Indian silverbill - Euodice malabarica

Common Name :	Indian silverbill.
Binomial Name :	Euodice malabarica
Synonym :	Lonchura malabarica
Family :	Estrildidae
Bengali Name :	Munia (মুনিয়া), Chandi-thot munia (চাঁদি-ঠোঁট মুনিয়া).
Photo Taken :	Bangladesh

Previously I've written about the bird Scaly-breasted munia. This time it is another Munia bird named Indian silverbill. This bird is also known as White-throated munia. In Bangladesh in general this bird is known as Munia (মুনিয়া), Chandi-thot munia (চাঁদিঠোঁট মুনিয়া), etc.

White rump of the Indian silverbill (Euodice malabarica) is visible.

Binomial name of the bird is Euodice malabarica with a synonym Lonchura malabarica. It belongs to the bird family Estrildidae. This bird is native to Bangladesh and South asian region. It was introduced in many other countries later.


Indian silverbill (Euodice malabarica) is a small sized bird similar to the finch or sparrow. Upper side of the bird's color is brown with the edges of the wings are dark brown. Front side of the bird is whitish. Upper portion of the tail (or rump) of the bird has white spots. Those spots are mostly visible while flying and less visible while perching.


Beak of the bird is conical and color is silver-grey. Both male and female birds are similar. They use to forage in a small group. They mostly forage over the paddy fields, open grassland as they mainly live on the grains.


This bird is not good at making nests. It prefers to make nest on thorny acacia plant. They sometimes seen reusing the nest of Baya weaver birds (after abandoned by the weaver). One such nest can hold up to 8 eggs from the female. Later both male and female do the incubation.

Photos of Indian silverbill (Euodice malabarica) were taken from the following places of Bangladesh:
1) December 2014: Keraniganj, Dhaka.


This article has written by Lonely Traveler,
for the blog http://icbird.blogspot.com/