Monjita Tricolor
Tricolored Munia
Lonchura malacca
Song
Tricolored Munia
Appearance: The Tricolored Munia is a small, strong-billed finch with bold three-colored plumage. Adults have a black head, throat, breast, and belly, contrasting with white lower underparts and rich chestnut-brown upperparts, wings, and tail. The bill is thick and pale bluish-gray or whitish. Young birds are much plainer, usually brownish above and buff below, lacking the adult’s black head and bright pattern.
Habitat: It prefers wet grasslands, marshes, reed beds, rice fields, grassy wetlands, and open lowland areas with abundant seeds. It can also occur near cultivated land and human-modified habitats, especially where tall grasses and reeds provide food and nesting sites.
Behavior: This species is social and often moves in small flocks. It feeds mainly on grass seeds, rice, grain, and other small seeds, usually clinging to grass stems or feeding close to the ground. Like other munias, it can be active and noisy in groups, but its song is usually soft.
Breeding: Both male and female help build a large oval nest made of grasses, usually placed in reeds, tall grass, or marsh vegetation, sometimes above water. The clutch is commonly 4–5 white eggs, though larger clutches may occur. Both parents incubate the eggs, which hatch after about 12–13 days, and the young develop feathers in about three weeks.
Conservation Status: The Tricolored Munia is listed as Least Concern.
Distribution
The Tricolored Munia is not native to Colombia. It is originally from South Asia, including India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and nearby regions. It should be regarded as a localized introduced species, most likely found in open grassy wetlands, marsh edges, rice-growing areas, and disturbed lowland habitats rather than natural forest. It is found in the Cauca and Magdalena Valleys
Taxonomy
The Tricolored Munia (Lonchura Malacca)
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Chordata
- Class: Aves (Birds)
- Order: Passeriformes
- Family: Estrildidae
- Genus: Lonchura
- Species: malacca
Vocalization
The Tricolored Munia has a soft, quiet vocalization typical of small munias and mannikins. Its usual call is a short, thin “tsip,” “chit,” or “tsee”, often given while feeding or moving with a flock in tall grass. When several birds are together, they may produce a gentle, busy series of small contact notes that help the flock stay together. The male’s song is usually low and subdued, a soft jumble of squeaks, buzzes, and twittering notes, often delivered from a perch during courtship.
