Red Avadavat (Amandava amandava) is locally called Lal Munia and grows up to 10 cm in length. The male is beautiful carmine red, with wings and underparts dotted with white. The beak is red.
These are the only species of waxbill where the male goes out of color when not breeding. The female and male winter-plumage is a rather uniform grey-brown (slightly paler on the underparts) and without dotting. Out of season colors of males are similar to female. They are brown on top with darker wings and yellow buff underneath. The rump and upper tail are dark red. The female also has a few white spots on the wings. The bird is a gregarious seed-eating species associated with marshland vegetation.
Red Avadavat can be seen in the Keoladeo Bird Sanctuary, Rajasthan.
