Lonchura atricapilla
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
The chestnut munia or black-headed munia (Lonchura atricapilla) is a small passerine. It was formerly considered conspecific with the closely related tricoloured munia, but is now widely accepted as a separate species. This estrildid finch is a resident breeding bird in Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Burma, Nepal, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam and Hawaii. It also has been introduced to all the Greater Antilles and Martinique in the Caribbean.
Before 1995, it was the national bird of the Philippines, where it is known in Tagalog as mayang pula ("red maya") because of the brick red patch on the lower back which is visible only when it flies. This distinguishes it from other birds locally called maya, notably the predominantly brownish "mayang simbahan" ("church maya", which specifically refers to the Eurasian tree sparrow) which is more common in urban areas.
The chestnut munia has seven subspecies accepted: Lonchura atricapilla rubronigra (Hodgson, 1836) Lonchura atricapilla atricapilla (Vieillot, 1807) Lonchura atricapilla deignani Parkes, 1958 Lonchura atricapilla sinensis (Blyth, 1852)
Lonchura atricapilla... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sepilok | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 2 | Tangkoko Nature Reserve | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 3 | Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 4 | Kinabalu Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 5 | Manas National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Kaziranga National Park | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 7 | Danum Valley Conservation Area | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 8 | Taroko National Park | 🇹🇼 Taiwan | |
| 9 | Kaeng Krachan National Park | 🇹🇭 Thailand |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cebu City | 🇵🇭 Philippines | |
| 2 | Davao City | 🇵🇭 Philippines | |
| 3 | Chattogram | 🇧🇩 Bangladesh | |
| 4 | Angeles | 🇵🇭 Philippines | |
| 5 | Makassar | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 6 | Manila | 🇵🇭 Philippines | |
| 7 | Dhaka | 🇧🇩 Bangladesh | |
| 8 | Savar | 🇧🇩 Bangladesh | |
| 9 | Kuching | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 10 | Taichung | 🇹🇼 Taiwan |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ukumarí Biopark | 🇨🇴 Colombia | |
| 2 | Taronga Zoo | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Kuala Lumpur Bird Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Chestnut Munia sighting in Sepilok on a given day, based on 711 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 40th most-seen of the 242 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January and February
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Chestnut Munia in Sepilok on a given day, against about 20% in March, August–September and November–December, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Chestnut Munia sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 9 parks where we can rate Chestnut Munia sightings, Sepilok has the highest daily chance: about 30%. Next come Tangkoko Nature Reserve (Indonesia, about 20%) and Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary (Malaysia, about 10%).
Same genus: Lonchura
The closest relatives of the Chestnut Munia that you can see in Sepilok (genus Lonchura, Typical Munias and Mannikins) are Dusky Munia (about 20%) and Nutmeg Mannikin (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Chestnut Munia is recorded against all the birds logged in Sepilok (711 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
