Lonchura atricapilla, Photo: Michael Lahanas Cladus: Eukaryota Name Lonchura atricapilla (Vieillot, 1807) Vernacular names Reference Histoire naturelle des plus beaux oiseaux chanteur de la zone torride p.84 pl.LIII 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. Known as maya pula ("red maya", to distinguish it from the predominantly brownish Tree Sparrow which is also called maya) in the Philippines. The Black-headed Munia is the former national bird of the Philippines (the Philippine national bird is now the Philippine eagle).[1]
The Black-headed Munia has several subspecies that are recognized as followed: * Lonchura atricapilla atricapilla
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. Characteristics The Black-headed Munia is 11–12 cm in length. The adult has a stubby pale grey bill, black head, and brown body. 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. References * Birds of India by Grimmett, Inskipp and Inskipp, ISBN 0-691-04910-6 1. ^ Kennedy, Robert; et al.. A Guide to the Birds of the Philippines. ISBN 0198546688. Source: Wikipedia, Wikispecies: All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License |
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