Description
Scientific Name	Foudia flavicans
English Name	(Rodrigues) Yellow Fody
French Name	Foudi de Rodrigues
Local French Name	Cardinal jaune
Creole Name	Zwazo zonn
Habitat	Tall mixed evergreen forest
Geographic Range	Endemic to Rodrigues Island
First Description	Newton, 1865
Status	Endangered in the Entire Range

The yellow or Rodrigues fody, Foudia flavicans, forages by gleaning on flowers, leaves, and twigs; its diet consists mainly of insects (stick insects, black ants, coccids, planthoppers, leaf-rollers) and spiders but also includes nectar and seeds.

The yellow fody is confined to a small area on the northern slopes of the island of Rodrigues; its population was estimated in 1983 at around 100 birds.

It inhabits tall mixed evergreen forest.

The yellow-fody was numerous in the mid-1800s and remained fairly common until it began to decline at the start of the 1960s. Although the species has been impacted several times by cyclones that have wiped out nests, eggs, and young, two other factors in combination have been determined to be the chief cause of the bird's decline: the clearance of wooded regions that form the bird's habitat and the introduction of Madagascar fody, which competes with the yellow fody for food and nests. The introduction of the house sparrow, which may usurp nests, is beginning to be a concern, and there have been reports that black rats--notorious nest predators--now inhabit the island.

Human persecution, especially by children, has been a problem, and an education campaign has been proposed as a preventative. A captive breeding program has been initiated and may eventually lead to reintroductions.

Protection of native forests and vegetation at Cascade St. Louis, Anse Quitor, and Grande Montagne is an important goal, as these areas could eventually be restocked with birds from captive breeding programs. The main goal should be to eliminate the introduced rats and mice that plague the species.

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