CreatureData

Chestnut munia

Lonchura atricapilla (Vieillot, 1807)

LCLeast Concernsongbirds

The chestnut munia (Lonchura atricapilla) is a species in the family Estrildidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 12.4 g to 13 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Chestnut munia (Lonchura atricapilla)
Photo: Lonchura_atricapilla_jagori_-Camiguin_Sur-8.jpg : Heini Wang derivative… · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the chestnut munia

Weight
12.4 g – 13 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Granivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
wetlandsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
5 – 5.5src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Generalistsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the chestnut munia live?

Not recorded

What is the chestnut munia?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

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.

From the Wikipedia article “Chestnut munia” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chestnut_munia&oldid=1360270233), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the chestnut munia endangered?

The chestnut munia is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the chestnut munia classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderPasseriformes
  5. familyEstrildidae
  6. genusLonchura
  7. SpeciesLonchura atricapilla (Vieillot, 1807)

Synonyms Lonchura malacca atricapilla, Lonchura pallidiventer, Loxia atricapilla

Other names and names in other languages (35)
  • Southern black-headed muniaEnglish
  • maniquí castanyCatalan
  • mayaCebuano
  • panenka černohlaváCzech
  • Sorthovedet NonneDanish
  • SchwarzkopfnonneGerman
  • SchwarzkappennonneGerman
  • kaŝtana estrildoEsperanto
  • Capuchino castañoSpanish
  • capuchino cabeza negraSpanish
  • põhja-ruskeamadiinEstonian
  • KastanjamanikkiFinnish
  • Capucin à tête noireFrench
  • Mainicín dúcheannachIrish
  • kestenjasta amadinaCroatian
  • feketefejű apácapintyHungarian
  • Bondol rawaIndonesian
  • Cappuccino testaneraItalian
  • キンパラJapanese
  • KastanjenonDutch
  • ZwartkopnonDutch
  • kastanjenonneNorwegian
  • mniszka czarnogłowaPolish
  • capuchinho-castanhoPortuguese
  • Черноголовая мунияRussian
  • Восточная черноголовая мунияRussian
  • mníška gaštanováSlovak
  • Crnoglava nonaSerbian
  • svarthuvad muniaSwedish
  • นกกระติ๊ดสีอิฐThai
  • Mayang PulaFilipino
  • Kestane Rengi MunyaTurkish
  • мунія чорноголоваUkrainian
  • 栗腹文鸟Chinese
  • 黑頭文鳥Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the chestnut munia

Other species in the same genus Lonchura.

LC, Least Concern
Dusky munia (Lonchura fuscans)

Dusky munia

Lonchura fuscans

Estrildidae

CompareChestnut munia vs Scaly-breasted muniaChestnut munia vs White-rumped muniaChestnut munia vs Tricoloured muniaChestnut munia vs Chestnut-breasted mannikin

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the chestnut munia?

An adult chestnut munia weighs 12.4 g – 13 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the chestnut munia endangered?

The chestnut munia is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the chestnut munia?

The chestnut munia (Lonchura atricapilla) belongs to the family Estrildidae in the order Passeriformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Chestnut munia (Lonchura atricapilla). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/chestnut-munia

MLA

“Chestnut munia (Lonchura atricapilla).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/chestnut-munia.

BibTeX
@misc{chestnut_munia_2026,
  title = {Chestnut munia (Lonchura atricapilla)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/chestnut-munia},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}