Java sparrow

Appearance

The Java sparrow is about 15–17 cm in length from the beak to its tip of tail feathers. 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''.

Molecular phylogeny indicates that this species may have originated in India and dispersed to Africa and Pacific Ocean habitats from there.

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 rice fields, hence its scientific name. The nest is constructed in a tree or building, and up to eight eggs are laid.

Predators

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 vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and is listed on Appendix II of CITES.

Cultural

The Java sparrow has been a popular cage bird in Asia for centuries, first in Ming Dynasty China and then in Japan from the 17th century, frequently appearing in Japanese paintings and prints. Meiji-era writer Natsume Sōseki 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 colourations have been bred, including white, silver/opal, fawn/isabel, pastel, cream and agate along with the pied Java sparrow .