Java Sparrow
Encyclopedia
The Java Sparrow, Padda oryzivora also known as Java Finch, Java Rice Sparrow or Java Rice Bird is a small passerine
bird
. This estrildid finch
is a resident breeding bird in Java, Bali
and Bawean
in Indonesia
. It is a popular cagebird, and has been introduced in a large number of other countries.
Both sexes are similar. Immature birds have brown upperparts and pale brown underparts, and a plain head. Very young birds have a black beak with a pink base.
The call is a chip, and the song is a rapid series of call notes chipchipchipchipchipchip.
fields, hence its scientific name. The nest is constructed in a tree or building, and up to eight eggs are laid.
on the IUCN Red List
of Threatened Species and is listed on Appendix II of CITES.
, Sri Lanka
. In the United States there a breeding population on several of the Hawaiian Islands, especially Oahu.
wrote an essay about his pet Java sparrow. In the late 1960s and early 1970s the Java sparrow was one of the most popular cage birds in the United States until its import was banned. Today it remains illegal to possess in California because of a perceived threat to agriculture, although rice-dependent Asian countries like China, Taiwan and Japan have not regulated the bird.
In Asia the Java sparrow is most often raised almost from birth by human breeders and owners, and they become very tame and attached to humans. As such, they can be normally kept in relatively small cages, but let out for indoor exercise without their attempting to escape. In captivity, a variety of colorations have been bred, including white, silver/opal, fawn/isabel, pastel, cream and agate (which currently is rare within Europe captive specimens) along with the pied Java Sparrow (called the "sakura buncho" in Japan).
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
. This estrildid finch
Estrildid finch
The estrildid finches are small passerine birds of the Old World tropics and Australasia. They can be classified as the family Estrildidae , or as a sub-group within the family Passeridae, which also includes the true sparrows....
is a resident breeding bird in Java, Bali
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
and Bawean
Bawean
Bawean is an island of Indonesia located approximately 150 km north of Surabaya in the Java Sea, off the coast of Java. It is administered by Gresik Regency of East Java province. It is approximately 15 km in diameter and is circumnavigated by a single narrow road. Bawean is dominated by...
in Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. It is a popular cagebird, and has been introduced in a large number of other countries.
Description
The Java Sparrow is 17 cm in length. The adult is unmistakable, with its grey upperparts and breast, pink belly, white-cheeked black head, red eye-ring, pink feet and thick red bill.Both sexes are similar. Immature birds have brown upperparts and pale brown underparts, and a plain head. Very young birds have a black beak with a pink base.
The call is a chip, and the song is a rapid series of call notes chipchipchipchipchipchip.
Habitat
The Java Sparrow is a very gregarious bird which feeds mainly on grain and other seeds. It frequents open grassland and cultivation, and was formerly a pest in riceRice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
fields, hence its scientific name. The nest is constructed in a tree or building, and up to eight eggs are laid.
Threats
The Java sparrow is considered to be a serious agricultural pest of rice. Due to ongoing habitat loss and hunting in some areas, the Java Sparrow is now uncommon in its native range. It is evaluated as VulnerableVulnerable species
On 30 January 2010, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species identified 9694 Vulnerable species, subspecies and varieties, stocks and sub-populations.-References:...
on the IUCN Red List
IUCN Red List
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , founded in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species...
of Threatened Species and is listed on Appendix II of CITES.
Introductions
The Java Sparrow was introduced in the Indian subcontinent, but it failed to become a successful resident on the Indian mainland although it has established a breeding population around ColomboColombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
. In the United States there a breeding population on several of the Hawaiian Islands, especially Oahu.
Aviculture
The Java sparrow has been a popular cage bird in Asia for centuries, first in China and then in Japan, frequently appearing in Japanese paintings and prints. Meiji-era writer Natsume SosekiNatsume Soseki
, born ', is widely considered to be the foremost Japanese novelist of the Meiji period . He is best known for his novels Kokoro, Botchan, I Am a Cat and his unfinished work Light and Darkness. He was also a scholar of British literature and composer of haiku, Chinese-style poetry, and fairy tales...
wrote an essay about his pet Java sparrow. In the late 1960s and early 1970s the Java sparrow was one of the most popular cage birds in the United States until its import was banned. Today it remains illegal to possess in California because of a perceived threat to agriculture, although rice-dependent Asian countries like China, Taiwan and Japan have not regulated the bird.
In Asia the Java sparrow is most often raised almost from birth by human breeders and owners, and they become very tame and attached to humans. As such, they can be normally kept in relatively small cages, but let out for indoor exercise without their attempting to escape. In captivity, a variety of colorations have been bred, including white, silver/opal, fawn/isabel, pastel, cream and agate (which currently is rare within Europe captive specimens) along with the pied Java Sparrow (called the "sakura buncho" in Japan).