Java Sparrow

Java Sparrow 

(Padda oryzivora), a bird of the family Ploceidae of the order Passeriformes. The body length is 14 cm. The Java sparrow is generally blue-gray. The sides of the head are white, the tail and the top of the head are black, and the bill is red. Native to Java and Bali, the bird has been introduced into Hawaii, Saint Helena Island, Tanzania, and a number of South Asian countries (from Sri Lanka to the Philippines and Fiji). The Java sparrow is a sedentary bird that builds its nest under roofs and in trees (treetops, tree hollows, and trunks overgrown with epiphytes). A clutch contains six to eight white eggs, which are incubated for 13 days. Java sparrows eat seeds, small fruits, and insects. Flocks of the birds cause great damage to rice plants during the ripening period. In China and Japan, Java sparrows are kept as cage birds. A white variety has been produced.