Alternative names: (Not to be confused with Lonchura hunsteini), Black breasted Munia, Black-breasted Munia, Grand Valley Mannikin, Grand Valley Munia, Teerink's Mannikin, Teerink's Munia
- Lonchura teerinki
Identification
10–11 cm, 3.9-4.3 inches
Male
- Blackish forehead turning dark brown on crown and hind neck
- Brown to reddish-brown upperparts,
- Yellow rump and uppertail coverts
- Dark brown tail with yellow edges to feahers
- Black face and chin to breast
- White on side of lower breast, belly and flanks with smudges of black in mature males and black and pale brown in younger males forming an irregular band
- Black undertail coverts and thighs
- Dark brown iris
- Narrow dark grey eyering
- Large, blue-grey beak
- Dark grey legs
Female
- Similar to male, but face and breast duller, flanks are black with brown and white patches
Juvenile
- Grey-brown upperparts
- Redder brown rump and uppertailcoverts
- Yellowish-white breast and flanks
- Whitish belly and undertail-coverts
- Blue-grey beak
- adult plumage aquired by 6th or 7th month
Chick
- Flesh-coloured skin,
- Scant white down on back
- Blue gape-flange turning white in fledglings with black lining
- Pinkish-white palate with long black line and two black spots behind line
- Buff tongue with black ring and black tip
- Black tip to beak
Distribution
Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
There are 2 subspecies:[1]
- L. t. teerinki:
- Mountains of west-central New Guinea
- L. t. mariae: Darker grey-brown upperparts
- Western New Guinea (Snow Mountains)
Habitat
Mid altitude mountain grasslands, mature gardens, unkempt and cultivated fields near villages, forest clearings, between 1200–2200 m.
Behaviour
Diet
Seeds of grasses, weeds and small shrubs. Feeds while gripping plant stem and removing seeds from heads. Eats fallen seeds on ground. Observed foraging in flocks.
Breeding
Courtship display: Male holds grass in beak, drops it as an offering and then begins singing, sitting upright, leans forward towards the female and ruffles his flank feathers. When further goaded, he moves rythmically, raises his feathers, and leans over the female. Nest is a large covered grass structure. 3 eggs incubated for 14–15 days, nesting for 21–24 days, young are independent by second or third week.
Vocalisation
Contact call a quiet, clear and ringing "tseep" and a loud "tcheep", differing between sexes; group maintains a constant contact call, a rising "twy". Song includes "hueet-hueet".
Movement
Resident
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2015. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2015, with updates to August 2015. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Avibase
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved November 2015)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Black-breasted Mannikin. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 23 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Black-breasted_Mannikin
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.
