. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. Birds. R. Rest all 150 Bull. 1995 115(3). Figure 4. Comparison between Lonchura I. leucosticta (left) and L. I. moresbyae (right). both Oberholser 1926. But the variations in colouring are not dramatic and tend to be within a given population rather than exclusive to a defined geographic region. Lonchura maja is regarded by Paynter & Storer as being monotypic. It is widely known in the bird trade in Singapore and Taipei that the White-headed Munia can be obtained from Vietnam. Small numbers of the species are often included in shipment
. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club. Birds. R. Rest all 150 Bull. 1995 115(3). Figure 4. Comparison between Lonchura I. leucosticta (left) and L. I. moresbyae (right). both Oberholser 1926. But the variations in colouring are not dramatic and tend to be within a given population rather than exclusive to a defined geographic region. Lonchura maja is regarded by Paynter & Storer as being monotypic. It is widely known in the bird trade in Singapore and Taipei that the White-headed Munia can be obtained from Vietnam. Small numbers of the species are often included in shipments of munias from Ho Chi Minh City, especially if large numbers of Chestnut Munias L. atricapilla are involved. I have made several trips to Vietnam in order to verify that these L. maja do originate there and are not the result of admixtures of birds from Indonesia. I found the species in two locations. The Vietnamese birds are located in an area quite separated from the main range of the species (Fig. 5). They are also quite distinct, and I propose that they be recognised as a new subspecies. The adult male of nominate maja is up to 120 mm long. The wing is 55-59 mm, the culmen 12—13 mm, and the tarsus 13 mm. The entire head of the first-year adult is off-white with a buffy tinge on the nape. The off-white becomes whiter with successive moults. The buffy nape is also variable with age, and is usually drab (Smithe 119D) in a first-year bird. The breast is a cinnamon-drab or sayal brown (Smithe 223C). The underwing-coverts are dark pinkish-buff. The back is burnt umber, becoming deep reddish-maroon on the lower rump, lower flanks and uppertail-coverts. The upper flanks are a slightly more vinous version of this. From the centre of the lower breast to the undertail-coverts is black. The legs and feet are dark grey, blackish on the large scales. The adult female is similar but usually sufficiently different to be distinguished. The length is closer to 115 mm, the wing 54—57 mm
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectbirds, bookyear1893
