Red fody
Foudia madagascariensis (Linnaeus, 1766)
The red fody (Foudia madagascariensis) is a species in the family Ploceidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 15.4 g to 17.1 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the red fody
- Weight
- 15.4 g – 17.1 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Granivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- woodlandsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Lifestyle
- Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the red fody live?
Not recorded
What is the red fody?
The red fody (Foudia madagascariensis), also known as the Madagascar fody in Madagascar, red cardinal fody in Mauritius, or common fody, is a small bird native to Madagascar and introduced to various other islands in the Indian Ocean. It is a common bird within its restricted range, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "least concern".
From the Wikipedia article “Red fody” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Red_fody&oldid=1381149456), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the red fody endangered?
The red fody is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the red fody classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyPloceidae
- genusFoudia
- SpeciesFoudia madagascariensis (Linnaeus, 1766)
Synonyms Foudia madagascarensis, Foudia madagascariensis madagascariensis, Loxia madagascariensis
Other names and names in other languages (39)
- Madagascar fodyEnglish
- Madagascar red fodyEnglish
- Madagascar red fodyEnglish
- REFOEnglish
- MadagaskarwewerAfrikaans
- fodi vermellCatalan
- Fodi de MadagascarCatalan
- snovatec madagaskarskýCzech
- Ffwdi CyffredinWelsh
- MadagaskarvæverDanish
- Madagascar VæverDanish
- MadagaskarweberGerman
- Madagaskar-WeberGerman
- ruĝa teksbirdoEsperanto
- Fodi rojoSpanish
- گنجشک یخ در بهشت سرخPersian
- madagaskarinkutojaFinnish
- Foudi rougeFrench
- Foudi malgacheFrench
- madagaskarska pletiljaCroatian
- madagaszkári vörös fodiHungarian
- Fody rossoItalian
- Tessitore fiammanteItalian
- ベニノジコJapanese
- madagaskarinis fudisLithuanian
- MadagaskarweverDutch
- rødveverNorwegian
- wikłacz czerwonyPolish
- foudia-vermelhaPortuguese
- tecelão-vermelhoPortuguese
- Красный фудиRussian
- Мадагаскарский фодиRussian
- fodia červenáSlovak
- Crveni fodiSerbian
- röd fodySwedish
- Kırmızı FodiTurkish
- фуді червонийUkrainian
- 红织雀Chinese
- 馬達加斯加福迪雀Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataIUCN Red List
Relatives of the red fody
Other species in the same genus Foudia.
Mauritius fody
Foudia rubra
Rodrigues fody
Foudia flavicans
Seychelles fody
Foudia sechellarum
Forest fody
Foudia omissa
Comoros fody
Foudia eminentissima
Aldabra fody
Foudia aldabrana
CompareRed fody vs Mauritius fodyRed fody vs Rodrigues fodyRed fody vs Seychelles fodyRed fody vs Forest fody
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the red fody?
An adult red fody weighs 15.4 g – 17.1 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the red fody endangered?
The red fody is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
What kind of animal is the red fody?
The red fody (Foudia madagascariensis) belongs to the family Ploceidae in the order Passeriformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Red fody (Foudia madagascariensis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/red-fody
“Red fody (Foudia madagascariensis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/red-fody.
@misc{red_fody_2026,
title = {Red fody (Foudia madagascariensis)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/red-fody},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}