Tricoloured munia
| Tricoloured munia | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Estrildidae |
| Genus: | Lonchura |
| Species: | L. malacca |
| Binomial name | |
| Lonchura malacca (Linnaeus, 1766) | |
The tricoloured munia (Lonchura malacca) is an estrildid finch, native to India, Sri Lanka, and southern China. The species was also introduced to Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela. This species like the chestnut munia has been known as the black-headed munia. Immature birds have pale brown upperparts, lack the dark head found in adults, and have uniform buff underparts that can be confused with immatures of other munias such as the scaly-breasted munia.
Taxonomy
The chestnut munia was formerly considered conspecific with this species. Estrildinae may have originated in India and dispersed thereafter (towards Africa and Pacific Ocean habitats).[2]
Habitat
The tricoloured munia is a small gregarious bird which feeds mainly on grain and other seeds. It inhabits wet grassland habitats. It may also be found in tropical lowland moist forest habitats.
References
- ↑ BirdLife International (2012). "Lonchura malacca". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
- ↑ Arnaiz-Villena, A; Ruiz-del-Valle V; Gomez-Prieto P; Reguera R; Parga-Lozano C; Serrano-Vela I (2009). "Estrildinae Finches (Aves, Passeriformes) from Africa, South Asia and Australia: a Molecular Phylogeographic Study" (PDF). The Open Ornithology Journal. 2: 29–36. doi:10.2174/1874453200902010029.
