General Information

COMMON NAMES: Chestnut-breasted Mannikin, Chestnut-breasted Munia, Chestnut-breasted Finch, Black Munia TRADITIONAL NAMES: Toa Kere-a-Rangi* (MG); COMMENT: Toa Kere-a-Rangi ("mighty warrior of Rangi") was coined 2006 GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE Australia (Qld - NSW) - PNG; EXOTIC EXOTIC Vanuatu, French Polynesian (Societies, Marquesas, Australs), Cooks (Mangaia) COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Recent (~1999), Naturalised; S.Group only (Mangaia only); Land KEY FEATURES: Small thick-set bird to 11cmTL, 28cmWS. ADULTS brown with grey head, black face and throat, chestnut breast with black chest-bar, and white belly. MALE sings and dances. FEMALE duller and paler. JUVENILES olive-brown above and pale below. Feed in small flocks on grass seeds.

Cook Islands Distribution

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Southern Group: Present    Makatea:
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
++	++

Northern Group:
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW

Lonchura castaneothorax Gould, 1837
SYNONYMS: Lonchura castaneothorax castaneothorax [the only Australian subspecies, there are 4 others in PNG]

TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; CHORDATA; GNATHOSTOMATA (Jawed Vertebrates); TETRAPODA; AVES; NEORNITHES; Passeriformes; ESTRILDIDAE

IDENTIFICATION: Small thick-set bird to 11cmTL, 28cmWS. ADULTS similar; beak silver blue; brown with grey head and black face and throat; breast chestnut, with black band and white belly; rump and tail orange, undertail black. MALES sing and do the courtship dance - definitive. Females paler and duller; black face with more brown flecking; chest-bar thinner; beak narrower and less silver. JUVENILE olive-brown above, pale below without black face or chest-bar. Seen in flocks feeding on grass seeds. 4-8 eggs, mainly incubated by female, and both sit on nest at night. Hatch in 14 days and fledge after 21 days, and weaned in 21 days.

Vouchers:
Rarotonga: two fieldspecimens, 2006/10, Charleen Nelio Heather, behind Lagoon Lodges, Aroa, with ID as Chestnut-breasted Mannikin; 11 specimens 2001 imported by Anna Nelio assisted by daughter Charleen Nelio, with NZDoC ID as Lonchura spp., were later given to Ata Herman. Mangaia: ~4 adults and ~4 juveniles fieldspecimens+photo, 2006/5, Vaitate swamp, G.McCormack, ID G.McCormack and I.Karika as Lonchura castaneothorax, G.McCormack (CINews 13/5/2006) had suggested this identification based on a description by Peter Ngatokorua who also reported that a road gang had first seen the birds in 1999 near Tavaenga swamp.

References:
None recorded.

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB06a, zM06a, zD06a

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