Chestnut Munia eating grass seeds

Munias normally fly to their food plants, landing on a single stalk or a bunch of stalks. They use their two feet to grab the stalk/s and in the process cause the plants to bend over if the stem/s are weak. They then feed on the seeds.

The image (top left) by Chris Lee a.k.a chrisli023 of a Chestnut Munia (Lonchura atricapilla) eating the seeds of the kodo grass (Paspalum scrobiculatum) shows it landing on a nearby plant and reaching over to the kodo grass. This is a common grass of the wayside and grassy areas. It is closely related to buffalo grass (P. conjugatum), commonly used in lawns and fields, another favourite grass food.

The other image (top right) shows the munia eating the seeds of Pennisetum sp., either feathery pennisetum (P. polystachion) or elephant grass, also known as napier grass (P. purpureum). In this instance the bird has used its feet to grab a few inflorescence stalks of the same grass, his landing causing the stalks to bend.

Images by Chris Lee.

This post is a cooperative effort between NaturePixels.org and BESG to bring the study of bird behaviour through photography to a wider audience.