Black-headed Munia
Encyclopedia
The Black-headed Munia, Lonchura atricapilla (formerly considered as a subspecies of the Tricoloured Munia
Lonchura malacca atricapilla) also known as Chestnut Munia, is a small passerine
bird
. This estrildid finch
is a resident breeding bird in Bangladesh
, Brunei
, Cambodia
, China
, India
, Indonesia
, Laos
, Malaysia, Burma, Nepal
, Philippines
, Singapore
, Taiwan
, Thailand
, Vietnam
and Hawaii
. Known as maya pula ("red maya", to distinguish it from the predominantly brownish Tree Sparrow
which is also called maya) in the Philippines, perhaps because of its brick red patch on the lower back that shows only when it flies. The Black-headed Munia is the former national bird of the Philippines (the Philippine national bird is now the Philippine eagle
).
The Black-headed Munia is a small gregarious bird which feeds mainly on grain and other seeds. It frequents open grassland and cultivation. The nest
is a large domed grass structure in a bush or tall grass into which 4-7 white eggs are laid.
The sexes are similar, but immature birds have uniform pale brown upperparts, lack the dark head and have white to pale buff underparts.
Tricoloured Munia
The Tricoloured Munia Lonchura malacca is a estrildid finch, native to India and Sri Lanka. The species was also introduced to Australia, Cuba, Hispaniola, Honduras, Jamaica, Japan, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Hawaii and Venezuela.-Taxonomic note:...
Lonchura malacca atricapilla) also known as Chestnut Munia, is a small passerine
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
. This estrildid finch
Estrildid finch
The estrildid finches are small passerine birds of the Old World tropics and Australasia. They can be classified as the family Estrildidae , or as a sub-group within the family Passeridae, which also includes the true sparrows....
is a resident breeding bird in Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
, Brunei
Brunei
Brunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...
, Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
, Malaysia, Burma, Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
and Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
. Known as maya pula ("red maya", to distinguish it from the predominantly brownish Tree Sparrow
Tree Sparrow
The Eurasian Tree Sparrow is a passerine bird in the sparrow family with a rich chestnut crown and nape, and a black patch on each pure white cheek. The sexes are similarly plumaged, and young birds are a duller version of the adult...
which is also called maya) in the Philippines, perhaps because of its brick red patch on the lower back that shows only when it flies. The Black-headed Munia is the former national bird of the Philippines (the Philippine national bird is now the Philippine eagle
Philippine Eagle
The Philippine Eagle , also known as the Monkey-eating Eagle, is an eagle of the family Accipitridae that is endemic to forests in the Philippines. It has brown and white-coloured plumage, and a shaggy crest, and generally measures in length and weighs...
).
Subspecies
The Black-headed Munia has several subspecies that are recognized as followed:- Lonchura atricapilla atricapilla
- Lonchura atricapilla rubroniger
- Lonchura atricapilla sinensis
- Lonchura atricapilla formosana
- Lonchura atricapilla deignani
- Lonchura atricapilla brunneiceps
- Lonchura atricapilla jagori
- Lonchura atricapilla selimbauensis
- Lonchura atricapilla obscura
- Lonchura atricapilla batakana
Habitat
Bird nest
A bird nest is the spot in which a bird lays and incubates its eggs and raises its young. Although the term popularly refers to a specific structure made by the bird itself—such as the grassy cup nest of the American Robin or Eurasian Blackbird, or the elaborately woven hanging nest of the...
is a large domed grass structure in a bush or tall grass into which 4-7 white eggs are laid.
Characteristics
The Black-headed Munia is 11–12 cm in length. The adult has a stubby pale grey-blue bill, black head, and brown body, with a brick red patch on the lower back, visible only when it flies. Some races also have a black belly.The sexes are similar, but immature birds have uniform pale brown upperparts, lack the dark head and have white to pale buff underparts.