Bird name:

Nutmeg Mannikin

Lonchura punctulata

Order

PASSERIFORMES

Family

Estrilid Finches (Estrildidae)

Code 4

NUMA

Code 6

LONPUN

ITIS

179619

Breeding Location:

Bushes, shrubs, and thickets

Breeding Type:

Monogamous

Breeding Population:

Egg Color:

White

Number of Eggs:

3 - 7

Incubation Days:

Egg Incubator:

Both sexes

Nest Material:

Blady-grass and course grasses mixed with leaves., Llined with fine grasses.

Migration:

Nonmigratory

RECOMMENDED PRODUCTS

General

Nutmeg Mannikin: Small finch with chestnut-brown upperparts and dark-scaled white underparts. Head is richer brown and bill is heavy and dark. Sexes are similar. Juvenile is duller with plain olive-brown underparts. Introduced to parts of California and Florida from Asia.

Range and Habitat

Nutmeg Mannikin: Resident from India to Taiwan, south to Sri Lanka, and through southeast Asia to East Indies and Philippines. Introduced and established in Hawaii (widespread on all main islands); also introduced to Australia. Preferred habitats include reed beds, rank grass, scrub areas, grasslands, orchards, and cultivated lands, often near human habitation.

Breeding and Nesting

Nutmeg Mannikin: Three to seven white eggs are laid in a globular, compact nest with a side entrance made of grass and leaves, lined with fine grass, and built in a small shrub or a bushy tree. Eggs are incubated for 14 days by both parents.

Foraging and Feeding

Nutmeg Mannikin: Eats small seeds, greens, and scraps left by humans as well as insects, especially when breeding.

Readily Eats

Millet, Commercial Mixed Bird Seed

Vocalization

Nutmeg Mannikin: Call is a plaintive "chee, ba-hee." Song is "ki-ki-te-te."

Similar Species

Nutmeg Mannikin: Juveniles of various Munia species look alike. Scaly-breasted juveniles often flock with juveniles of other species.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America