Chestnut Munia

Chestnut Munia (Lonchura atricapilla) is a small estrildid finch with a black head and upper breast, rich chestnut body and stout pale seed-cracking bill. Body shape, bill structure, plumage pattern and voice provide the strongest field characters. Age, sex and season may alter its appearance, so identification should combine several features and careful direct field comparisons with similar species in the same habitat (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is resident across tropical continental and island Asia, moving in compact flocks through grasslands, rice fields and scrub to feed mainly on grass and crop seeds and nesting in woven grass structures. Its movements and social behaviour vary through the year, with breeding birds generally more dispersed and non-breeding birds gathering where food is concentrated. Japanese records place it within the country's documented avifauna as a resident, migrant or visitor (Wikipedia, general species account; Wildlife of Japan occurrence records).