Java sparrow

American  

noun

1. a finchlike weaverbird, Padda oryzivora, of southeastern Asia, having gray plumage tinged with pink on the belly, often kept as a cage bird.

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Java sparrow British  

noun

1. a small grey-and-pink finchlike Indonesian weaverbird, Padda oryzivora: a popular cage bird

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Etymology

Origin of Java sparrow

First recorded in 1860–65

Example Sentences

Java sparrows are known to be socially monogamous, showing mutual courtship and pair-bonding for a long time.

From Science Daily

Lund’s allegorical novel imagines a boy with a Java sparrow living in his rib cage.

From Washington Post

Previously, similar kinds of tests have shown that rats, Java sparrows, and monkeys can understand the difference between speech and random noise without being specifically trained to identify a language.

From Salon

Male Java sparrows are songbirds — and, scientists reported on Wednesday, natural percussionists.

From New York Times

Hold!—apropos, to the lying-in list—at Mrs. Barbara Winterbloom's, to inquire after the Angola kittens, and the last hatch of Java sparrows.

From Project Gutenberg