Java Sparrow
Padda oryzivora
A small, plump finch with a very thick pink bill. The black head and white cheek patch are distinctive. Juveniles have a similar color pattern but are grayer. Social; forages in flocks and roosts communally. Forages in rice fields, grasslands, meadows, and urban and suburban areas (in introduced range). Call consists of one or more musical chirps. Native to the Indonesian islands of Java and Bali, where now quite rare. Introduced widely across the globe including India, Philippines, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, and the Hawaiian Islands.
Identification
The Java sparrow is about 15 to 17 cm (5.9 to 6.7 in) in length from the beak to its tip of tail feathers. Although only about the size of a house sparrow, it may be the largest species in the estrildid family. The mean body mass is 24.5 g (0.86 oz), making it slightly heavier than its nearest known rival, the black-bellied seedeater. The adult is unmistakable, with its grey upperparts and breast, pink belly, white-cheeked black head, red eye-ring, pink feet and thick red bill.<p>Both sexes are similar. Immature birds have brown upperparts and pale brown underparts, and a plain head. Very young birds have a black beak with a pink base.<p>The call is a chip, and the song is a rapid series of call notes chipchipchipchipchipchip.
Taxonomy
The Java sparrow was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Loxia oryzivora. The specific epithet combines Latin oryza meaning "rice" with -vorus meaning "eating". Linnaeus based his description on the "Padda or Rice-bird" that had been described and illustrated in 1743 by the English naturalist George Edwards in his A Natural History of Uncommon Birds. Edwards believed that his specimens had come from China but mentions the common name "Java sparrow". The species was reclassified to the genus Lonchura in 2020.
- Scientific name
- Padda oryzivora
- Authority
- (Linnaeus, 1758)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Estrildidae
- Genus
- Padda
Range and habitat
The Java sparrow is a very gregarious bird which feeds mainly on grain and other seeds. It frequents open grassland and cultivation, and was formerly a pest in rice fields, hence its scientific name. The nest is constructed in a tree or building, and up to eight eggs are laid.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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