Amandava | |
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Male red avadavat | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Estrildidae |
Genus: |
Amandava Blyth, 1836 |
species | |
A. amandava |
A. amandava
A. formosa
A. subflava
Amandava is a genus of the estrildid finches. These birds are found in dense grass or scrub in Africa and South Asia. They are gregarious seed-eaters with short, red bills. In earlier literature, amadavat and amidavad have been used. The name amandava, along with amadavat and amidavad are all corruptions of Ahmedabad, a city in Gujarat, India from where the first few specimens of the red munia Amandava amandava were obtained.
The members are:
The two avadavats, which are very closely related, are found in tropical South Asia, and the waxbill in Africa. Various members of this genus are sometimes placed in Sporaeginthus.