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Munia
Chestnut-breasted munia Lonchura castaneothorax
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Estrildidae
Genus:	Lonchura Sykes, 1832
Type species
Fringilla nisoria = Loxia punctulata nisoria Temminck 1830
Species
See text

Lonchura is a genus of the estrildid finch family, and includes munias (or minias) and mannikins. They are seed-eating birds that are found in South Asia from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka east to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Philippines. The name mannikin is from Middle Dutch mannekijn 'little man', and also the source of the common name of the family Pipridae, manakin.

Some of the Lonchura species were formerly placed in Spermestes. Others have been placed in a genus of their own, Euodice.

Characteristics

They are small gregarious birds which feed mainly on seeds, usually in relatively open habitats, preferring to feed on the ground or on reeds of grasses. Several species have been noted to feed on algae such as Spirogyra.

The nest is a large domed grass structure into which four to ten white eggs are laid. Some species also build communal roosting nests for overnight rest.

The species in this genus are similar in size and structure, with stubby bills, stocky bodies and long tails. Most are 10–12 cm in length. Plumage is usually a combination of browns, black and white, with the sexes similar, but duller and less contrasted for immature birds.

The similarities within this group and the existence of subspecies with differing vocalisations and plumage mean that some races may be elevated to species status. African and Indian silverbill are now usually considered distinct species in the Genus Euodice, and the two races of black-throated munia are often also split.

The munias are popular in the bird trade and many freed or escaped birds have formed feral colonies in different pockets across the world.

The red munia Amandava amandava and green munia Amandava formosa also take the name munia, but are in the genus Amandava.

Taxonomy

The genus Lonchura was introduced by the English naturalist William Henry Sykes in 1832. The name combines the Ancient Greek lonkhē meaning "spear-head" or "lance" with oura meaning "tail". Sykes included three species in the genus and of these the type species was designated as Fringilla nisoria Temminck 1830 by Arend Wiegmann in 1835. This taxon is now a subspecies, Loxia punctulata nisoria, of the scaly-breasted munia.

Species

The genus contains 28 species:

Image	Common Name	Scientific name	Distribution
	Scaly-breasted munia also known as nutmeg mannikin or spice finch	Lonchura punctulata	Indian Subcontinent, including Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka
	Black-throated munia also known as Jerdon's mannikin	Lonchura kelaarti	southwest India, the Eastern Ghats and Sri Lanka
	Black-faced munia	Lonchura molucca	Indonesia
	White-rumped munia	Lonchura striata	Indian subcontinent to southern China east to Taiwan, and through Southeast Asia south to Sumatra
	Dusky munia	Lonchura fuscans	Borneo
	White-bellied munia	Lonchura leucogastra	Malay Peninsula to Philippines
	Javan munia	Lonchura leucogastroides	Southern Sumatra, Java, Bali and Lombok, Indonesia. Introduced in Singapore and south Malay Peninsula
	Tricolored munia	Lonchura malacca	southern India and Sri Lanka
	Chestnut munia	Lonchura atricapilla	Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Burma, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam and Hawaii
	White-capped munia	Lonchura ferruginosa	Java and Bali
	White-headed munia	Lonchura maja	Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam
	Pale-headed munia	Lonchura pallida	Indonesia
	Great-billed mannikin	Lonchura grandis	northern and eastern New Guinea
	Black-breasted mannikin	Lonchura teerinki	West Papua, Indonesia
	Western alpine mannikin	Lonchura montana	New Guinea
	Eastern alpine mannikin	Lonchura monticola	Papua
	Grey-banded mannikin	Lonchura vana	north-west Papua, Indonesia
	Grey-crowned mannikin	Lonchura nevermanni	southern New Guinea
	Grey-headed mannikin	Lonchura caniceps	Papua
	Hooded mannikin	Lonchura spectabilis	New Britain and New Guinea
	Forbes's mannikin	Lonchura forbesi	Papua New Guinea
	Mottled mannikin	Lonchura hunsteini	New Ireland
	New Hanover mannikin	Lonchura nigerrima	New Hannover
	Yellow-rumped mannikin	Lonchura flaviprymna	Northern Territory, Australia
	Five-colored munia	Lonchura quinticolor	Lesser Sunda Islands
	Chestnut-breasted mannikin	Lonchura castaneothorax	Australia, New Caledonia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea.
	Black mannikin	Lonchura stygia	New Guinea, Papua, Papua New Guinea
	Buff-bellied mannikin	Lonchura melaena	New Britain and Buka Island

References

1. New Oxford American Dictionary (2nd ed., 2005), p. 1032.
2. Pillai, N.G. (1968). "The green algae, Spirogyra sp., in the diet of the White-backed Munia, Lonchura striata (Linn.)". The Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 65 (2): 490–491.
3. Avery, Michael L. (1980). "Diet and breeding seasonality among a population of sharp-tailed munias, Lonchura striata in Malaysia" (PDF). The Auk. 97 (1): 160–166. doi:10.1093/auk/97.1.160.
4. Sykes, William Henry (1832). "Catalogue of birds of the raptorial and insessorial orders (systematically arranged,) observed in the Dukhun". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 2 (18): 77–99 .
5. Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 229. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
6. Wiegmann, Arend (1835). "Bericht über die Fortschritte der Zoologie im Jahre 1834, vom Herausgeber". Archiv für Naturgeschichte. 1 (2): 255–348 .
7. ^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (July 2023). "Waxbills, parrotfinches, munias, whydahs, Olive Warbler, accentors, pipits". IOC World Bird List Version 13.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 30 July 2023.

• Lonchura
• Bird genera
• Taxa named by William Henry Sykes