Bird Album
Java Sparrow
Padda oryzivora (Linnaeus, 1758)
≈15 cmLength25 gWeight
The adult is hard to mistake, with gray upperparts and breast, a pink belly, black head, white cheeks, red bill and red eye-rings.
Busiest months: October–December · Most records: Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia
How to identify
Field marks
- Head black, cheeks white
- Bill stout and red
- Upperparts and breast gray, belly pink
- Eye-ring red, legs and feet pink
Male, female and young
Sexes similar; the juvenile has rufous upperparts, pale rufous underparts and a plain, unmarked head.
Voice
The call is “chip”; the song is a rapid series of “chip” notes.
Where and when it's recorded
Busiest months: October–December · Most records: Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia
Java Sparrow has been recorded at 101 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 16 countries and regions.
Records by month Northern Hemisphere
To protect this bird from disturbance, we don't list exact sites.
Countries and regions with the most records
eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.
About
The Java sparrow (Padda oryzivora; syn. Lonchura oryzivora), also known as the Java finch, Java rice sparrow or Java rice bird, is a small passerine bird. This species in the family Estrildidae is a resident breeding bird in Java, Bali, and Bawean in Indonesia.
Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia
Questions
How big is the Java Sparrow?
The Java Sparrow is about ≈15 cm long and weighs around 25 g.
Where does the Java Sparrow live?
Its breeding range: Oriental: Java (now rare); introduced widely. It is most often recorded in Thailand, Philippines and Malaysia.
When is the best time to see the Java Sparrow?
At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in October, November and December (Northern Hemisphere).
Is the Java Sparrow endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Java Sparrow as Endangered.
What does the Java Sparrow eat?
Main food: Seeds.
What family is the Java Sparrow in?
It belongs to the family Waxbills, Munias & Allies (Estrildidae), order Passerines (Passeriformes).
At a glance
- Length
- ≈15 cm
- Weight
- 25 g
- Habitat
- Towns & farmland
- Diet
- Seeds
- Lifestyle
- Varied
- Migration
- Resident (barely migrates)
- Conservation
- Endangered
More measurements
- Wing
- 69 mm
- Tail
- 50 mm
- Bill
- 16 mm
- Tarsus
- 18 mm
Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.
Range
Oriental: Java (now rare); introduced widely
Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2
Classification
- Order
- Passerines Passeriformes
- Family
- Waxbills, Munias & Allies Estrildidae
- Genus
- Padda
Other birds in the genus Padda
Timor SparrowPadda fuscata
Pictorella MannikinHeteromunia pectoralis
Mountain FiretailOreostruthus fuliginosus
Diamond FiretailStagonopleura guttata
Red-eared FiretailStagonopleura oculata
Beautiful FiretailStagonopleura bella
Crimson FinchNeochmia phaeton
Red-browed FinchNeochmia temporalis
Painted FinchEmblema pictum
Star FinchEmblema ruficauda
Download illustration
Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by dmgallagher. ↗
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