Alternative name: Black-headed Munia
- Lonchura malacca
Identification
11–12 cm (4¼-4¾ in)
Chestnut upperside, black head, throat, center of belly, and undertail coverts; white across upper breast and down the flanks or the white area scalloped with either black or cinnamon-chestnut feather fringes; large conical bluish grey bill.
Sexes are similar.
Juvenile: Uniformly buffy brown plumage, no black head, can probably not be safely separated from similar age Chestnut Munia.
Variations
Several morphs are described, including one that looks similar to an imagined hybrid between Black-headed Munia and Chestnut Munia.
Distribution
Native range is Lowlands of southern India (Tapi River to Raipur) and Sri Lanka.
It is now found widely introduced in tropical areas of the world, including the Caribbean and South America.
Taxonomy
This species was until 1996 considered conspecific with Chestnut Munia.
Subspecies
This is a monotypic species[1].
Subspecies rubronigra was recently transferred from this species to Chestnut Munia.
Habitat
Lowland rural areas with tall grass, cultivated lands, grasslands, scrub, secondary growth.
Behavior
Diet
The diet includes seeds.
Breeding
The nest is a ball made out of dried grass, placed close to the ground in long grass or low bushes.
Vocalisation
Call: a loud heh; shrill preep.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved September 2015)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Tricolored Munia. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 23 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Tricolored_Munia
External Links
