Lonchura maja
Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%
The white-headed munia (Lonchura maja) is a small passerine bird belonging to the estrildid finch family. This species is often confused with, and referred to as, the Pale-headed munia (Lonchura pallida) which can be differentiated by tan coloured flanks which are lighter than the brown wings and also by the absence of the black belly.
The white-headed munia was formally described in 1766 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the twelfth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Loxia maja. Linnaeus cited George Edwards's "The Malacca Gros-beak" and Mathurin Jacques Brisson's "Le Maia de la Chine". The English naturalist John Ray used the word "Maia" for a Cuban bird in 1768. Linnaeus specified the locality as East India. This was amended to Malacca in 1924. The white-headed munia is now placed in the genus Lonchura that was introduced by the English naturalist William Henry Sykes in 1832. It is treated as monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.
The White-headed munia has a distinctive chocolate-brown body and a contrasting white head and throat. They are typically 11 cm in length and weigh around 11 grams. Adult birds have... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bali Barat National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 2 | Way Kambas National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 3 | Kerinci Seblat National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 4 | Gunung Leuser National Park | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 5 | Taman Negara National Park | 🇲🇾 Malaysia |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yogyakarta | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 2 | Semarang | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 3 | Denpasar | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 4 | Surabaya | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 5 | Jakarta | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 6 | Ho Chi Minh City | 🇻🇳 Vietnam | |
| 7 | Kuala Lumpur | 🇲🇾 Malaysia | |
| 8 | Singapore | 🇸🇬 Singapore |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a White-headed Munia sighting in Way Kambas National Park on a given day, based on 23 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 156th most-seen of the 205 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March–August and October
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a White-headed Munia in Way Kambas National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September, the lowest month. November to February have too few records to rate.
Between 2 and 5 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most White-headed Munia sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
Among the best
Of the 5 parks where we can rate White-headed Munia sightings, Way Kambas National Park ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Bali Barat National Park (Indonesia, about 10%).
Same genus: Lonchura
The closest relatives of the White-headed Munia that you can see in Way Kambas National Park (genus Lonchura, Typical Munias and Mannikins) are Nutmeg Mannikin (about 20%) and Javan Munia (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the White-headed Munia is recorded against all the birds logged in Way Kambas National Park (23 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.
