Bird Album
Tricolored Munia
Lonchura malacca (Linnaeus, 1766)
≈11 cmLength13 gWeight
The adult has a black head, breast and belly, white in between, and a warm chestnut back.
Busiest months: October–November · Most records: India, Sri Lanka, Colombia
Looks like Scaly-breasted Munia
How to identify
Field marks
- Adult: head, throat and breast entirely black
- Adult: white between the breast and belly and on the flanks
- Adult: back warm chestnut, rump reddish-brown
- Adult: bill pale blue-gray, legs and feet gray
Male, female and young
The juvenile has pale brown upperparts, uniformly pale yellowish-brown underparts and no black head; it acquires adult plumage after it begins foraging independently.
Voice
The courtship song is very soft and sounds very quiet to human ears.
Similar species
Where and when it's recorded
Tricolored Munia has been recorded at 361 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 27 countries and regions.
Records by month Northern Hemisphere
Where it's recorded most
- Baruipur MarshesIndia1,095 records
- Byatarayana Doddi KereIndia1,028 records
- Hoskote / Hosakote KereIndia923 records
More places
- Manjeera Wildlife SanctuaryIndia710 records
- Muthanallur KereIndia586 records
- KattampallyIndia571 records
- Viva Wetlands, VirarIndia471 records
- Hacienda El Escobal, TolimaColombia450 records
- Changaram Wetlands – EzhupunnaIndia446 records
- Bundala NPSri Lanka442 records
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 tricoloured munia (Lonchura malacca) is an estrildid finch, native to Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and southern China. The species has also been introduced to the Caribbean, in Trinidad, Jamaica, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and Venezuela.
Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia
Questions
How big is the Tricolored Munia?
The Tricolored Munia is about ≈11 cm long and weighs around 13 g.
Where does the Tricolored Munia live?
Its breeding range: Oriental: southern India and Sri Lanka. It is most often recorded in India, Sri Lanka and Colombia.
When is the best time to see the Tricolored Munia?
At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in October and November (Northern Hemisphere).
Is the Tricolored Munia endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Tricolored Munia as Least Concern.
What does the Tricolored Munia eat?
Main food: Seeds.
What family is the Tricolored Munia in?
It belongs to the family Waxbills, Munias & Allies (Estrildidae), order Passerines (Passeriformes).
At a glance
- Length
- ≈11 cm
- Weight
- 13 g
- Habitat
- Wetland
- Diet
- Seeds
- Lifestyle
- Perches in trees
- Migration
- Resident (barely migrates)
- Conservation
- Least Concern
More measurements
- Wing
- 55 mm
- Tail
- 38 mm
- Bill
- 12 mm
- Tarsus
- 17 mm
Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.
Range
Oriental: southern India and Sri Lanka
Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2
Classification
- Order
- Passerines Passeriformes
- Family
- Waxbills, Munias & Allies Estrildidae
- Genus
- Lonchura
Other birds in the genus Lonchura
Scaly-breasted MuniaLonchura punctulata
Black-throated MuniaLonchura kelaarti
Black-faced MuniaLonchura molucca
White-rumped MuniaLonchura striata
Dusky MuniaLonchura fuscans
White-bellied MuniaLonchura leucogastra
Javan MuniaLonchura leucogastroides
Chestnut MuniaLonchura atricapilla
White-capped MuniaLonchura ferruginosa
White-headed MuniaLonchura maja
Pale-headed MuniaLonchura pallida
Great-billed MannikinLonchura grandis
Download illustration
Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Carlos De Soto. ↗
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