Chestnut Munia vs Scaly-breasted Munia: How to Tell Them Apart

Chestnut Munia

Lonchura atricapilla

Tiny12 gWetland

Small, sexes alike, races differ slightly in intensity of colour. In L. a. jagori, the adult has the whole head, breast, centre of belly, and undertail coverts black; the back, wing, and sides of belly chestnut, brighter on underparts, duller on wings; uppertail coverts dark reddish brown, underpart buff; uppertail coverts and tail as adult. Bill silvery grey; eye chestnut; legs gray.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Damien Wallace · CC BY 4.0

Scaly-breasted Munia

Lonchura punctulata

Tiny14 gGrassland

The scaly-breasted munia is about 11–12 centimetres (4.3–4.7 in) long and weighs 12–16 grams (0.026–0.035 lb). The adult has a stubby dark bill typical of grain eating birds, brown upperparts and a dark brown head. The underparts are white with dark scale markings. The sexes are similar, although males have darker markings on the underside and a darker throat than females.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recorded by K L Vinay · Call · Bhupal housing Colony, Tirupati, Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh, India · CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: tcantrell52 · CC BY 4.0

Where you might meet both

Taiwan United States Philippines Malaysia Thailand Indonesia Singapore India Bangladesh Cambodia Hong Kong SAR China Brunei Myanmar (Burma) Jamaica Laos China Vietnam Nepal Japan Qatar

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Chestnut Munia and Scaly-breasted Munia.