THE WHITE-HEADEB MTJNIA 
Munifi mnja (Limt.) 
Malay name: — Pipit uban. 
Description : — This bird is known to Europeans in Singa- 
pore as the ''Cigar-bird" and indeed this is an excellent name, 
for the little brown bird with its white head and neck is 
strangely reminiscent of a partly smoked cigar. 
The sexes are alike: both have the head and neck and 
throat white, the upper parts chestnut, much brighter on the 
rump and tail. The underparts are also dull brownish chestnut 
but with black on the centre of the breast and abdomen : the 
under tail-coverts black. 
The irides are brown; the bill and feet bright slate colour. 
Total length is from 4 to 4^ inches ; wing about 2i inches. 
Distribution : — This bird is found only in the Malay 
Peninsula, Sumatra and Java. 
[It goes about in flocks and is perhaps most often noticed 
hopping about on the grass of lawns not too closely cut and 
makes rather a comical tigure : the Httle parties jump up when 
disturbed and go off like a lot of big bees or tiny quail with 
straight flight and feeble squeaks. It is caught in g^eat num- 
bers and is a common cage-bird, It feeds on rice and seeds 
and makes its nest in reeds or high grasses laying several white 
eggs.— J. A. S. B.]. 
Several other species of Munia are common in Singapore 
and indeed some of them are quite as often seen as M. ma/a 
and only consideration of space has induced us to select one 
species, almost at random, to figure and describe. 
If the white head and neck of the birds in our plate could 
be changed to black the figures would do equally well for the 
chest not-bellied munia (M, airi cap ilia) which is common in 
Singapore frequenting the same kind of ground and displaying 
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