Scaly Brested Munia🐦

Photo: Kmoorthy1969 · CC BY-SA 4.0

SpeciesPasseriformesEstrildidae
Birds

🐦Scaly-breasted munia

Lonchura punctulata (Linnaeus, 1758)

The scaly-breasted munia or spotted munia, known in the pet trade as nutmeg mannikin or spice finch, is a sparrow-sized estrildid finch native to tropical Asia. A species of the genus Lonchura, it was formally described and named by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. Its name is based on the distinct scale-like feather markings on the breast and belly. The adult is brown above and has a dark conical bill. The species has 11 subspecies across its range, which differ slightly in size and colour.

Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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Photos
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Measurements
9
vs you
≈ 1/4,560th of your weight
Also called
Lonchura punctulata, Nutmeg Mannikin, Spice Finch
Conservation status
LCLeast concern

IUCN Red List assessment, 2025.

Population trendIncreasing
Key measurements
Body mass
0.01 kg
Body length
not recorded
Shoulder height
not recorded
Top speed
not recorded
Bite force
not recorded
Maximum lifespan
not recorded
All measurements ↓
Facts and figures

Everything we know about the Scaly-breasted munia

Typical adult figures. Where a value is an estimate rather than a measurement, it says so.

Body mass
0.01 kg
AVONET
Details ↓

Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0

Tail length
0.04 m
AVONET
Details ↓

Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0

Wing length
0.05 m
AVONET
Details ↓

Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0

Beak length
0.01 m
AVONET
Details ↓

Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0

Tarsus length
0.01 m
AVONET
Details ↓

Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0

Trophic level
Herbivore
AVONET
Details ↓

Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0

Habitat
Grassland
AVONET
Details ↓

Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0

Lifestyle
Generalist
AVONET
Details ↓

Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0

Volume l
0 Laverage
Details ↓

Body mass at ~1.0 kg/L, the density of vertebrate tissue.

average = a mean across sexes or species in a group.

Not recorded for Scaly-breasted munia yet: body length, shoulder height, top speed, bite force, maximum lifespan.

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More about the Scaly-breasted munia

In other languages
maniquí puntejat (ca), panenka muškátová (cs), Muskatfinke (da), Lonchura punctulata (de), Lonchura punctulata (es), suomumanikki (fi) … and 22 more languages
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