Seychelles Fody

Fascinating facts about the Seychelles Fody

• At just 12.5 cm (5 in) long, this tiny yellowish songbird can hunt insects in tight crevices.
• On Cousin Island the birds breed between May and September, after which they moult; on some other islands they may breed throughout the year.
• When introduced to predator-free islands like Aride, the birds managed three breeding attempts in the first thirteen months, and they were also introduced to Denis Island in 2004.
• A single bird’s diet includes bugs, beetles, ants, spiders, fruit, nectar, seeds and occasionally seabird eggs such as those of the White tern.
• From an estimated 3,500 individuals today, the species was lifted from “endangered” to “near-threatened” by the IUCN after work by Nature Seychelles.

At a glance

About the Seychelles Fody

The Seychelles fody (Foudia sechellarum) is a diminutive, yellow-tinged songbird that flits through the woodlands and coconut groves of the Seychelles. Measuring about 12.5 cm (5 in) in length, the bird is cloaked in a drab olive plumage, its beak starkly black. In breeding season the male dons a bright yellow face, a splash of color the female never displays, while both sexes and juveniles echo the muted tones of the red fody but with less streaked upperparts. Their habitat, once limited to native woodland, now stretches into cultivated coconut plantations and garden patches, where they weave among the foliage in search of sustenance. The fody’s diet is a bustling buffet of insects, bugs, beetles, ants, spiders, supplemented by fruit, nectar, and seeds, and on occasion it will pilfer the eggs of seabirds such as the White tern, a surprising opportunistic twist for a songbird. On Cousin Island the species follows a clear breeding window from May to September, after which it molts, whereas on other islands breeding can occur year-round, reflecting a flexible reproductive strategy that helps it thrive across varied island settings.

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