Family Waxbills (Estrildidae)
Vulnerable
Green Avadavat (Amandava formosa)
Taxonomy
French: Bengali vert German: Olivastrild Spanish: Bengalí verde
Taxonomy:
Fringilla formosa
Latham
, 1790,India
.Distribution:
C India from S Rajasthan, S Uttar Pradesh and S Bihar S to Maharashtra, N Andhra Pradesh and Odisha; records farther S to Kerala presumably refer to escapes#R.
Descriptive notes
10 cm. Male is olive-green above, rump greenish-yellow, tail glossy black; yellow below, brightest on undertail and its coverts, flanks barred black and white; iris brown,... read more
Voice
Calls include distinctive squeaky "swee, swee" and "chip"; song a prolonged... read more
Habitat
Tall grass and low bushes, open dry woodland, sugar-cane fields, mango orchards, Lantana... read more
Food and feeding
Small grass seeds, small insects. Forages mostly on ground. Gregarious; occurs in flocks in non-breeding season, sometimes mixing with ... read more
Breeding
Breeding records in May–Jan. Semi-colonial, in small groups. Male displays on ground and on perch, holds a stem in bill, fluffs nape... read more
Movements
Resident.
Status and conservation
VULNERABLE. Scarce to very locally quite common; decreasing. Formerly locally common or even abundant, but has declined rapidly; still fairly common around Mt Abu, in... read more
Has sometimes been placed in a monotypic genus, Stictospiza; recent studies of mtDNA, however, indicate monophyly with A. amandava and A. subflava. Monotypic.