The black-faced munia (''Lonchura molucca'') is a species of estrildid finch found in Indonesia and East Timor. It occurs in a wide range of habitats including

artificial landscape The term built environment refers to human-made conditions and is often used in architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, public health, sociology, and anthropology, among others. These curated spaces provide the setting for human ac ...

s (e.g. parks and gardens), forest, grassland and savannah. It was first described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the twelfth edition of his ''

Systema Naturae ' (originally in Latin written ' with the ligature æ) is one of the major works of the Swedish botanist, zoologist and physician Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) and introduced the Linnaean taxonomy. Although the system, now known as binomial nomen ...

'' in 1766. The

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

has evaluated the status of this bird as being of least concern.

Taxonomy

In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the black-faced munia in his ''Ornithologie'' based on a specimen collected from the Maluku Islands. He used the French name ''Le gros-bec de Moluques'' and the Latin ''Coccothraustes Moluccensis''. The two stars (**) at the start of the section indicates that Brisson based his description on the examination of a specimen. Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the

binomial system The binomial system ( es, Sistema binominal) is a voting system that was used in the legislative elections of Chile between 1989 and 2013. From an electoral system point of view, the binomial system is in effect the D'Hondt method with an ope ...

and are not recognised by the

International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) is an organization dedicated to "achieving stability and sense in the scientific naming of animals". Founded in 1895, it currently comprises 26 commissioners from 20 countries. Orga ...

. When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his ''

'' for the twelfth edition, he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson. One of these was the black-faced munia. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the

binomial name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''Loxia molucca'' and cited Brisson's work. The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

''molucca'' denotes the Moluccas islands. This species is now placed in the genus ''Lonchura'' that was introduced by the English naturalist William Henry Sykes in 1832. There are two

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

: * ''L. m. molucca'' ( Linnaeus, 1766) –

Sulawesi Sulawesi (), also known as Celebes (), is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's eleventh-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Ar ...

and nearby islands, most of the Moluccas, Gag and

Kofiau Kofiau is an island in the Raja Ampat Islands, in Southwest Papua, Indonesia. The island is primarily raised coral limestone with some volcanic hills, covered in low forest. The island is home to the endemic Kofiau paradise kingfisher and Kofiau m ...

Islands * ''L. m. propinqua'' ( Sharpe, 1890) –

Kangean Islands The Kangean Islands or simply Kangean (Indonesian language, Indonesian: ''Kepulauan Kangean'') is a collective name referred to the area of Kangean Island, Kangean (the main island) and its surrounding islands lie in the north of Bali Isla ...

Lesser Sundas The Lesser Sunda Islands or nowadays known as Nusa Tenggara Islands ( id, Kepulauan Nusa Tenggara, formerly ) are an archipelago in Maritime Southeast Asia, north of Australia. Together with the Greater Sunda Islands to the west they make up ...

east to the Tanimbar Islands

Description

The black-faced munia has a black face, throat, and upper breast. The nape and back are dark brown, and the wings and tail are black. The underparts and rump are white with fine black speckling or barring. The bill is thick and bicoloured, with a dark upper mandible and blue-gray lower mandible, and the legs are dark.

Distribution

The black-faced munia is native to Indonesia including the island group of Wallacea. It is also present in East Timor. It is a seed-eating bird and is found in small flocks in grassy areas.

Status

The black-faced munia has a wide range and is said to be abundant in some places and common in many others. The population in Indonesia has not been evaluated but the population trend seems to be steady. The bird is facing few identified threats and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of " least concern".

References

BirdLife Species Factsheet
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1300324

black-faced munia The black-faced munia (''Lonchura molucca'') is a species of estrildid finch found in Indonesia and East Timor. It occurs in a wide range of habitats including artificial landscapes (e.g. parks and gardens), forest, grassland and savannah. It wa ...

Birds of Wallacea