All birds/Estrildidae/Tricolored Munia
AI reconstruction of Tricolored Munia (Lonchura malacca)AI

AI reconstruction created with Nano Banana 2 · 1K, grounded in the profile’s documented taxonomy, habitat, natural-history sources, and an open-license visual reference when available. It is an interpretive image, not documentary evidence. Image policy

PRB-0312Passeriformes

Tricolored Munia

Monjita Tricolor

Lonchura malacca

IntroducedIUCN LC · Least Concern

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. This species, like the chestnut munia has been known as the black-headed munia. Immature birds have pale brown upperparts, lack the dark head found in adults, and have uniform buff underparts that can be confused with immatures of other munias such as the scaly-breasted munia.

FamilyEstrildidaeWaxbills and Allies
Puerto Rico occurrenceIntroducedAvibase inferred core 380
Primary habitatwetlandsWetland
Primary dietSeedGranivore
Average mass12.299999999999999 gGlobal trait estimate
MovementSedentary / residentInsessorial

Sound archive

Hear its voice

Explore real songs and calls. The spectrogram turns each sound into a visual trace of time and frequency.

XC933481Recording 1 of 3call
Spectrogram of Tricolored Munia: call
SpectrogramLonchura malacca

Play: call by Paresh Gosavi

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Sound recorded by Paresh Gosavi · XC933481 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Visualization by Stichting Xeno-canto voor Natuurgeluiden.

Every recording retains the creator, catalogue number, and license published by Xeno-canto. Metadata via GBIF

Island profile

Catalog scopeAvibase inferred core 380

About the Tricolored Munia

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. This species, like the chestnut munia has been known as the black-headed munia. Immature birds have pale brown upperparts, lack the dark head found in adults, and have uniform buff underparts that can be confused with immatures of other munias such as the scaly-breasted munia.

Conservation

Least Concern

IUCN LC

Global IUCN
LC
Puerto Rico DNER
No current listing in source crosswalk
Federal ESA
No current listing in source crosswalk
Critical habitat
Not identified in source crosswalk

Natural history

How it lives

Habitat
wetlands
Elevation
0–2100 m
Nest
Sphere / globular · Shrub / bush / vine; Grass
Clutch
4–6 eggs
Social behavior
Not resolved

Keep exploring

This bird belongs to 5 paths through the atlas.

Evidence trail

Sources, media & further reading