---
title: "Red Fody"
description: "Foudia madagascariensis — Birds. 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."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/red-fody
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Red Fody

> Foudia madagascariensis — Birds. 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.

- Scientific name: *Foudia madagascariensis*
- Category: `birds` (Birds)
- Habitats: unknown
- iNaturalist observations: 3242
- Wikidata: [Q1060466](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1060466)
- iNaturalist taxon: [13876](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/13876)

## Names

- en: Red Fody
- de: Madagaskarweber
- es: Fodi rojo
- fr: Foudi rouge
- nl: Madagaskarwever
- pt: Foudia-vermelha
- pl: Wikłacz czerwony

## Countries with the most observations

MG (984), MU (681), SC (639), RE (520), YT (30), IO (24), KM (21), SH (21), TF (3)

## Summary

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".

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_fody

## Photo

![Red Fody](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/red-fody/medium.jpg)

Photo: Лариса Артемьева · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/13876

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/red-fody?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).