White-headed Munia

Lonchura maja

by Jim Warburton

When I bought my first pair of White-headed Munias they were called Maja Finches a name not heard now, most dealers and pet shops call them Nuns a term commonly used in the USA for these birds. An Asian species they are found in Thailand, Malaysian peninsula and Singapore to Sumatra, Java and Bali, and there is also a Vietnamese race.
A general description of these birds would be, Chocolate-brown, lightest on the back and wings, richest on the tail, and darkest on the underneath, the under-tail coverts and centre of the belly being almost black. Head,cheeks and throat White, merging into buffish on the nape and upper breast. The head colour starts of buffish in first year birds and as each moult passes gets lighter until it is almost white.

In my experience they are hardy and long lived birds that given a draught and damp proof shelter can easily be kept outside throughout the year with no problems.

They are seedeaters and will thrive on a foreign finch mixture, but I always provide mine with my usual mixture of 50% White Millet and 50% Standard Buderigar mixture, plus Paddy rice and spray millets. As with all birds fresh clean water and cuttlebone with oyster-shell grit is provided at all times, they will sample green-foods and vegetables shredded up, and any seeding grasses collected were no chemicals have been used or dogs and cats do not foul.

They do not seem to regard live-foods with any great enthusiasm and it is not essential to their well being, either generally or for rearing youngsters if they can be persuaded to breed.

Breeding is not often achieved in cages, I would guess that birds are bred each year in a planted avairy somewhere but this usually occurs more by accident than design, in the UK.

I have bred these birds in the past, regularly in aviaries, infrequently in cages, the last being in 2000, and I have no plans to breed them again at present.

As a general rule my advice if you want to attempt breeding from any of the commonly imported lonchura species is obtain juveniles, I firmly believe that they form their pair bonds very early even when in juvenile plumage, attempts to force pairs together as adults rarely succeed.

Mix them in with Bengalese youngsters to moult, this steadies them and they learn to accept and consume not only your standard diet but egg-food as well, which will stand you in good stead for conditioning and breeding later.

Here is a great species for a mixed collection that are ideal for the beginner virtually bomb proof if given sound basic husbandry and always a pleasure to have in cage or avairy.

My email:lonchura@ntlworld.com

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