Java Sparrow

IDENTIFICATION: A large gray finch with a black head, distinctive white cheek patches and a thick, red bill. Length: 15 cm.; weight: 25 g.

VOICE: The male sings a soft warble, and the call is a harsh "clink" note. Audio 4 (M. Oberle).

HABITAT: Grassy city parks and lowland suburban gardens.

HABITS: Travels in small flocks feeding on seeds and small insects on lawns and in gardens. In Asia it is considered a pest in rice fields. Unlike most Puerto Rican birds, the Java Sparrow is stimulated to breed by decreasing rather than increasing day length, so it breeds in fall and winter in Puerto Rico. It builds a dome-shaped nests in holes or under eaves of buildings. Clutch size is 3-8 eggs.

STATUS AND CONSERVATION: This species is a popular, easy to raise cage bird that has escaped or been intentionally introduced in the 20^th Century. Ironically, it is now more common in areas of the world where it has been introduced than in its native homeland. This species is considered threatened in its native Indonesia with a declining population of fewer than 10,000 individuals.

RANGE: The Java Sparrow is established in the San Juan metropolitan area, and is one of the commoner bird species in Old San Juan. It is originally from Indonesia (Bali and Java) but has been introduced to Hawaii and many other tropical regions.

TAXONOMY: PASSERIFORMES; ESTRILDIDAE; Estrildinae

Photo: M. Oberle

References

BirdLife International. 2000. Threatened birds of the world. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona and Cambridge, UK.

Camacho Rodríguez, M., J. Chabert Llompart, and M. López Flores. 1999. Guía para la identificación de las aves exóticas establecidas en Puerto Rico. Depto. de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales, San Juan, PR.

Islam, K. 1997. Java Sparrow (Padda oryzivora). No. 304. in The birds of North America (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). Acad. Nat. Sci., Philadelphia, PA, and Am. Ornithol. Union, Washington, D.C.

Moreno, Jorge A. 1997. Review of the subspecific status and origin of introduced finches in Puerto Rico. Carib. J. Sci. 33(3-4): 233--238.

Raffaele, H.A. 1989. A guide to the birds of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Princeton.

Raffaele, H.A. 1989. Una guía a las aves de Puerto Rico y las Islas Vírgenes. Publishing Resources, Inc., Santurce, PR.

Raffaele, H.A., J.W. Wiley, O.H. Garrido, A.R. Keith, and J.I. Raffaele. 1998. Guide to the birds of the West Indies. Princeton.

Raffaele, H.A. and C. B. Kepler. 1992. Earliest records of the recently introduced avifauna of Puerto Rico. Ornitología Caribeña 3:20-29.

Java Sparrow, Spanish text

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