Chestnut-breasted Munia
Lonchura castaneothorax
Small brownish bird with black face, gray grown, and warm brown chest separated from white belly by distinct black band. Juveniles very plain brownish but usually accompany adults. Frequents very long grass, typically beside wetlands and swamps, across northern and eastern Australia, often in sizable flocks. Often first detected by distinctive bell-like "tink" call.
Identification
Small brownish bird with black face, gray grown, and warm brown chest separated from white belly by distinct black band. Juveniles very plain brownish but usually accompany adults. Frequents very long grass, typically beside wetlands and swamps, across northern and eastern Australia, often in sizable flocks. Often first detected by distinctive bell-like "tink" call.
Taxonomy
Genus: Lonchura; Family: Estrildidae; Order: Passeriformes.
- Scientific name
- Lonchura castaneothorax
- Authority
- (Gould, 1837)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Estrildidae
- Genus
- Lonchura
Range and habitat
In Australia, the chestnut-breasted mannikin is known as a bird of reed beds and rank grasses bordering rivers, in swamp, in grassy country, and mangroves. It is commonly found in cane fields and cereal crops. In dry seasons, it is seen in arid country but always near water. It is also found in grassy woodland.<p>John Gould wrote of it (quoted in Cayley, 1932):<p>I had not the good fourtune to meet with this bird in a state of nature, but I have been informed that it frequents reed beds bordering the banks of rivers and lagoons on the eastern coast, and that it much resembles the Bearded Tit Panurus biarmicus, of Europe in the alertness with which it passes up and down the upright stems of reeds, from the lower part to the very top, a habit for which the lengthened and curved form of its claws seem well adapted.<p>In New Guinea, the chestnut-breasted mannikin is a bird of drier areas and does not usually seen in jungle roads and clearings where other munias such as grey-headed mannikin are found.<p>In French Polynesia, it is well established as an introduced species, and its habits have developed somewhat differently, indicating the adaptability of the species. It is widespread on the bracken-covered hill slopes, in pastures and gardens (it is not a garden bird in Australia), on cultivated land and wasteland, in forest ecotones and coconut plantations (Lever 1989).
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: stable.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Typically beautiful green-and-red trogon. The bottom of the tail is heavily barred black-and-white, and this pattern can also be seen along the edges of the top of the tail. Found in moist montane forest. Usually seen singly or in pairs. Quiet and inconspicuous bird of the mid-story. Usually detected by song: a series of 6-15 downslurred “teew” notes, which becomes louder as the series progresses. Separated from other African trogons by the barred tail.
Leaden Flycatcher
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Rufous Potoo
Phyllaemulor bracteatus
Rarely observed, nocturnal bird of lowland rainforest. Considerably smaller than other potoos, and distinguished from them by bright rufous plumage spotted with white. Inhabits middle and upper levels of tall forest, especially in regions with sandy soils, where it sallies from exposed perches for flying insects. Roosts during the day on thin branches and camouflages itself remarkably well by swaying with the breeze as if to mimic a suspended dead leaf. Voice, unlike that of other potoos, is a rapid, descending series of hoots with a bubbling quality, given infrequently and only for short periods. Unlikely to be confused with anything else; plumage recalls Oilbird, but potoo is much smaller and perches vertically.
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