Streak-headed mannikin

Streak-headed mannikin
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Estrildidae
Genus:	Lonchura
Species:	L. tristissima
Binomial name
Lonchura tristissima (Wallace, 1865)

The streak-headed mannikin (Lonchura tristissima) also known as the streak-headed munia, is a small (10 cm (3.9 in) in length) estrildid finch. Some taxonomists consider ssp. leucosticta a distinct species.

Identification

Mainly dark brown plumage with light streaking on head and yellowish rump; subspecies leucosticta also with white spotting on face, breast and upper wing-coverts.

Call

Short buzzing note, repeated in flight.

Distribution

Endemic to New Guinea and some adjacent islands. It has been recorded from Saibai Island, Queensland, Australian territory in north-western Torres Strait.

Habitat

Grassy fringes of streams, forest clearings and abandoned gardens with secondary growth, in lowland New Guinea up to 1,000 m (3,300 ft) altitude.

Food

Seeds, berries and insects.

Breeding

Globular grass nest with side entrance, often suspended from rattans, in forest or at forest edge.

Conservation

As a species with a large range and no evidence of population decline, it is assessed as being of Least Concern.

References

• Beehler, Bruce M.; & Finch, Brian W. (1985). Species Checklist of the Birds of New Guinea. RAOU Monograph No.1. Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union: Melbourne. ISBN 0-9599823-2-9
• Beehler, Bruce M.; Pratt, Thane K.; & Zimmerman, Dale A. (1986). Birds of New Guinea. Wau Ecology Handbook No.9. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-02394-8
• BirdLife International (2006) Species factsheet: Lonchura tristissima. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 3 Feb 2007
• Coates, Brian J. (1990). The Birds of Papua New Guinea. Vol.II: Passerines. Dove Publications: Alderly, Queensland. ISBN 0-9590257-1-5