Seychelles and Madagascar Fodies

On Saturday morning I was undertaking my usual duties round the island when I encountered and was able to photo a male Seychelles Fody in woodland north of the runway. The bird was notable because it was in full breeding colour i.e. with yellow feathers on the forehead and beneath the bill. This is the first bird I recall seeing on Denis in breeding colours.

The Seychelles fody (Foudia Sechellarum) is endemic to the central Seychelles archipelago. Believed to have originally occurred throughout the Praslin Group of islands by the mid-20th century it was confined to 3 small populations on the islands of Fregate, Cousin and Cousine – the decline believed to be linked to predation by rats. In 1965, 5 birds were introduced to D’Arros where they have prospered remarkably. Birds have subsequently been introduced to Aride in 2001 and Denis in 2004. The population of Denis has established with evidence of breeding and population growth. The introduction to Denis contributed to the downgrading of the species’ IUCN redlist status from vulnerable to near threatened in 2006 with the global population now estimated at some 3,500 birds spread between the six populations.

Later that same morning on the southeast coast of the island I encountered a flock of Madagascar Fodies (Foudia madagascariensis) in a stand of young papaya plants. What caught my attention initially was the presence of 4 or 5 males in full breeding colour in adjacent plants. Normally males will defend an area from a prominent perch and chase off other males from their breeding territory but in this case they were not. Rather they were busy displaying to a flock of females that were also in amongst the young papaya plants. The Madagascar fody equivalent of going to the Mall or in the Seychelles context hanging around outside “Codevar” I suppose!!! I was able to photo a couple of the males whose bright red plumage so catches the eye.

The Madagascar fody is generally considered to be introduced, although this has been questioned, and is now one of the most common birds in the central archipelago having reached all islands of any size. The Madagascar species does not appear to represent a threat to the local species with populations coexisting on all islands where the Seychelles fody occurs.