Fody breeding plumage are usually colourful with bright red or yellow on the head and sometimes elsewhere. Non-breeding males and females are dull, sparrow-like birds with mostly grey-brown plumage. Fodies are typically found in forest, woodland or scrubland but some also occur in man-made habitats, especially the red fody. Some species feed mainly on seeds while others are largely insectivorous. Fodies build a dome-shaped nest of grass and other plant material. It has a side-opening and it is suspended from a branch or palm leaf. The genus was introduced by the German naturalist Ludwig Reichenbach in 1850. The type species was
Red fody "Cardinalis Madagascariensis". Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his "Systema Naturae" for the twelfth edition, he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson. One of these was the red fody. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name "Loxia madagascariensis" and cited Brisson's work. This species is now placed in the genus "Foudia" that was introduced by the German naturalist Ludwig Reichenbach in 1850. The type species was subsequently