Java Sparrow (Lonchura oryzivora)

Other Names (World)
Java Sparrow, Java Finch, Ricebird, Paddy Bird, Rice Munia

Family
Estrildidae (Waxbills)

Size
16 cm

First Described (Guide)
(Linnaeus, 1758)

Derivation
Padda - N.L., refering to rice paddy: oryzivora - L., oryza, rice; -vorus, L., eating, from vorare to devour

Abundance (Guide)
R

Introduced, locally common, on Christmas Island. Rare on the mainland.

Habitat
Around settlements, gardens and roadsides, often in large flocks.

Range (Guide)

Indonesia (B) (NB).

Introduced to Brunei Darussalam, Christmas Island (B), Fiji (B), Malaysia, Philippines, USA (B).

Java and Bali. Widely introduced elsewhere: Sumatra, Bawean, Borneo, Lombok, Sumbawa, Sulawesi, Philippines, Caroline Is, Japan, south-eastern China, Taiwan, Myanmar (Arakan and Tenasserim, perhaps extirpated), Thailand (northern Bangkok, Phuket I), Vietnam, Peninsular Malaysia, Singapore (perhaps extirpated), India (Calcutta, Chennai), Sri Lanka, Tanzania (including Zanzibar and Pemba), Seychelles, Christmas I, Fiji, Hawaiian Is, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Colombia, St Helena I.

Christmas Island. Previously common on Cocos - Keeling Islands (prior 1950) but now considered extinct.

Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.

Population
Estimated population is 2,500 - 9,999 (2010) and decreasing.

Status EN
Considered globally vulnerable.

For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Food
Mostly, rice and grass seeds. Occasionally fruit and insects.

Voice
A soft, 'tchup'. Sharp chirps. A trill ending with a long whistle.

Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (6)...)

Java Sparrow (Padda) [XC467129]
by Dan Lane from , Malaysia (call)

Java Sparrow (Padda oryzivora) [XC174820]
by Dan Lane from , United States (call)

Breeding Season (Guide)
May - July, sometimes August (Christmas Island) and May - August (Cocos - Keling Islands).

Nest
Ball, with a side-entrance, in a hole in a building or a tree, about 3.6 - 15 meters above the ground.

Eggs (Guide)
3 - 5; smothh and lustreless, white; oval; 19 - 21 x 14 - 16 mm. Incubation: about 13 - 15 days; both sexes during day but only female at night.

Young
Altricial, nidicolous. Fledge in about 15 - 17 days.

Subspecies
No subspecies.

May form superspecies with Timor Sparrow (Lonchura fuscata). In recent study of mitochondrial phylogeny, these two species and Streak-headed Mannikin (Lonchura tristissima) were found to comprise two clades that are basal to the other members of the genus.

References
See References.

The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9

Files:

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