Stats

Lifespan: 5-10 yrs
Size: Small
Diet: Herbivore
Activity: Diurnal
Social: Flock
Biome: Tropical grassland
Range: Southeast Asia
Movement: Flight
Breeding: Egg-laying
Defense: Herd Safety
Status: Endangered

About

A plump finch native to Java and Bali, instantly recognisable by its black hood, bold white cheek patches, and oversized rose-pink bill. Once so abundant in Indonesian rice paddies it was declared a crop pest and mass-hunted, the Java Sparrow is now listed as Vulnerable — trapping for the global cage-bird trade has made it rarer in the wild than in captivity.

Life cycle

1.
egg
A small clutch of speckled eggs is incubated in a cup nest, turned and kept warm by the parent.
2.
hatchling
A pink, blind hatchling is fed by its parents in the nest, gaping its bill at every visit.
3.
juvenile
A feathered juvenile fledges from the nest, learning to fly and to forage close to its parents.
4.
adult
Fully grown with adult plumage and song.

Learn more

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Estrildidae
Genus: Padda
Species: Padda oryzivora