A White-rumped Munia holding building material in the bill. They come with long straws 3 to 4 times longer than the bird. First I thought it was a strange paradise Flycatcher flying by.
But then I spotted the White-rumped Munia with the building material in the bill. Now I realise that the Paradise Flycatcher I saw flying across the street in Bangkok might have been a Munia.
But then I spotted the White-rumped Munia with the building material in the bill. Now I realise that the Paradise Flycatcher I saw flying across the street in Bangkok might have been a Munia.
The White-rumped Munia or White-rumped Mannikin (Lonchura striata), sometimes called striated finch in aviculture, is a small passerine bird from the family of waxbill "finches" (Estrildidae). These are close relatives of the true finches (Fringillidae) and true sparrows (Passeridae).
It is native to tropical continental Asia and some adjacent islands, and has been naturalized in some parts of Japan. Its domesticated hybrid descendant, the society finch or Bengalese finch, is found worldwide as a pet and a biological model organism.
Habitat and distribution
The White-rumped Munia is a common resident breeder ranging from South Asia to southern China east to Taiwan, and through Southeast Asia south to Sumatra; it frequents open woodland, grassland and scrub, and is well able to adapt to agricultural land use.
It is a gregarious bird which feeds mainly on seeds, moving through the undergrowth in groups and sometimes accompanying other birds such as puff-throated babblers (Pellorneum ruficeps). The nest is a large domed grass structure in a tree, bush or grass into which three to eight white eggs are laid.
They are also known to use abandoned nests of Baya weaver. They are often found near water and have been observed feeding on algae. It has been suggested that they obtain protein from their diet of algae often in the species Spirogyra, which grows in paddy fields.
It is a common and widespread bird across its large range, and is thus not considered a threatened species by the IUCN. In fact, it may locally become a nuisance pest of millets and similar grains.
Even the Nicobar Islands subspecies with its limited range seems to be able to cope well with human settlement. As it is a drab-coloured and rather reclusive bird inhabiting dense undergrowth, the White-rumped Munia is not necessarily conspicuous even where it occurs in considerable numbers.
Range map from www.oiseaux.net - Ornithological Portal Oiseaux.net
www.oiseaux.net
is one of those MUST visit pages if you're in to bird watching. You can find just about everything there
Taxonomy
In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the White-rumped Munia in his Ornithologie based on a specimen that he believed had been collected from the Isle de Bourbon (Réunion). The specimen is now assumed to have come from Sri Lanka.
He used the French name Le gros-bec de l'Isle de Bourbon and the Latin Coccothraustes Borbonica. 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 White-rumped Munia. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Loxia striata and cited Brisson's work.
The specific name striata is Latin for “striated”. This species is now placed in the genus Lonchura that was introduced by the English naturalist William Henry Sykes in 1832.
There are six subspecies:
• L. s. acuticauda (Hodgson, 1836) – northern Indian mainland below c. 1,500 metres ASL, north through the Himalayas foothills of Bhutan and Nepal to the Dehradun region of Uttarakhand, India acroos to Bangladesh to northern Indochina Medium brown above, except on the face and remiges, buffy below
• L. s. striata (Linnaeus, 1766) – southern Indian mainland, Sri Lanka Dark chocolate-brown above, white below
• L. s. fumigata (Walden, 1873) – Andaman Islands
• L. s. semistriata (Hume, 1874) – Car Nicobar and Central (Nancowry) group, Nicobar Islands
• L. s. subsquamicollis (Baker, ECS, 1925) – Malay Peninsula to southern Indochina
• L. s. swinhoei (Cabanis, 1882) – east central and east China, Taiwan
Domesticate
• Lonchura (striata) domestica – society finch. Domesticated; naturalized in Japan.
A number of breeds have been developed, ranging from white through yellowish, grey, rufous and brown to almost black, with more or less lighter belly; piebald birds are common, and more fanciful breeds with crests or curled feathers are also available.
Listen to the White-rumped Munia
Sound from www.xeno-canto.org
Description
The White-rumped Munia is approximately 10 to 11 cm in length, with a stubby grey bill and a long black pointed tail. The adults are brown above and on the breast, and lighter below; the rump is white.
There is some variation between the subspecies, but the sexes are almost impossible to distinguish in all subspecies; males have a more bulky head and bill.
| Length: 10 - 11cm |
|---|
| Wingspan: |
| Weight: |
| Longevity: |
| Distinctive Feature
• |
| Similar Species
• From opus at www.birdforum.net the forum for wild birds and birding. |
| Female / Male / Juvenile
• The sexes are similar, but with some subspecific variation; in L. s. acuticauda: paler brown upperparts and breast, and buff underparts and only the rump is white. From opus at www.birdforum.net the forum for wild birds and birding. |
Origin
Origin and phylogeny has been obtained. Estrildinae may have originated in India and dispersed thereafter (towards Africa and Pacific Ocean habitats).
Conservation status
Least Concern
(IUCN 3.1)
IUCN Red List
of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2.
International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sighted: (Date of first photo that I could use) 7 June 2017
Location: Doi Inthanon National Park
White-rumped Munia / นกกระติ๊ดตะโพกขาว
9 June 2017 - Doi Suthep / Pui National Park
9 June 2017 - Doi Suthep / Pui National Park
White-rumped Munia / นกกระติ๊ดตะโพกขาว
9 June 2017 - Doi Suthep / Pui National Park
9 June 2017 - Doi Suthep / Pui National Park
White-rumped Munia / นกกระติ๊ดตะโพกขาว - 9 June 2017 - Doi Suthep / Pui National Park
White-rumped Munia / นกกระติ๊ดตะโพกขาว - 9 June 2017 - Doi Suthep / Pui National Park
White-rumped Munia / นกกระติ๊ดตะโพกขาว - 9 June 2017 - Doi Suthep / Pui National Park
White-rumped Munia / นกกระติ๊ดตะโพกขาว - 8 May 2020 - Wat Tham Prathun, Chonburi
White-rumped Munia / นกกระติ๊ดตะโพกขาว - 19 May 2020 - Wat Tham Prathun, Chonburi
White-rumped Munia / นกกระติ๊ดตะโพกขาว - 19 May 2020 - Wat Tham Prathun, Chonburi
White-rumped Munia / นกกระติ๊ดตะโพกขาว - 2 August 2020
eBird hotspot: Bang Yai garbage dump and wetlands, Nonthaburi
eBird hotspot: Bang Yai garbage dump and wetlands, Nonthaburi
White-rumped Munia / นกกระติ๊ดตะโพกขาว - 16 June 2022
eBird hotspot: Wat Phai Lom & Wat Ampu Wararam Non-hunting Area, Pathum Thani
eBird hotspot: Wat Phai Lom & Wat Ampu Wararam Non-hunting Area, Pathum Thani
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