Indian silverbills or white-throated munias

Quite often these drab-looking tiny birds are overlooked in favour of their more colourful counterparts. The Indian silverbills are one such species which though ubiquitous, are often ignored. They usually forage in groups and are very gregarious.

They are also called white-throated munias owing to their appearance. These are called माळमुनिया or पांढऱ्या कंठाची मनोली in Marathi.

• 

• 

Both sexes look alike. These are small birds measuring around 11 cm long. The characteristic feature which I find useful in identifying munias is their conical silver-grey bill.  These silverbills are dull looking with buff brown upper parts and white underparts. They have buffy flanks and a white rump. Their pointed tails with a flash of white is another useful identification point.

• 

• 

In Sevagram I have often found flocks of these birds foraging on the ground or on low shrubs. They constantly chirp while they feed and you really have to look hard or you will miss these non-descript birds. I often miss out on these as their more attractive cousins, the scaly breasted munias usually have my attention. But more on them in another post.