Rodrigues Fody male & female, figure from Newton (1865)
Fody bill shapes, Rodrigues Fody circled, figure from Moreau (1960)
Rodrigues Fody distribution, type locality circled
Introduction
The Rodrigues Fody was formally described by Alfred Newton, an English zoologist and ornithologist.
The Rodrigues Fody had been collected by Edward Newton, the younger brother of Alfred, and a British colonial administrator and ornithologist.
Alfred and Edward had obtained specimens of the Rodrigues Fody some 20 years earlier from John Augustus Lloyd, an English engineer and surveyor, who worked in Mauritius from 1831 - 1849. The Newton brothers though the birds brought by Lloyd were flavistic Red Fodies. In November 1864, Edward visited Rodrigues Island and soon shot a Rodrigues Fody and recognised it as the same species as the Lloyd specimen. Edward noted that the species was very common, and he saw a flock of at least 100 birds.
The first illustration of the Rodrigues Fody was of a male and female, published by Newton (1865). The next illustration pertaining to Rodrigues Fody was of the bill shapes of different fody species by Moreau (1960).
Scientific citation
Foudia flavicans Newton 1865 Proc. Zool. Soc. London, p.47 Rodriguez Island.
Weaver Watch
