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Lonchura atricapilla

Lonchura atricapilla, Photo: Michael Lahanas

Cladus: Eukaryota
Supergroup: Opisthokonta
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Classis: Aves
Subclassis: Carinatae
Infraclassis: Neornithes
Parvclassis: Neognathae
Ordo: Passeriformes
Subordo: Passeri
Parvordo: Passerida
Superfamilia: Passeroidea
Familia: Estrildidae
Genus: Lonchura
Species: Lonchura atricapilla
Subspecies: L. a. atricapilla - L. a. batakana - L. a. brunneiceps - L. a. deignani - L. a. formosana - L. a. jagori - L. a. obscura - L. a. selimbaue - L. a. sinensis

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]


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


Black-headed Munia nest. Nest is dome-shaped; entrance/exit point is visible

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
* Munias and Mannikins by Robin Restall, ISBN 1-873403-51-8

1. ^ Kennedy, Robert; et al.. A Guide to the Birds of the Philippines. ISBN 0198546688.

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Source: Wikipedia, Wikispecies: All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License