Western Alpine Munia
Lonchura montana Junge, 1939
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The western alpine mannikin (Lonchura montana) also known as Snow Mountain mannikin or western alpine munia is a small, approximately 11.5 cm long, estrildid finch. Both sexes are similar with dark brown plumage, black face, buff chest and black-barred white abdomen. The young has black bill, dark brown plumage and buffy-white below.
Endemic to Indonesia, the western alpine mannikin is distributed in alpine grassland of the Snow Mountains and Star Mountains in western New Guinea. It usually found in flocks of six to twenty birds. The diet consists mainly of seeds, grasses and other vegetation.
A common species in its limited habitat range, the western alpine mannikin is evaluated as being of least concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Wikipedia contributors, Western alpine mannikin; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:54:47.085212+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Lonchura montana Junge, 1939
- Name authority
- Junge, 1939
- Common name
- Western Alpine Munia
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Estrildidae
- Genus
- Lonchura
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyEstrildidae Bonaparte, 1850
- genusLonchura Sykes, 1832
- speciesLonchura montana Junge, 1939
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Lonchura. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Black-headed MuniaLonchura malacca (Linnaeus, 1766) | EstrildidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-faced MuniaLonchura molucca (Linnaeus, 1766) | EstrildidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Eastern Alpine MuniaLonchura monticola (De Vis, 1897) | EstrildidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Nutmeg MannikinLonchura punctulata (Linnaeus, 1758) | EstrildidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Five-colored MuniaLonchura quinticolor (Vieillot, 1807) | EstrildidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| White-rumped MuniaLonchura striata (Linnaeus, 1766) | EstrildidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black MuniaLonchura stygia Stresemann, 1934 | EstrildidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Magpie MannikinLonchura fringilloides (Lafresnaye, 1835) | EstrildidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-throated MuniaLonchura kelaarti (Jerdon, 1863) | EstrildidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Javan MuniaLonchura leucogastroides (Moore, 1858) | EstrildidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Great-billed MuniaLonchura grandis (Sharpe, 1882) | EstrildidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Dusky MuniaLonchura fuscans (Cassin, 1852) | EstrildidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=560859 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3VYF7. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.