Many years ago, I saw a pair of birds nesting in a shrub outside my house. I was fascinated by their triangular silver beaks. I was just getting introduced to birds. I clicked many pictures of that sparrow-like bird and named the folder the bird with a silver beak. It was a Silverbill or White-throated munia.
The Indian Silverbill ( Euodice malabarica ) is a sparrow-like bird with a silver beak. The genus Euodice is derived from the Greek words eu, meaning good, and odikos, meaning musical singing. The Indian silverbill has a soft chirping sound, which serves as a contact call within the flock.
Males and females look very similar. Indian Silverbills are communal nesters; two or more pairs nest together. The nest is made of twigs, grass, feathers, etc and is lined with softer materials like wool and cotton.
The triangular beaks of Silverbills are shaped to crush seeds and grains. The Indian Silverbill is a seed-eating bird; it feeds on seeds like, millet, wheat, sorghum, oats, and rice. However, they do feed insects to their babies to meet their protein requirements.
A few years ago, during the nesting season, there were so many Silverbills in my neighbourhood that I thought they might change the bird demography of my area. I was wrong; I rarely see them anymore. They stayed in my neighbourhood for a couple of months and flew away after their babies were strong enough to fly. I have never seen so many of them at one time after that. The Indian Silverbill is classified as a species of Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which means that it is not facing any significant threats to its survival. Yet, at least in the urban areas, their population is shrinking.
Photos and content by Prerna Jain.