Morning walks are greeted with a lot of Munias of late. In particular, the Scaly-breasted ones. Some shots (and possible conversations) from this morning’s birding.
“Listen up kids, enough of bill feeding. You need to fetch your own food from today.”
The first step, find a food source.
“Look ma! No hands!”
“Good son! But, can you do this?”
“Ooo ooo! Let me try.”
“Nah! I can’t do this. I am just gonna eat some leaf.”
“I can’t reach. I can’t breathe. Haaaalp…haaaaaalppuh!”
“Eh shut up man! I will kick the kung-fu out of you.”
“Look at this circus, babe. Can we just adopt some dragonfly or something?”
“Don’t! I can’t even look at this nonsense!”
Enough nanusense. If you want to know a little more about this species and not my stupid imaginary conversations, here are some facts about Scaly-breasted Munias.
Also known as
Spotted Munia
Scientific name
Lonchura Punctulata
What do they feed on?
These small omnivore birds feed on seeds, berries, and insects.
How do you identify them?
Brown upper parts and paler underparts with black scale markings and a dark bill.
Where do you find them?
Grass Plains, Paddy Fields, Foothills mostly in South Asia (India and Sri Lanka).
Breeding season
Mainly June to August in India, but can vary.
The average litter size
About 4-6 eggs
Hatches in
10 to 16 days
Weight
12 to 16 gms
Length
11 to 12 cm with a wingspan of about 15 cms
A Scaly fact
In Southeast Asia, they are trapped in large numbers for Buddhist ceremonies, but most birds are later released.