Javan Munia Lonchura leucogastroides Scientific name definitions

10·11 cm; 11·7 g. Male has forehead, face and throat to breast black, crown to back dark greyish-brown, rump and upper­tail-coverts black, flight-feathers and tail blackish-brown; breast and belly white, lowermost belly, thighs and undertail-coverts blackish-brown; iris dark brown, orbital ring blackish; bill dark grey to blackish above, grey to blue-grey below with palest area at base; legs grey. Sexes similar. Juvenile is buffy brown above and on breast, upperparts lack streaks, rump, uppertail-coverts and undertail-coverts tan with brown barring, belly buffy white, bill horn-black; first-year like adult, but has pale shaft streaks on mantle and scapulars, white of underparts more creamy, brown spot-like markings on lower breast and flanks (marks more U-shaped on female).

S Sumatra (perhaps introduced), Java, Bali and Lombok; recorded in W Sumbawa (1 Grantham, M. (2000). New and interesting records from West Sumbawa. Kukila 11: 139–141. Close ). Introduced in Singapore and S Malay Peninsula (2 Robinson, T. (2012). First records of Javan Munia Lonchura leucogastroides in Peninsular Malaysia. Forktail 28: 159–160. Close ).

Cultivation, rice fields, old fields, edge of mangrove forest, grassland at edge of inland forest, woodlands and gardens. Sea-level to 500 m; to c. 1800 m on Lombok.

Resident; some local movements.

Seeds of grasses and cultivated rice, both ripe and unripe, also seeds of herbs. Forages on ground, also in vegetation, including tall grasses, trees and shrubs. Often in groups of up to ten birds, occasionally in larger flocks; also singly and in pairs. Associates with other munias at abundant food sources.

Call a short "tit"; two loud contact calls, male a simple "p'tit", female a two-part "peteet!" or "chirrup". Song long and complex, lacks "wheeee" note.

Throughout year in Java, and in wetter part of year on Lombok; Mar–Oct in Singapore (introduced). Courtship includes a straw display; when female near, male sings, fans tail and crouches forward, tail horizontal, and, with belly feathers erected and flanks fluffed, he edges towards her and sways from side to side; when she is receptive, male takes a more erect posture, stops singing, and attempts to mount. Nest a loose ball of grasses and soft fibres, built in long grass, creepers, shrub or tree, or in potted plant hung around house; sometimes with other munia species in same tree. Clutch usually 4–6 eggs, larger clutches (to 9) presumed the product of more than one female; incubation period 13 days; nestling skin pink, bare or with one or two tufts of down, gape-flange white with black border and lined black inside mouth, palate yellowish with black horseshoe-shaped transverse bar, tongue with two spots, black sublingual mark; nestling period 18–20 days.

Not globally threatened. Common to locally common or very common. Locally common in S Sumatra, where possibly introduced or may have colonized from Java; very common in Bali; locally common on Lombok. Formerly widespread and very common in Java, but significant population decline since 1950. In Singapore, where introduced in early decades of 20th century, was formerly widespread and common, but has declined greatly; now uncommon to scarce and confined to rural areas and Syungai Buloh Nature Park. A record of one in S Peninsular Malaysia (Johor Baru) in Apr 2003 was thought to involve an escaped cagebird, but subsequent observations in 2009–2011, including juveniles and birds carrying nest material, suggest that the species is now a breeding resident there (3 Robinson, T. (2012). First records of Javan Munia Lonchura leucogastroides in Peninsular Malaysia. Forktail. 28: 159–160. Close ). Regarded as a serious pest in rice crops, and is persecuted as a consequence. Trapped in very small numbers for trade.