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Home/Species/ Scaly-breasted Munia

Lonchura punctulata

(Linnaeus, 1758)

Scaly-breasted Munia

G5Secure Found in 9 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.101574
Element CodeABPCB04030
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassAves
OrderPasseriformes
FamilyEstrildidae
GenusLonchura
Other Common Names
Capucin damier (FR) Gorrión Canela (ES) Nutmeg Mannikin (EN)
Concept Reference
American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in The Auk]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
Taxonomic Comments
Formerly known as Nutmeg Mannikin (e.g., AOU 1983, 1998), but name modified to conform to general worldwide usage (AOU 2014). Also known as Spotted Munia, Spice Finch, or Ricebird.
Conservation Status
Review Date1996-12-04
Change Date1996-12-04
Range Extent Comments
Resident from India to Taiwan, south to Sri Lanka, and through Southeast Asia to East Indies and Phillipines. Introduced and established in Hawaii (widespread on all main islands), Puerto Rico (mainly coast from Ceiba to Vega Baja, occurs sparingly elsewhere along the coast; has been observed on Isla Mona), Hispaniola; apparently established in western Jamaica (Levy 1990); a flock has been observed on St. Croix (Raffaele 1989). Bred in the 1960s in Florida.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Second growth, scrub, grassland, cultivated land, around human habitation. Puerto Rico: almost any coastal habitat where grass in seed (Raffaele 1983). Hawaii: grassy areas of lawns, parks, rural areas (Pratt et al. 1987). May roost communally in old nest. Nests in tree at moderate (sometimes < 2 m) to high level (Raffaele 1983, Berger 1981).

Ecology

Highly gregarious; flocks of 100 or more not uncommon in Hawaii; of erratic abundance in an area (Berger 1981).

Reproduction

In Puerto Rico, breeding season is centered on summer-fall, but spring nesting also occurs in at least some years; clutch size usually is about 6 (Raffaele 1983). In Hawaii, nests throughout the year; clutch size is about 3-6 (Berger 1981).
Terrestrial Habitats
Shrubland/chaparralSavannaGrassland/herbaceousOld fieldCropland/hedgerowSuburban/orchard
Other Nations (1)
United StatesNNA
ProvinceRankNative
HawaiiSNANo
Roadless Areas (9)
California (8)
AreaForestAcres
CamuesaLos Padres National Forest8,209
Little PineLos Padres National Forest1,315
Magic MountainAngeles National Forest15,542
Malduce BuckhornLos Padres National Forest14,177
MonoLos Padres National Forest28,141
Santa CruzLos Padres National Forest21,182
TequepisLos Padres National Forest9,080
TuleAngeles National Forest9,861
Puerto Rico (1)
AreaForestAcres
Mameyes AreaCaribbean National Forest11,150
References (17)
  1. American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1983. Check-list of North American Birds, 6th edition. Allen Press, Inc., Lawrence, Kansas. 877 pp.
  2. American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in <i>The Auk</i>]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
  3. Balda, R. P., and G. C. Bateman. 1971. Flocking and annual cycle of the piñon jay, <i>Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus</i>. Condor 73:287-302.
  4. Berger, A. J. 1981. Hawaiian Birdlife. Second Edition. University Press of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii. xv + 260 pp.
  5. BirdLife International. 2004b. Threatened birds of the world 2004. CD ROM. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK.
  6. Horn, H. S. 1968. The adaptive significance of colonial nesting in the Brewer's Blackbird. Ecology 49:682-694.
  7. Levy, C. 1990. Another introduced species found in the wild. Gosse Bird Club Broadsheet 54:17-18.
  8. Ligon, J. D. 1971. Late summer-autumnal breeding of the piñon jay in New Mexico. Condor 73:147-153.
  9. Moore, W. S., and R. A. Dolbeer. 1989. The use of banding recovery data to estimate dispersal rates and gene flow in avian species: case studies in the Red-winged Blackbird and Common Grackle. Condor 91:242-253.
  10. Pratt, H. D., P. L. Bruner, and D. G. Berrett. 1987. A Field Guide to the Birds of Hawaii and the Tropical Pacific. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey. 409 pp. + 45 plates.
  11. Raffaele, H. A. 1983a. A guide to the birds of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Fondo Educativo Interamericano, San Juan, Puerto Rico. 255 pp.
  12. Raffaele, H. A. 1989a. A guide to the birds of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Revised edition. Princeton Univ. Press. 220 pp.
  13. Raffaele, H., J. Wiley, O. Garrido, A. Keith, and J. Raffaele. 1998. A guide to the birds of the West Indies. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ. 511 pp.
  14. Tarvin, K. A., and G. E. Woolfenden. 1999. Blue Jay (<i>Cyanocitta cristata</i>). No. 469 IN A. Poole and F. Gill, editors. The birds of North America. The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA. 32pp.
  15. Thompson, F. R., III. 1994. Temporal and spatial patterns of breeding brown-headed cowbirds in the midwestern United States. Auk 111:979-990.
  16. Williams, L. 1952b. Breeding behavior of the Brewer blackbird. Condor 54:3-47.
  17. Willson, M. F. 1966. Breeding ecology of the Yellow-headed Blackbird. Ecological Monographs 36:51-77.