228
PLATE 107: AVADAVAT, WAXBILL, MUNIAS AND SILVERBILLS
Red Avadavat Amandava amandava E/I
L: 9 –10. Male crimson with numerous white spots on underparts and wing-coverts. Female
brown above, buffish below with fulvous-yellow belly; rump red, tail blackish. Non-breeding male
as female but greyer below. Coral-red bill (both sexes) with black culmen. Juvenile as female but
with buff wing-bars and dark bill; lacks red rump. Often in small, low-flying flocks. Voice Song
is high-pitched, continuous twittering; call is thin, high teee or tsi. Habitat Damp scrub, reeds.
Note Non-native escape; breeds Bahrain, N Oman, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, UAE.Common Waxbill Estrilda astrild E/I
L: 10. Adult is brown above including rump and tail. Underparts slightly paler with fine barring.
White cheeks and red line through eye. Bill bright red. Immature duller with black bill. Voice
Chipping contact calls. Habitat Cultivation, thickets. Note Non-native escape; breeds near Muscat.Tricoloured Munia Lonchura malacca E/I
L: 11. Adult has black head, upper breast and belly. Lower breast white. Upperparts rufous-brown.
Bill silver-coloured. Immature is uniform brown. Voice Trisyllabic chirping call in flight. Habitat
Cultivation and farmland. Note Non-native escape; encountered in Muscat and Salalah areas. [Alt:
Black-headed Munia]Chestnut Munia Lonchura atricapilla E/I
L: 12. All chestnut with black head, throat and neck, and blue-grey bill. Immature similar but
p aler. Voice A weak pee, pee. Habitat Weedy waste ground, cultivation. Note Non-native escape;
recorded near Muscat.Scaly-breasted Munia Lonchura punctulata E/I
L: 12. Adult chestnut or dull tan above with white underparts brown-scaled. Juvenile plain brown
above and below. Gun metal bill in adult, duller in juvenile. Flight bouncing; often in rapidly moving
flocks. Feeds on grass seed-heads. Voice Calls a high piping bee-bee, recalling Eurasian Siskin; song
soft, thin whistles and slurred notes. Habitat Waste and grassy areas. Note Non-native escape;
breeds Oman (Muscat and Salalah), Saudi Arabia, UAE.African Silverbill Euodice cantans RB
L: 11. Similar to Indian Silverbill, from which geographically separated. Distinguished by fine
vermiculations on wing-coverts and tertials (only visible at very close range), and black rump
and uppertail-coverts; may also show slight brownish on chin. Voice Similar to Indian Silverbill, but
higher pitched, squeakier. Song a rapidly repeated high-pitched trill comprising single, then double
notes; phrases descending then rising. Habitat As Indian Silverbill. Note Native to SW Arabia; some
releases outside mapped distribution.Indian Silverbill Euodice malabarica RB
L: 11. Small with large conical silver-grey bill, prominent eye and pointed black tail. Similar to
African Silverbill but told by whitish rump and uppertail-coverts, and absence of vermiculations
on wing-coverts and tertials. Juvenile has pale edgings to wing feathers. Fairly tame and
frequently in small groups, sitting close when perched; often waves and flicks tail. Flight undulating.
Voice Rapid, tinkling cheet cheet cheer flight call; short high-pitched, trilling zip-zip; harsh tchwit
and conversational seesip seesip; song a short trill. Habitat Hills and wadis, grassland, scrub,
cultivation, palm groves, gardens. Nests in bush, crevice or old nest of sparrow; builds suspended
nest. Note Native to SE Arabia, but western breeding populations originate from escapes.