- Class: Birds
- Order: Passériformes
- Family: Estrildidés
This tropical sparrow likes to live in large flocks, frequenting rivers and bamboo groves, as well as plains, meadows and open woodlands with grass and scrub. The Java Padda is sexually dimorphic in size, but not in plumage. It feeds on a wide variety of seeds from grasses or flowering plants. When the rice grains ripen, paddas gather in large flocks that attack the crops. They are capable of causing great damage, leading farmers to persecute them and consider them as real scourges.
Between 3 and 8 white eggs are laid, and the two partners take it in turns to brood during the day for a fortnight, with only the female brooding at night. As with all passeriformes, the young are nest-feeders.
IUCN status: Least concern (appendix III)