''Lonchura'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

of the

estrildid finch Estrildidae, or estrildid finches, is a family (taxonomy), family of small seed-eating passerine birds of the Old World tropics and Australasia. They comprise species commonly known as munias, mannikins, firefinches, parrotfinches and waxbills. ...

family, and includes munias (or minias) and mannikins. They are seed-eating birds that are found in

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

from

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

east to

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

, and the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

. The name mannikin is from Middle Dutch ''mannekijn'' 'little man', and also the source of the common name of the family

Pipridae The manakins are a family, Pipridae, of small suboscine passerine birds. The group contains 55 species distributed through the American tropics. The name is from Middle Dutch "little man" (also the source of the different bird name '' mannikin' ...

manakin The manakins are a family, Pipridae, of small suboscine passerine birds. The group contains 55 species distributed through the American tropics. The name is from Middle Dutch "little man" (also the source of the different bird name '' mannikin' ...

. Some of the ''Lonchura'' species were formerly placed in ''Spermestes''. Others have been placed in a genus of their own, ''

Euodice ''Euodice'' is a genus of small seed-eating birds in the family Estrildidae. These species are from the dry zones of Africa and India and are commonly referred to as silverbills. They were formerly included in the genus ''Lonchura''. The grey-h ...

''.

Characteristics

They are small gregarious birds which feed mainly on seeds, usually in relatively open habitats, preferring to feed on the ground or on reeds of grasses. Several species have been noted to feed on algae such as ''

Spirogyra ''Spirogyra'' (common names include water silk, mermaid's tresses, and blanket weed) is a genus of filamentous charophyte green algae of the order Zygnematales, named for the helical or spiral arrangement of the chloroplasts that is charact ...

''. The nest is a large domed grass structure into which four to ten white eggs are laid. Some species also build

communal roosting Communal roosting is an animal behavior where a group of individuals, typically of the same species, congregate in an area for a few hours based on an external signal and will return to the same site with the reappearance of the signal. Environmen ...

nests for overnight rest. The species in this genus are similar in size and structure, with stubby bills, stocky bodies and long tails. Most are 10–12 cm in length. Plumage is usually a combination of browns, black and white, with the sexes similar, but duller and less contrasted for immature birds. The similarities within this group and the existence of subspecies with differing vocalisations and plumage mean that some races may be elevated to species status. African and

Indian silverbill The Indian silverbill or white-throated munia (''Euodice malabarica'') is a small passerine bird found in the Indian Subcontinent and adjoining regions that was formerly considered to include the closely related African silverbill (''Euodice cant ...

are now usually considered distinct species in the Genus ''

'', and the two races of black-throated munia are often also split. The munias are popular in the bird trade and many freed or escaped birds have formed

feral A feral (; ) animal or plant is one that lives in the wild but is descended from domesticated individuals. As with an introduced species, the introduction of feral animals or plants to non-native regions may disrupt ecosystems and has, in som ...

colonies in different pockets across the world. The

red munia The red avadavat (''Amandava amandava''), red munia or strawberry finch, is a sparrow-sized bird of the family Estrildidae. It is found in the open fields and grasslands of tropical Asia and is popular as a cage bird due to the colourful plumag ...

''Amandava amandava'' and

green munia The green avadavat or green munia (''Amandava formosa'') is a species of Estrildid finch with green and yellow on the body, a bright red bill and black "zebra stripes" on the flanks. They are endemic to the Indian subcontinent and were formerly ...

''Amandava formosa'' also take the name munia, but are in the genus ''

Amandava ''Amandava'' is a genus of the estrildid finches. These birds are found in dense grass or scrub in Africa and South Asia. They are gregarious seed-eaters with short, red bills. In earlier literature, ''amadavat'' and ''amidavad'' have been used. ...

''.

Taxonomy

The genus ''Lonchura'' was introduced by the English naturalist

William Henry Sykes Colonel William Henry Sykes, FRS (25 January 1790 – 16 June 1872) was an English naturalist who served with the British military in India and was specifically known for his work with the Indian Army as a politician, Indologist and ornitholog ...

in 1832. The name combines the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

''lonkhē'' meaning "spear-head" or "lance" with ''oura'' meaning "tail". Sykes included three species in the genus and of these the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

was designated as ''Fringilla nisoria''

Temminck Coenraad Jacob Temminck (; 31 March 1778 – 30 January 1858) was a Dutch patrician, zoologist and museum director. Biography Coenraad Jacob Temminck was born on 31 March 1778 in Amsterdam in the Dutch Republic. From his father, Jacob ...

1830 by Arend Wiegmann in 1835. This taxon is now a

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

, ''Loxia punctulata nisoria'', of the

scaly-breasted munia The scaly-breasted munia or spotted munia (''Lonchura punctulata''), known in the pet trade as nutmeg mannikin or spice finch, is a Old World sparrow, sparrow-sized estrildid finch native to tropical Asia. A species of the genus ''Lonchura'', it ...

Species

The genus contains 28 species:

References

{{Authority control Bird genera Taxa named by William Henry Sykes