathers and bow down to one another by holding a grass or a feather in the bill.
• The birds usually nest in large hooded oval shaped bamboo nests. To help them in building their nests you may provide them with long grasses of both rough and soft texture as well as coconut fibers. Also introduce some burnt or charred wood pieces. They also have the habit of lining the inside of their nest with light colored feathers.