Black-faced Munia
Lonchura molucca
A striking finch with a black hood, light brown collar, extensively barred white underside, and pale barred rump. Juveniles duller, brown above and buffy below, lacking bars. Singles to small groups inhabit open country in lowlands and foothills, including croplands, scrub, grassy areas, and woodland edge. Terrestrial, but perches in trees and bushes too. Adult differs from Scaly-breasted Munia in black hood and pale rump. Juvenile has a smaller bill than immature Five-colored Munia. Gives high-pitched, buzzy “krrit” calls, like a tiny tin horn.
Identification
The black-faced munia has a black face, throat, and upper breast. The nape and back are dark brown, and the wings and tail are black. The underparts and rump are white with fine black speckling or barring. The bill is thick and bicoloured, with a dark upper mandible and blue-gray lower mandible, and the legs are dark.
Taxonomy
In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the black-faced munia in his Ornithologie based on a specimen collected from the Maluku Islands. He used the French name Le gros-bec de Moluques and the Latin Coccothraustes Moluccensis. 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 black-faced munia. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Loxia molucca and cited Brisson's work. The specific name molucca denotes the Moluccas islands. This species is now placed in the genus Lonchura that was introduced by the English naturalist William Henry Sykes in 1832.<p>There are two subspecies:
- Scientific name
- Lonchura molucca
- Authority
- (Linnaeus, 1766)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Estrildidae
- Genus
- Lonchura
Range and habitat
The black-faced munia is native to Indonesia including the island group of Wallacea. It is also present in East Timor. It is a seed-eating bird and is found in small flocks in grassy areas.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Other Birds
Red-billed Oxpecker
Buphagus erythroryncha
A bulbul-sized olive-brown bird that sports a diagnostic all-red bill and a red eye surrounded by a fleshy yellow wattle. The juvenile lacks the bright bill and eye coloration. Small groups occur in savanna and farmland, where they require large wild ungulates and domestic stock to forage on; they clamber agilely over host mammals, gleaning ticks, mites, and other ectoparasites, and occasionally drinking host blood. As they fly between large mammals, they give a distinctive “tsik-tsik” call. The similar Yellow-billed Oxpecker differs from Red-billed Oxpecker by having a yellow bill base and pale rump and lacking an eye-wattle.
Curve-billed Thrasher
Toxostoma curvirostre
Plain grayish-brown thrasher of the southwest U.S. and Mexico. Look for decurved bill and fairly faint round spots on breast and belly. Undertail coverts are slightly warmer buffy. Eye color varies from yellow to orange. Occurs in deserts and open, shrubby areas. Can be shy and skulking, but often perches atop a bush or cactus to sing. More common in suburban areas and parks than other thrashers in range. Most similar to Bendire’s Thrasher. Note Curve-billed has a slightly longer and more curved bill, and breast spots are slightly larger and rounder.
Western Black-eared Wheatear
Oenanthe hispanica
A small, slim wheatear. Males striking: black wings contrast with a yellowish back and crown and a black mask through the eye. Throat can be white or black. Females have a more muted version of the male’s overall pattern. The tail has a complicated black-and-white pattern that is conspicuous in flight. Found in open habitats with scattered trees, including savanna, rocky mountain slopes, and barren pastures. Very similar to Eastern Black-eared Wheatear, but usually distinguished by more extensive and warmer yellow wash on the head, back, and breast. Also similar to Pied Wheatear, but male’s black face patch is not connected to the black wing, and female is warmer and browner than the grayish female Pied. Call is a dry, hoarse “chercher.” Song is a short jumble of primarily descending trills and harsher notes.
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