Rice bird

"Because there are so many rice fields in Java and Bali, I mostly eat rice there. That's also how I got my name: rice bird!"

Discover in real life
Rice birdLonchura oryzivora

  • Food

    rice and seeds

  • Lifetime

    15 years

  • Weight

    12 grams

  • Incubation time

    2 weeks

  • Number of eggs

    4 to 6 eggs

  • IUCN Status

    endangered

  • EEP?

    no

15

years, that's how old I can get

2

weeks I am brooding

12

grams, that's how light I am!

Rice plants

Fields where rice plants grow are very convenient for me. Here I scavenge my food. I also like other small seeds, but because there are so many rice fields in Java and Bali, I mainly eat rice there. That is also how I got my name: rice bird!

Large groups

I like to be together with my peers. Our groups can get very large. Sometimes we are seen in hundreds. Then you might understand, that a farmer who grows rice is not happy to see us in his field. We eat a lot of his crop.

Popular house bird

We are a popular bird for people's homes. We are often kept in cages or aviaries. Especially in the 1960s and 1970s a lot of rice birds were caught in the wild. Now we are a lot rarer on Java and Bali than in the past.

Want to know more about IUCN status or the EEP? Click here.