The Grey-banded Munia, Lonchura vana is a species of 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 known to be found in Anggi Gigi, Tamrau Mountains and Arfak Mountains

Arfak Mountains

The Arfak Mountains are a mountain range found on the Bird's Head Peninsula in the Province of West Papua, Indonesia. The mountain range is rugged and remote, rising up to 7,700 feet above sea level...

 in the Vogelkop Peninsula in north-west Papua

Papua (Indonesian province)

Papua comprises most of the western half of the island of New Guinea and nearby islands. Its capital is Jayapura. It's the largest and easternmost province of Indonesia. The province originally covered the entire western half of New Guinea...

, 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...

. This species inhabits at mid-mountain wet grassland and marshland. It also can be found at abandoned agricultural plots, near human settlements.

Identification

Grey-banded Munia is approximately 10 cm long. This species is a grey pale-headed munia with brownish-grey breast, narrow and grey lower breast-band, rufous-brown belly, dark brown mantle and wings, and pale yellow rump and tail.

Threats

Its natural habitat is reported to be destroyed by farmers for agricultural practices. However, it can be found on agricultural plots and may be able to survive in this habitat.

Conservation measures

It was proposed to further identify its habitat requirements and threats at Anggi Gigi and conserve wet grassland and marshland sites in Anggi Gigi, into the protected-areas. It was also proposed to establish whether the Pegunungan Arfak Nature Reserve supports the species and find suitable habitat in north-east Papua to conserve this species.

External links

• BirdLife Species Factsheet