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
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