Black-throated Munia
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| Black-throated Munia | ||||||||||||||
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| Lonchura kelaarti (Jerdon, 1863) |
The Black-throated Munia or Jerdon's Mannikin (Lonchura kelaarti) is a small passerine bird. This estrildid finch is a resident breeding bird in the hills of southwest India east and Sri Lanka. The endemic Sri Lankan subspecies, L. k. kelaarti is increasingly considered to be a different species from L. k. jerdoni of the Western Ghats of India.
The Black-throated Munia is a small gregarious bird which feeds mainly on seeds. It frequents open hill woodland and cultivation. The nest is a large domed grass structure in a tree or creepers on a house into which 3-8 white eggs are laid in India, and usually five in Sri Lanka.
The Black-throated Munia is 12cm in length with a long black tail. The adult of the south Indian has a stubby grey bill, dark brown upperparts and blackish head, breast and wings. L. k. kelaarti has pinkish underparts and rump, and L. s. jerdoni has barred black and white underparts and rump. The sexes are similar, but immature lack the darker head and have uniform underparts.
Reference
- Birds of India by Grimmett, Inskipp and Inskipp, ISBN 0-691-04910-6