Bird of very small size (about 9 cm or 3.5 in) and intense red colour. Brown wings, darker belly and black tail. White pints on wings and breast. Carmine red bill and eye iris, pink legs. Outside the breeding season females and males wear more muted tones, with brown upperparts and lighter underparts. Dark mask and muted red bill.
Cultivated areas and Wetlands
Species of Asian origin introduced in the Iberian Peninsula and naturalized in the province, where it has settled successfully. The Red Avadavat uses irrigated crops and marshy vegetation of channels and ditches. Preference for fertile plains, reed beds, high grasslands and crops of corn and sugarcane.
Exotic bird resident all year round in the province. Gregarious, it moves and sleeps in small groups, sometimes mixed with other species. The Red avadavat breeds several times a year, between July and November, and makes more than one laying of 4 to 7 eggs. Spherical nests built with herbs. It feeds on seeds and grain.
Frequent and abundant species, easy to watch in the fertile plains of the Guadalhorce and Vélez rivers (stages 2 and 35 of the Great Path).
This bird needs high temperatures and humidity, which is why it thrives in Malaga in areas where there are crops that are irrigated during the summer. These conditions simulate the monsoons of its original distribution area. The avadavat’s breeding period, atypical for Mediterranean birds, also coincides with the monsoon season.
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