This lovely but feral bird has been scouting our bird bath over the last 3 days. It is highly likely it is an escapee as Java Sparrows are very popular cage birds in many parts of the world. Fortunately, I've seen only one as I certainly don't want this species breeding here & competing with the red-browed finches & diamond firetails. A heat wave is due within a few days so it'll be interesting to see how it copes with the severe, dry heat since it's native to tropical Java & Bali where it is now rare due to trapping for the cage industry & food. It's also been trapped by farmers who don't like its harvesting of their rice crops.
Great looking bird.
They are domesticated and very unlikely to establish, the climate is probably unsuitable anyway. I wonder how long he will stay around?
As you say one of the worlds most popular cage birds ,and one of the most aggressive small birds, they breed all year round and will pull apart other birds nests to build their own,(their behavior reminds me of Indian Mynas !) they have been decimated in the wild and are now endangered over most of their range.
Like you I would hate to see them get a foot hold here, the ones I kept as a boy handled the heat better than most other Finches but if his already stessed 40c+ will knock him around a bit .
Interesting, I didn't find them to be aggressive at all in a mixed finch collection, only its sheer size intimidated some smaller more timid species at first but they soon got used to it.
http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=8734
All but gone in Java, even introduced populations elsewhere are disappearing.
there is a breeding population on Christmas Island
Peter
I love your bird bath
M-L
I imported it from ancient Rome, Araminta. But the birds love it more than I do.
Sorry Woko, can't help myself, I thought you of all people would have an "indigenous" bird bath, not a feral imported one!
Seriously looks great though.
Dale Huonville, Tasmania
Thanks, Dale. Luckily, there's only one so there won't be a colony of them. I'll have to think about the idea of a bird indigenous bath. Perhaps a local rock with a hollow in it.
Interesting article from Zosterops pointing out that trapping has caused decline in the wild of this fancy sparrow, rather than habitat removal, feral predation, etc. Shows what humans can do when they try hard enough. As the article goes on to say, the birds are more susceptible due to their flocking habit, making them easy to trap en masse. I hope they don't get a hold here. We have enough ferals. And the world has enough humans. The worst ferals of all.
An article I read on the Java Sparrow said that trapping for the cage trade is one of the most significant factors in the species' decline but trapping for food, trapping for rice crop protection, habitat clearance & indirect poisoning from pesticide use on crops are also important factors. In east Java there is a group protesting against a luxury accommodation development in Java Sparrow habitat. The group has adopted the bird as its sympbol. Go the Java Sparrow but not here.
Yes, NightParrot, Homo stupidis seems to be the only species that has the intelligence to cause the destruction of nearly everything. Ironically, it also has the intelligence to do the opposite. Why it choses the former is an interesting question. Perhaps all species including Homo stupidis are opportunistic but Homo stupidis is the only species with sufficient intelligence to supress everything. One argument is that most if not all species become extinct so this is just evolution in action. Too bad most other things have to suffer. On this topic I recommend a read of Richard Leakey's The Sixth Extinction.
I think myself lucky, as i have seen a few Java sparrows. Here is a photo in Baluran National park East Java . Very hard to find in the wild. Its a full time job protecting the crops Woko. Many ropes with rags tied are pull to frighten the birds away.
See it! Hear it!
Mid-North Coast NSW
Nice pics, are the third ones Javan Munia?
I'm interested to know if any sophisticated methods of protecting rice crops from birds have been devised so that both crops & birds can survive. In fact, there's a nice little niche for someone to develop methods of enabling wildlife to survive & thrive alongside human enterprises.
By the way, the Java Sparrow survived the heatwave here on the s.e. slopes of the Mt Lofty Ranges. It has shown significant resilience so I'm even more pleased now that there's only one about the place - so far & as far as I know!