Pale-headed Munia

The pale-headed munia (Lonchura pallida) is a species of estrildid finch native to eastern Indonesia and Timor-Leste. It inhabits subtropical and tropical lowlands, dry shrubland, grassland, marshes and agricultural areas. The species has shown recent range expansion due to increasing agriculture and land clearance. It has recently crossed the Wallace Line to establish breeding populations on Nusa Penida, and is now recorded on Bali. It has also become an increasingly frequent vagrant in northwestern Australia from the 2020s onward, with arrivals likely aided by monsoon winds and cyclones. == Taxonomy == The species was first described by the British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace in 1864 under the binomial Munia pallida, based on specimens from the Lesser Sunda Islands. Its type locality is generally given as Lombok and Flores. It is now placed in the genus Lonchura and is commonly regarded as having no subspecies. A population described as Lonchura pallida subcastanea from the Palu Valley of Sulawesi is generally considered synonymous with the nominate form. The pale-headed munia belongs to a complex of pale-capped species within Lonchura, including the white-headed munia (L. maja), with which it is sometimes confused. == Etymology == The genus name Lonchura combines the Ancient Greek…