White-Rumped Munia
Lonchura striata
Habitat
Ground
Diet
PlantSeed
Active Time
Diurnal
Size
12 g
About This Species
A small, gregarious finch of grassland, scrub, and cultivated edges across South and Southeast Asia, usually encountered in noisy flocks feeding on grass seed heads close to the ground. Look for birds clinging sideways to seeding grass stems, and listen for their soft, nasal contact calls that keep a flock together as it moves. It can be seen year-round where seeding grasses are available, though early morning feeding activity is typically the most active time to watch.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- Flocks are generally tolerant of a quiet, distant observer but will flush together if approached too directly, so a slow approach and pausing well back is the simplest way to keep them settled.
- Wildlife protection laws vary considerably across its wide range in South and Southeast Asia, so no single distance or rule applies everywhere.
- Watching from a stationary position and letting the flock continue feeding naturally gives the best views with the least disturbance.
LCAvesPasseriformesEstrildidae
Seasonal Activity
188,711 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Estrildidae
Traits
- Diet
- PlantSeed
- Foraging
- Ground
- Activity
- Diurnal
- Body mass
- 12 g
Photo
(c) sunnyjosef, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by sunnyjosef
CC-BY-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.