Pictorella mannikin

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Pictorella mannikin
Pictorella munia taronga zoo.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Estrildidae
Genus: Heteromunia
Mathews, 1913
Species:
H. pectoralis
Binomial name
Heteromunia pectoralis
(Gould, 1841)

The pictorella mannikin, pictorella munia, or pictorella finch (Heteromunia pectoralis) is small brown and grey finch with a grey bill and distinctive scaly white breast plate which is endemic to northern Australia. It is a seed-eater found in pairs and small flocks in dry savannah and subtropical or tropical dry lowland grassland.

Contents

Taxonomy

The pictorella mannikin was formally described in 1841 by English ornithologist John Gould based on a specimen that had been collected in northwestern Australia by John E. Dring who had been a crew member on the third voyage of HMS Beagle. Gould coined the binomial name Amadina pectoralis. [2] [3] [4] When in 1842 Gould described and illustrated the finch in the third volume of his book The Birds of Australia he instead placed the species in the genus Donacola. [5] The pictorella mannikin is now the only species placed in the genus Heteromunia that was introduced by Gregory Mathews in 1913. [6] The genus name combines the Ancient Greek ἑτερος/heteros meaning "different" or "another" with the genus name Munia that had been introduced in 1836 by Brian Houghton Hodgson. [7] The specific epithet pectoralis is Latin meaning "of the breast" or "pectoral". [8] The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. [6]

The common name used in Australia is pictorella mannikin. [9] [10] Gould used the name white-breasted finch in his The Birds of Australia, [5] and it was the common name until 1926 when the Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union (RAOU) Official checklist declared the common name to be "pectorella finch" with no explanation. [9] [11]

The name mannikin is from the Dutch manneken, a diminutive of man. There is no clarity as to why this has been applied to birds in general and particularly to seed eating finches. [9] In 1978 the RAOU checklist committee recommended using "mannikin" for the Australian Lonchura species. [12] [9]

Description

The pictorella mannikin is a grey-billed, buff-brown and grey finch with a distinctive white scaly breast and black face disc. [13] [10] Small white tips on its wing coverts "impart a jewel-like appearance". [10] The bird has a maximum size of 120mm, [14] with a wingspan of 56-63mm, a bill of 12-14mm and weighs between 13 and 15 grams. [10]

Behaviour and ecology

Pictorella mannikins forage on the ground in small flocks or pairs on seeding native grasses [10] [13] and sometimes take small invertebrates. [14] Flocks aggregate around inland water sources particularly at the end of the dry season [10] [13] but disperse away from permanent water when rain falls. [14] In northern Australia they often forage on recently burnt ground, open grassy woodland and fringes of wetland. [10]

They are relatively short tailed with an upright stance. [10] Pictorella mannikin pairs mate for life and lay 4 to 6 white or bluish white eggs in a dome-shaped grass nest in long grass or low bush. [13] [14]

In 2016 the pictorella mannikin's conservation status was listed Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List although the population is marked as decreasing. In 2007, the International Union for Conservation of Nature downgraded its assessment of the species from Near Threatened (NT) to Least Concern (LC) after large flocks of this species were found at several locations. [1] In the Northern Territory and Western Australia the bird's conservation status is listed as Near Threatened (NT) while in Queensland the conservation status listing is Least Concern (LC). [14]

References

  1. 1 2 BirdLife International. (2024). "Heteromunia pectoralis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2024: e.T22719908A253987171. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2024-2.RLTS.T22719908A253987171.en . Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  2. Gould, John (1840). "Amadina pectoralis". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 8 (93) (published July 1841): 127. For the publication date see: Sclater, P.L. (1893). "List of the dates of delivery of the sheets of the 'Proceedings' of the Zoological Society of London, from the commencement in 1830 to 1859 inclusive". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London: 436–440.
  3. Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, ed. (1968). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 14. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 387.
  4. Stokes, John Lort (1846). Discoveries in Australia; with an account of the coasts and rivers explored and surveyed during the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, in the years 1837-38-39-40-41-42-43. Vol. 1. London: T. and W. Boone. pp.  25, 138, 480.
  5. 1 2 Gould, John (1848). The Birds of Australia. Vol. 3. London: self (published 1842). Part 7, Plate 95 and text. The 7 volumes were published in 36 parts. For the date see: Waterhouse, Frederick Herschel (1885). The Dates of Publication of Some of the Zoological Works of the Late John Gould, F.R.S. London: R.H. Porter. pp. 28–44.
  6. 1 2 Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (February 2025). "Waxbills, parrotfinches, munias, whydahs, Olive Warbler, accentors, pipits". IOC World Bird List Version 15.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 9 August 2025.
  7. Jobling, James A. "Heteromunia". The Key to Scientific Names. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 9 August 2025.
  8. Gould, J (1841). "Untitled". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 1841 (3): 126–127: Date published Jul 1841.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Fraser, Ian; Gray, Jeannie (2019). Australian Bird Names: Origins and Meanings. Clayton South, Vic: CSIRO Publishing. pp. 281–288. ISBN   9781486311637.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Menkhorst, Peter; Rogers, Danny; Clarke, Rohan; Davies, Jeff; Marsack, Peter; Franklin, Kim (2017). The Australian Bird Guide . Clayton, Vic: CSIRO Publishing. pp. 518–519. ISBN   978-0643097544.
  11. Wolstenholme, H. (1926). The Official Checklist of the Birds of Australia (2nd ed.). Wahroonga, Sydney: Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union. p. 107.
  12. "Recommended English Names for Australian Birds". Emu - Austral Ornithology. 77:sup1: 245–307. 1978. doi:10.1071/MU9770245s.
  13. 1 2 3 4 Slater, Peter; Slater, Pat; Slater, Raoul (2009). The Slater Field Guide to Australian Birds (2nd ed.). London, Sydney, Auckland: Reed New Holland. pp. 394–395. ISBN   9781877069635.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 Australia, Atlas of Living. "Species: Heteromunia pectoralis (Pictorella Mannikin)". bie.ala.org.au. Retrieved 2020-05-03.