Scaly-breasted Munia

Scaly-breasted munias are found in a range of habitats but are usually close to water and grassland. In India, they are especially common in paddy fields where they are considered a minor pest on account of their feeding on grain. They are found mainly on the plains, but can be observed in the foothills of the Himalayas, in which they may be present at altitudes near 2,500 m (1.6 mi), and in the Nilgiris, where they are found at altitudes up to 2,100 m (6,900 ft) during the summer. In Pakistan, they are restricted to a narrow region from Swat in the west to Lahore, avoiding the desert zone, and then occurring again in India east of an area between Ludhiana and Mount Abu. The species has also been observed in Kashmir, though this is rare. Outside their native range, escaped birds frequently establish themselves in areas with a suitable climate and can then colonize new areas nearby. Escaped cage-birds established in the wild and such populations have been recorded in the West Indies (Puerto Rico since 1971), Hawaii (since 1883), Australia, Japan and southern United States, mainly in Florida and California. In Oahu, Hawaii, they compete for habitats with the tricolored munia and tend to be rare where this competitor is present.

Lonchura punctulata is an abundant species and classified as "least concern" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The species occupies an extremely large range, and its population, while still unquantified, is large and stable. The scaly-breasted munia is Not globally threatened. and is common to very common throughout most of its range. However, some populations, such as those in the Lesser Sunda Islands are scarce. In many areas it is regarded as an agricultural pest, feeding in large flocks on cultivated cereals such as rice. In Southeast Asia, the scaly-breasted munia is trapped in large numbers for Buddhist ceremonies, but most birds are later released.