A small finch with scalloped markings on its chest. It feeds on grass seeds, and flocks are seen in Singapore parks.
The head is chestnut brown, and the breast and belly have distinctive scale-like markings.
Along a busy arterial road in Changjiang County on Hainan Island, China, Scaly-breasted Munias nested in trees. Researchers recorded 584 nests in 2016 and 810 in 2018, including 221 newly built nests in 2018. Of the 2018 nests, 98.3% were in trees and 94.7% were in the upper or middle crowns of leafy fig trees.
Foliage covered an average of 82.5% of the area above nests and 21.3% below. Nest trees had wider trunks than nearby trees without nests, and nests were closer to the road than to the nearest building. The authors suggested that dense cover and traffic could influence nest-site choice. The observations show how the munias used street trees in this urban area.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
In the Hainan survey, most Scaly-breasted Munia nests were in leafy fig trees. Retaining these trees and their canopy along roads can help preserve urban breeding places used by the birds.