Red Avadavat

Red Avadavat (Amandava amandava) is a sparrow-sized estrildid finch whose breeding male is brilliant red with white spots, while females and non-breeding males are browner. Body shape, bill structure, plumage pattern and voice provide the strongest field characters. Age, sex and season may alter its appearance, so identification should combine several features and careful direct field comparisons with similar species in the same habitat (Wikipedia, general species account).

It inhabits open fields and grasslands in tropical Asia, feeds mainly on small grass seeds in flocks and breeds around the monsoon; its colourful plumage has also made it prominent in the cage-bird trade. Its movements and social behaviour vary through the year, with breeding birds generally more dispersed and non-breeding birds gathering where food is concentrated. Japanese records place it within the country's documented avifauna as a resident, migrant or visitor (Wikipedia, general species account; Wildlife of Japan occurrence records).